@PinkBox:

When I first moved to Brazil, I assumed the tiny garbage can in the bathroom was, you know, for garbage, and I merrily flushed the toilet paper each time.

Haw haw. Check it:

When I used to see those signs that say "Dispose of feminine products in the trash," I always thought they meant the APPLICATOR, not the actual 'PON! My roommate was horrified when she leared that I was flushing them, but I didn't even understand what she meant at first. I said, "Of course I'm not flushing it," and…

I have pets who like to get into the trash, so there is no way in hell I'm NOT going to flush them.

...there is nothing more irritating to me than the male housemate who exclaims, once the first backup occurs, "Oh my god you've been FLUSHING YOUR TAMPONS?!"

So, um, let's make a distinction between the actual tampon vs. the applicator. I flush the tampon, as it's soaked with blood and other yummy fluids. Tampons are made of a cotton/polyester blend of materials MADE TO BE FLUSHED! Tampon applicators, however, are either made of plastic (like Tampax pearl, which I use…

@BiscuitDoughJones: Seriously— septic tanks and old pipes makes for upset parents and teenaged shame. But if that plumber had referred to them as "white mice," I prolly would have just died. But that's damn funny. Like the Dave Atell show where Up All Night when he went to the water treatment place, and the workers…

My periods are so heavy that when I was using tampons and didn't flush them, I'd have to wrap them in three times the amount of toilet paper I normally use to not spot any blood.

As someone who had to have her basement floor jackhammered this summer when her main line backed up into her basement in the middle of fucking July during a heat wave because of a houseguest who doesn't understand the words "Don't flush tampons in a 100+ year old house" I beg to differ.

ha ha! This reminds me of how our family got a dog right around when my little sister started getting her period and was too newbie to use tampons. The puppy would dig out her bloody pads from the trash can and tear them up in the living room, and it made my sister and my dad embarrassed, while my mom and I laughed.

@flackette: See, we had septic tanks where I grew up, too. And the asshole rooter men who had to occasionally come out & snake the pipes would compound the EXISTING shame of having a period by bitching loudly to anyone in earshot about "white mice", rooter-speak for flushed tampons. Pricks.

I don't flush. Once you see what a tampon has transformed into after spending quality time in the crapper and floating back up — some sort of bloated, bloody sea monster menacing you with its floating cotton tentacles — you'll think twice.

Even the toilet paper wads can be definitely bigger than a used tampon. BTW, consider this: the regular (not Compak) Tampax is fully biodegradable, wrapper and applicator included. Isn't that better than using maxi pads? And yea, yea, I heard of the luna pads, but sorry: I don't feel like rinsing off a bloody rag…

I don't follow. Were his objections environmental in nature? I don't understand how it would be bad to flush a tampon.

I don't think the whole point of tampons is that you can flush them. If they clog the toilet then wrap it up in tp and throw it in the trash. That way you're not being rude to your roommates. I use pads and it takes me all of 3 seconds to throw it in the garbage can. I don't see the big deal.

Whoa, sensing some anger. Went I went to a friend's reallly reallllllly old vacation home with plumbing from like, 1820, I didn't flush my tampons because I was scared I would explode the pipes or something. (Even though I normally do flush them).

It's IN MY LEASE that the ladies mustn't flush tampons. Granted, we live in a hella old building with hella old pipes and such, but seeing that clause on page 4 of the lease made me do a double-take.

Growing up, our house had a septic system, so no flushing of tampons or even big wads of toilet paper. Today, though, I live in a city and paw sewer fees and damn straight I am flushing my tampons.

Whatever, I don't make guys wash off their used condoms and take them to the latex recycling plant.