What's the Difference Between Toilet Paper and Facial Tissues?

We often use the two interchangeably (especially in times of need), but toilet paper and facial tissues are composed differently. Learn why you shouldn't flush tissues in this episode of BrainStuff.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey
brain Stuff, Lauren Vogel bomb here. Let's say your nose
is running, so you run to the restroom for a tissue,
and then realize that that familiar cardboard box is empty.
What's a nasal drip sufferer to do? Unroll a bit
of toilet paper instead. Of course, we may use tissues

(00:23):
and toilet paper interchangeably sometimes, but the truth is there
are some important differences between the two, and knowing what
they are could save you some hassle in the long run.
Toilet paper and facial tissue are both made up of
paper pulp, and both are meant to be discarded after
a single use, but most of their commonalities and there A.
Facial tissue has a smoother surface than toilet paper, which

(00:45):
makes it feel softer on the skin, and facial tissue
is often imbued with lotions and scents designed to make
the nose blowing experience more pleasant. While toilet tissue does
not usually have those additions, it does have one important
feature that facial tissue does not. Toilet paper easily dissolves
in water. It takes just one to four minutes toilet

(01:07):
papers quick dissolve qualities are engineered to help it pass
through pipes or septic systems and to be processed by
municipals se are treatment plants. In contrast, facial tissue is
usually infused with a chemical binder that helps the tissue
retain its shape. It has wet strength so that it
doesn't disintegrate when exposed to whatever you're blowing out of
your nose. While these properties come in handy for nose blowing,

(01:30):
its ability to help tissue hold its shape is bad
for pipes, septic systems, and water treatment plants. Facial tissues
should not be flushed down a toilet because those tissues
will not dissolve as readily as toilet paper, and because
they can gum up the works. But it's not just
facial tissues that wreak havoc once they're flushed down the
toilet and out of sight. Everything from flushable wipes to

(01:53):
dental floss has the potential to cause expensive problems at
household pipes or at water treatment plants if they go
down the drain. An experiment conducted by the City of Spokane, Washington,
found that flushed dental floss Q tips, tampons, pads, and
cat litter not only did not dissolve, but wrapped around
the propeller that was agitating them in the water during testing.

(02:15):
In a real life scenario, this translates into sewer treatment
plant equipment breakdowns that can cost thousands of dollars. Spokane
City workers also tested single ply, regular and plush toilet papers,
facial tissue, and flushable wipes to see how well they
dissolved in water. All of the toilet paper dissolved readily,
with the plush toilet paper taking the longest to dissolve.

(02:37):
The flushable wipes they remained completely intact despite being soaked
in water and spun by that propeller. So what's the
verdict for flushing toilet paper or facial tissue or anything else.
Only toilet paper should go down the drain. And finally,
one last consideration, if you are reaching for some toilet

(02:58):
paper to blow your nose, can ssider whether that roll
of toilet paper is shielded from the germs and bits
of waste that can airsol eyes every time that toilet
gets flushed. A tissue in a box, preferably not in
the bathroom might be a safer bet in this case,
and consider closing the toilet lit when you flush, Folks.

(03:20):
Today's episode was written by Laurie L. Dove and produced
by Tyler Clang. Brain Stuff is production of iHeart Radio's
How Stuff Works. For more on this and lots of
other non disposable topics, visit our home planet, how stuff
Works dot com, and for more podcasts. For my heart Radio,
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