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PrincessRWater Asked February 2015

Father-in-law keeps chopping up his poop so as not to clog drain! How do I get him to stop?

Asked to stop several times by different fam members, it won't stop! My husband and I moved in with his father over a year ago. Bill, the father in law, continues this practice irregardless of how many times I remind him of the health dangers! He just turned 94, still drives. But he is very stubborn. I am at my wits end. He takes whatever he uses to chop the poop and puts it in the linen closet, dripping the water all the way! We threw away the saw (yes!) and the spade he was using in the different bathrooms. (there are two) We have a cat and I'm sure it walks through the pathways he makes with the device. I just caught (by listening) him using a knife sharpening device with a wooden handle this morning in the upstairs bathroom. We thought he had quit! I just casually asked him when he exited the bathroom, "So what are you using these days to chop your poop?" He showed me the knife sharpening device that he had put in the linen closet! There are so many diseases! He drinks prune juice every day so I don't see why he has to chop his poop! I am SO worried I am going to contract a disease!

surprise Feb 2015
What about working with this behavior? Buy a toilet brush's cup or combo, about $2 at Walmart, and a kitchen dish brush or Lysol glass wand, each about $3. Pull off the sponge part, leaving an easy to clean plastic end. Fill the cup with some watered down germicide (lysol, pinesol, even bleach water) and put the business end of the wand in the solution. Show your FIL the nifty new product made just for this purpose!

ASusan48 Feb 2015
Well....now that's a new one. I wish I had a good solution for you, but as long as he's living in a house where he can access items to do the job, he's going to find them. Knives, silverware, shoehorns...you name it, he's going to find a way. I suspect he lived at one time with very bad plumbing, and dealt with more than one clogged toilet, so he developed the habit of chopping it so it would go down more easily. It's an unfortunate habit, but I'm not sure how you can get him to stop.

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katiekay Feb 2015
Ew....that reminds me of when my grandmother with dementia lived with my family when we were kids. She flushed and not everything went down..so she scooped it out of the toilet and put in sink and tried to force it down with the hot water on...what a mess! And it srank the whole house up..

I feel for you as well..

anonymous205731 Feb 2015
And to think I was appalled when my mother wouldn't wash her hands after using the bathroom. I feel for you!

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