MNHQ here: what do you think about manufacturers marketing wipes as 'flushable'?

I'm all for the campaign. I think it's really irresponsible of the manufacturers to advertise them as flushable when they can do so much damage.

I had no idea that wipes are being marketed as flushable when they aren't. This should be an Advertising Standards/trades descriptions act issue not just a publicity campaign.

If all the MNers on this thread wrote a letter of complaint against the manufacturers who sell flushable wipes that actually block drains, would legal action be taken against them? Can someone find out what the best address for such a complaint would be?

Many non-wet-wipe dry brands of "so called" toilet paper actually have a high plastic content and take years to degrade, so they should also be included.

There should be a recognised logo administered by the water and sewage companies, like the freedom foods logo administered by rspca, that grants "flushable" status to products that genuinely do break down after a short time in the sewage system. It should be illegal to market any product as flushable if it doesn't qualify.

And now I have to re-train my son to bin his wipes. This will take ages and if they had been honest in the first place it wouldn't be necessary.

It was the food waste bit that did it for me.

I have images of him trying to wrestle a chicken carcass into the u bend.

If I got a glare for the crime of using toilet wipes there is a good chance your DH will be drowned in the septic tank when your toilet eventually explodes.

What's meant to happen to that 'moist' toilet tissue after being used? A bit of plastic covered in shit, should it go in the bin and wait for weekly emptying? Or maybe it is actually biodegradable, I've never used it.

Yes to campaign for accurate labelling, in BIG LETTERS on the packaging. But thinking through what's meant to happen to shitty results, with eg baby wipes - I guess they go in the bag with disposable nappies, which can then happily ferment away for decades in landfill. Nappy liners, ditto, but I bet millions go into the sewer.

I worry about my shared drain, with upstairs lodgers and nextdoor, none of whom speak fluent English. So not just big letters, but BIG PICTURES with big red crosses, and green ticks to show them going in the bin.

Please.

Sorry - I'm trying to get a notion of the best way to approach the topic for 'hard cases' who don't much care if it doesn't immediately inconvenience them. I'm afraid that he sound a bit like that.

I expect he'd ignore it, sadly. But at least I'd be able to use it to back up my side of the argument

How do you think he might react to a campaign?

Oh me too, Mistress. We have had countless rows about it. I expect we have neighbour's somewhere who hate us. I have no idea where he got the idea it was ok, but he won't stop.

The Toilet Wipe Glare.

Yes definitely, we should get behind this. It cost me £100 to get a plumber to sort out my drain after ds had used the 'flushable' wipes.

Your posts have given me palpitations, Pandas.

The nappy/toiletry companies should be fined! Our adjoining neighbors used flushable wet wipes. We had Thames water out three times to clear a blocked drain which lies below our kitchen. Yuck. They swore blind that the didn't flush wipes or even tampons. The problem disappeared as their children grew up.

I too have a had the 'Toilet Wipe Glare' thrown at me by a professional.

That was after a weekend of pooping in a bucket and playing chambermaid to everyone else in the house. It wasn't nice.

I'm very strict about what enters my toilet now.

And don't get me started on what he does when any of the dc are ill - best part of half a packet of baby wipes down the loo of clearing up vomit. Honestly, I don't know why he thinks it is acceptable, but he really does chuck it all down the loo.

I blocked our pipes with cleaning wipes that were marked flushable. Costly mistake. With hindsight though it was a stupid thing to do whatever the packaging said. I don't think any wipes should be marked as flushable.

Oh, yes please.

Dh (yes, dh!) has a chronic kandoo habit. And he wonders why our drains are so slow

He is also fond of chucking just about any old thing down the loo - cotton buds? Down they go. And dental floss. Food waste if he is clearing out the fridge. The list is endless.

Meanwhile, I've toilet trained 3 children without ever feeling the need to train them into using pointless and expensive toilet wipes for freshness or cleanliness, so I have no idea why he feels the need to use them constantly.

Please, please make this a visible, loud, in your face campaign.

As a consumer I want ease of use and want flushable wipes.

If there is a problem after they've been flushed then the sewer system needs to be overhauled to allow for modern consumer use.

I have to admit I was in my early 30s before I realised that tampons weren't flushable I think the packaging should be much clearer (caveat: it may well be now, but wasn't 40+ years ago when my periods started)

But since then, I've put nothing but toilet paper down the loo. And since watching Giles Coren going down the sewers, both dh and I are very careful to clean/scrape fat off anything into a container before washing it.

Definitely. If people feel it's not got a clear enough link to parenting, just consider how bad for the environment your kids will inherit all these flushed wipes are, because they end up floating around in rivers and on coasts. Dispose of them properly.

I see on the backs of Andrex packaging now they have instructions for arse wiping that includes wet wipes "to feel really clean"

I thoroughly support this utilities company. I live in a house with 200 year old drains and within a week of moving in, the garden pipes backed up splurging dirty wet wipes all over my garden.

People who flush material - because thats what wet wipes are, down the loo should be fined.

I was just coming on to say what a pp already said

"Scottish Water is already running a good similar campaign."

Major issue for me personally as I have contamination ocd so apologies if I'm x posting with anyone as too anxiety inducing to rtft.

Fine the companies that advertise/claim their products are flushable when they clearly aren't! But can I say this ALSO applies to some 3-ply and certainly 'luxury' 4-ply toilet tissue, utterly unnecessary how precious can an arse be?

I still think Aldi owe me for the bill when I had to get my toilet unblocked after using their flushable toddler wipes. Would never flush another one ever again!

wannabe if it was only people who genuinely needed to use "flushable" wipes, I imagine there wouldn't be a problem, or at least the issue would be tolerable.

I never, ever flushed baby wipes when ds was little, but kind of bought into the idea of moist wipes, despite suspecting that I was being had.

I'd totally support MN backing a campaign.