What Happens If You Pour Gelatin Down The Toilet?

When you're left with a lot of excess gelatin, the thought of a goop-filled trash bag might make you consider pouring it down a drain or even flushing it down the toilet. However, as efficient as it might sound, flushing gelatin in either its powdered or full jelly-like form is not recommended. And while there are some malicious people out there who think filling a toilet with Jell-O is a good idea for a prank, the results can be disastrously expensive. This household ingredient may be able to give you a green thumb in the garden, but pouring it down the toilet can cause some serious clogs.

Gelatin is used as a thickening agent in the kitchen, which means it turns liquids like water into a more viscous, semifluid state. With that in mind, it doesn't take much imagination to parse out why gelatin and toilets are a bad combination. After gelatin powder or culinary gelatin sheets have sat in the toilet bowl for a few minutes, the water will start to gel up. Flushing the gelatinous water may put a lot of strain on your plumbing, and you may have to reach for a different kitchen ingredient to unclog your toilet in a pinch.

You should avoid disposing of gelatin down more plumbing fixtures than just toilets. Pouring the protein down a sink or shower drain may also lead to issues, since the substance can continue to expand in the pipes and cause more blockages down the road. To prevent any plumbing mishaps, avoid putting any products containing gelatin — like gummy candies, marshmallows, and medicinal gel capsules — into any drainage holes. If your fixture still experiences a lot of clogs even after you've kicked your habit, it's probably a sign that your bathroom needs a professional plumber.

It's completely safe to throw gelatin products in the trash. Just be aware that handling slippery, wobbly, finished gelatin can be tricky, and there is a risk of it leaking out of the garbage bag. Of course, there are ways around these problems. If you frequently work with gelatin or other viscous liquids that aren't drain-safe like cooking oil, transfer any excess so something like an empty milk jug or water bottle. It's a quick way to reuse something already bound for the landfill and makes it easy to dispose of gelatin properly.