Toilet Troubles

Our downstairs toilet got plugged a week or so ago... It was draining, but very slowly, and even after buying a plunger and trying that... it was still clogger. So, I called the plumber who came over and used a rod with a coiled clog-buster on the end of it, and rammed it down through the toilet guts... Nothing... Still clogger. So, then he pulled the toilet and got a longer cable/coil with a hand-drill to twist it and drive it through the pipes... After a while, he pulled it out along with several very old and very icky looking... tampons. Yep... feminine hygience products. He tells me that these are the most common things he pulls out of clogged pipes... tampson. But they're flushable I sqawk! Or at least, so the packages say! Nope, he says... one of the worst things to put down your toilet... along with dental floss... and kitty litter. Dental floss, I can see, would form a nice little web down the pipes if it were to get hooked on things, plus it does NOT decay. Kitty litter with clay would eventually clog things too... And tampons, well, they don't decompose either and they've got string and they get really big when they're all full of water/liquid. So... how is it that tampon companies say that they are flushable... and plumbing companies say they are not??? Who are we to believe! Well... who knows pipes best? Tampax or plumbers?? OB or plumbers? Kotex or plumbers? Yeah... plumbers win out every time... And as for those flushable panty-liners/pads... etc... don't!!! Maybe if you life in a huge office building with 7 inch pipes... but not in a house/condo with 3 or 4 inch pipes... Don't even think about it... Not unless you want a $300 plumbing bill every year or so... A high cost for a bit of convenience and lack of ickiness... But get this... how icky is it to see a male plumber pulling old tampons out of your pipes??? Your choice!