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

Agree with Candycoco, yes some countries need to have shitty bins in the toilet, some countries also wee in a hole in the ground, we shouldn't have a need for bins of poo in our toilets!

And I can absolutely guarantee you - if you think your bum is clean after wiping with paper, get a wipe afterwards and see what happens - sorry to be blunt but you will be amazed and a little bit repulsed

Ouch.

Bum showers
The main problem with these is that they are difficult to install in a way that makes them compliant with UK water regulations. (The danger is that non-compliant installs may lead to contamination of the mains water supply. )

The system isn't designed to have all those solids.

Waste disposal is ok for bits that get stuck in the washing up water, but not for scraping plates into.

Fish, thanks for the link. That is the perfect solution to avoid using wipes, especially when out. I couldn't wait for your report (although I will be interested in it) and have also ordered some gel.

I never flush wipes and haven't RTFT but someone up thread said people shouldn't use waste disposals for their leftover food. Is that right? I use mine all the time. What are the reasons I shouldn't have one? Genuine question.

MarriedinMaui

They had those Bum Guns in the middle east where I worked, I tried it once and got wet boxers, and then your bums wet, so you go to dry it and gets bits of toilet paper stuck, its too much first world problemy.

So just stuck with paper lol.

Just as a wee point of clarification: not all the water companies in the UK have been privatised. Not the ones in Scotland.

In Glasgow they are putting in a major upgrade to the sewer infrastructure (scarily large pipes) - but that doesn't help/change the size of domestic infrastructure. We still need to take individual responsibility for what we put (or rather don't put) down the loo (and kitchen sink).

Yes, you are going to have a bin next to your toilet for wipes. You can cope. Much of the world does.

Toilet paper is generally enough, but if it isn't, use a bin.

The peerless Kitty Flanagan has something to say about this:

Argh sorry! Not THAT urgent

Nicecleanbum

You need to get bum showers installed pronto.

Nicecleanbum

You need to get bum showers installed pronto.

Nicecleanbum

You need to get bum showers installed pronto.

Fish watching (not literally! ) with interest.

Bin not bit

Too gross to put your shitty wipes in the bin but backed up toilets and drains overflowing with your shit is ok?

That's an interesting view point.

Get a bit with a lid ffs.

I suppose with baby wipes, you wrap them in the nappy, which you seal with the tabs, and then maybe put it in a nappy sack.

Why would it be gross to put adult wipes in the bin but not baby wipes?

Really support this campaign.

I just tried to find this Freshu stuff online but everywhere selling it is out of stock so I think the business may have gone bust.

I've found Angel Toilet Paper Gel instead and have ordered some to try. I shall report back for the benefit of nicecleanbum and others on whether it gets the job done.

I was going to suggest similar to jassy for nicecleanbum (although I do think you are being too fastidious)
I was just going to suggest an initial good wipe with dry loo paper then dampen a folded wodge with water for a final wipe - or you could use a washable cloth for the final wipe - it wouldn't be really gross after a paper wipe - actually the same is true for wipes in the bin.

I sympathise with you nicecleanbum and I like the clean feeling a wipe gives occasionally depends on the precise consistency of the poo in question whether I feel I need one sorry for TMI but a massive upgrade of the sewer system to deal with non-degraded solids isn't remotely realistic. Better to put pressure on the wipes manufacturers to create a wipe which is genuinely quickly degradable. The sewage companies have a definition SNAP for true flushability which the manufacturers don't accept and don't work to. Consumer power demanding wipes that conform to SNAP would be much more likely to succeed than government investing billions in taxes so that our bums can be sparkly fresh.

Clean, Thames Water suggests an alternative:

It has teamed up with Gloucestershire-based company Freshu, whose antibacterial gel can be squirted into ordinary loo paper to make it feel just like a wet wipe - but with none of the sewer-blocking dangers

They will flush but they don't break up like toilet tissue. I work for a drainage and plumbing company and we see problems like this every day. If you're interested, here is an article about this very issue.

People already flush stuff that they shouldn't (nappies and tampons for example) so it would really help if companies were clearer about what those toilet wipes actually do. The word flushable makes consumers believe that there will be no problem when in fact they can cause pretty major problems.

I already back this campaign in a professional capacity, but I would be quite happy with MN getting involved, too.