Am I the only one who thought tampons were flushable?!

[sunseaandme]

I'm 32, and only recently have I discovered tampons aren't flushable. I always thought they were, I can't remember where this thought came from, I assume my mum told me they were when I started my period, but that pads were obviously not flushable. I feel so guilty for flushing them all this time (obviously I won't do it anymore!). Am I the only one?? I realise I probably sound like an idiot as it probably says on the packet not to flush them but I never thought to check 🙈

I definitely flushed tampons for years and years before I realised you shouldn’t.

One of my friends still does!

I'm old, and started my periods in the late 70s when it was definitely the norm to flush tampons and pads. If I recall rightly it said on the pad packets to tear them in half lengthways and flush. I also remember my Dad rodding the drains fairly frequently so I guess our Victorian plumbing didn't cope terribly well with 3 females in the house!
But it is a very, very long time since I have thought that was ok and I am a bit surprised by how many don't know that it isn't. But then I probably shouldn't be surprised because my current house has a septic tank and despite telling visitors repeatedly not to flush anything other than pee, poo and paper, we have had a few unfortunate incidents over the years, notably the time my SIL insisted that baby wipes counted as paper. (If anyone is in any doubt, I can assure you that they don't!)

I’ve always known you don’t flush them. Surely common sense would tell you if nothing else!

That can’t be right! I also started my periods in the 70s and knew full well you shouldn’t flush pads or tampons.

Yep another late 80s early 90s period starter who flushed tampons, it was definitely on the packet but I always binned the applicator.

In the 1960s I often used to walk along a section of the beach where there was a sewage outfall pipe.

I remember seeing plenty of beigey things (which as an adult I eventually realised were used condoms) but nothing connected with periods. I would have been desperately embarrassed if I had. The pads and tampons must have degraded before they got back to the shore.

In the school toilets it was quite common to see unravelling cardboard Tampax applicators which hadn’t disappeared with the first flush.

Flushed for years as that was what we were told to do back when I started my periods ( 1980s). Also sanitary towels - was told to rip them lengthwise and then flush . Think I did that a couple of times at the start ( I was 12 at the time) but that felt wrong even then so started wrapping and putting in bathroom bin. Only found out about tampons a few years ago though- they were definitely marketed as flushable

NRTFT as sick of all the pompous, self righteous women telling us they can't believe how stupid people were. As for the people saying the signs are "literally" in every toilet... Well they're not! They're really not. Apart from not having one in my bathroom, or my work, I only rarely see them and it tends to be places which say they have tricky plumping.

So here's a ODFOD to all you who said that.

I thought it was very common knowledge that tampons are NOT flushable.

There are signs saying so in practically every public toilet on earth.

Im 40.
We had a lady come into school and gave us samples and a blue holder. And explained how to use them. Dangers, pros cons etc

She said they were better as could be flushed and pads couldn't

I flushed for years before realising

I would have started my periods mid 90s and was taught to flush them. Only heard differently and stopped around 8 years ago!
Agree there should be a public campaign.

Odd you were told that. I started my periods in 82 and was told by the packaging, my mum and school how to flush them (rip the pads up) pop the tampon down the loo.

Who told you they werent flushable and why given that the advice at the time was to flush them?

I was told by my Mum that you got rid of tampons and sanitary towels by flushing them down the loo! She refused to have a bin in the bathroom.

Fortunately I found out before too many years had gone past.

Flushed them for my entire life from the 1980s on. (I'm now post menopause).

Never blocked a toilet, that I'm aware of.

It's common knowledge now, but it wasn't when some of us were growing up 45 or more years ago.

Everyone from parents to teachers would say that tampons could be flushed, as did the boxes they were sold in. Public toilets in many areas were worse than basic. Places to be avoided if possible. There was little signage in them and what there was was always vandalised.

That says flushable applicator though. So applicator is flushable (I seem to recall they unravel in water), but the tampon itself should be bagged and binned.

I flushed my paper wrapping, cardboard applicator and Tampax for about 30 years before learning on MN that the 'rules' had done a 360.

Why is cat poo not flushable?

Really? Not in the public toilets I use!

As I said above, I stopped flushing years ago after seeing a thread like this one on MN, but it certainly wasn't obvious to me that they couldn't be flushed.

They used to say quite clearly on the packaging that they were "flushable" and I had no reason to doubt that.

There is no point in trying to make all the people who weren't aware feel shit about the fact that they didn't know. People are taught different things by their parents/schools and they go to different places. If they don't know, blame it on a lack of appropriate publicity, not on individuals.

I don't use them anymore anyway, but I was in my 30s before I realised you shouldn't flush them and had been doing for about 15 years by then.

Exactly - the photo a PP posted was not saying the tampon was flushable, it was the applicator (there's a gap, so the wording is 'flushable applicator' [space] tampon.

The tampons were never intended to be flushed, tho many of us did. The applicators were intended to flush - back in the 90s - but even when ripped up did so poorly.

I can remember those still being around late 90s when I was starting work!

Honestly - how? There are signs everywhere, and it's frequently mentioned on news items and similar.

I watch the news regularly and I have never seen a news item about this. I also don't see signs about it. I have honestly only ever come across this on MN. Probably around 10 years ago, but still only on MN. I can totally see why people wouldn't know.

I started mine in 2002 and we were always told to flush them.

No way. It was made clear long before 2002!