The 4 P's of Plumbing

Most people will tell you that there are only three things that should be disposed of in your toilet, the 3 Ps: pee, poo, and (toilet) paper. However that list should actually be four: pee, poo, paper and puke. Apologies to the more squeamish among us, but what about vomit?

WHAT ABOUT PUKE?

My husband has a cast-iron stomach, and doesn’t get ill very often. However when he does have an upset tummy, he prefers to puke in a sink, shower or bath, rather than a toilet. He finds it distasteful having to hover a toilet which he feels is ‘full of germs’ and unhygienic, when you’re already pretty awful. So I took the question to my local plumbing expert, Dennis Yarrow from Nuflow Brisbane South. While it may seem like a better idea to vomit in the bath or sink rather than the toilet, it turns out there are actually some very good reasons that ‘kneeling before the porcelain altar’ is the traditional way of handling the effects of too much booze, a bad case of gastro, or morning sickness. First of all, the pipe in your toilet has a much wider diameter of 100mm, compared to a sink (50mm) or a basin (40mm) – so it is better equipped (and again apologies to those with more delicate sensibilities) to handle chunks. Puke can be easily flushed away, and if the toilet lid is down it should prevent any particles contaminating the immediate area. Also don’t forget that vomit is full of bacteria so if you are puking into a sink, it will need a thorough disinfecting before it can be used for washing food or brushing your teeth. Even if you turn on the taps to rinse the vomit out of your basin, if it is “chunky” it may sit in the pipe bend immediately beneath, or in the wet waste which has a grate opening on the floor – causing a nasty odour. While it is a matter of preference where you choose to puke, as you can now see the toilet is not such a bad option after all. So when it comes to what to flush down your toilet, remember that it should be 4 P’s, not 3 P’s: rn1. Pee;rn2. Poo;rn3. (Toilet) paper; andrn4. Puke. That way you should be able to avoid the hassle and expense of having to get a plumber out to unblock your pipes!