All of the plumbers at Vanguard Plumbing & Sewer have seen the videos at one time or another – someone taught their cat to use the toilet. It’s clever, it’s cute and as long as they’re going like a person then good for them. However, those videos should never, ever convince you that putting the contents of your cat’s litter box in the toilet is okay. It’s not as we’ll explain.

Reasons to Never Put Litter Down A Northwest Side Toilet

To make this as clear as possible, here are a few of the biggest reasons to never, ever, ever put anything other than the three “P”s down the toilet. Those three are #1, #2 and toilet paper with everything else falling in the “don’t do it” category – including:

• Cat Litter & Animal Feces
• Q-tips, Facewash Pads, Cotton Balls
• Baby Wipes & Diapers
• Paper Towels & Tissues
• Condoms & Medication
• Feminine Hygiene Products
• Hair, Dirt, Debris

Remember – Your Chicago Plumbing Is Not A Litter Box

At Vanguard Plumbing & Sewer – Chicago’s highest rated residential service plumber, we love our customers’ pets and go out of our way to treat them with the same respect as we do their owners. But we draw the line with putting their “leftovers” in the toilet. We believe in the plumber’s rule that states you should only put the three “P”s down the toilet. One is paper and the others are better known as #1 and #2 – human #2.

Cat Litter Is Designed to Absorb Moisture – Not to Break Up

There’s a certain something in cat litter, well most cat litters anyway, called bentonite. While we won’t go into the science behind how bentonite reacts with water we can tell you it does an incredible job of absorbing it – up to ten times its weight. That’s great when your cat goes to the bathroom in the litter box but it’s a nightmare when it’s flushed down your toilet.

Because it’s a mineral it’s hard and that means it might get stuck. If it does it will start absorbing moisture and doing what all things that absorb moisture do – grow. And by grow we mean exponentially and that’s a problem your pipes can’t handle without professional help from the five-star rated plumbing pros at Vanguard Plumbing & Sewer.

Cat Litter Is Bad for Chicago Water Treatment Plants Too

Beyond what it can do to your Northwest Side home’s plumbing system there’s the dangers animal matter like that can pose to the water treatment facilities connected to your home. There are a whole host of diseases, parasites and viruses that can be contained in animal matter and that can be spread to the water system via your flushing cat litter. Better safe than sorry – for you and the city – by throwing your cat litter out in a biodegradable bag.

Keep Your Northwest Side Toilets Safe & Plumbing Costs Low!

If you have put cat litter down your plumbing system by flushing it then you should have the #1 rated residential service plumbers from Vanguard Plumbing & Sewer come out for a thorough inspection of your toilets and the lines connected to them. Our video plumbing inspections can uncover anything hiding in your pipes – including cat you-know-what and cat litter – so give us a call at (773) 633-6139 for an estimate or answers or both!