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

I back this completely. In the past i had the misfortune of my garden being flooded with raw sewage, turns out it was loads of wet wipes, tampons, nappies and a tea towel causing the blockage

I'd buy that understanding, Jeopardy. It's usually wrong as you implied, of course.

Calling something flushable implies it's safe to flush into the sewer system. Agree the term should not be used.

Well what would the word 'flushable' mean to most people? I'd guess 'you can use this with impunity' wouldn't be too far from the reality.

I doubt that that's the legal definition though.

Good idea.

We had a sewage pipe blockage which was caused pretty much entirely by 'flushable' (Andrex) wipes (at the time one toilet training 3 year old and a 5 year old with a fear of bottom wiping and an over enthusiastic use of the flushable wipes. TMI but the plumber had to lift our outside sewer access and physically remove a plug of the stuff with assorted sewage attached. I have photo evidence if you like but it's too mortifying as there is a clear perfect poo in the foreground. We literally had no idea that these didn't flush and dissolve like normal toilet paper, and we now have bins next to each loo for this purpose. But WTF to call them flushable if they don't break down properly? That's like saying nappies are flushable if you can get them through the u-bend. Good luck mumsnet, good cause.

People trust labels.

Their head may tell them they shouldn't but the hand is reaching out to it nonetheless. (And manufacturers will take full advantage of every chink to sell their product.)

Yes, absolutely think it's worth backing the campaign. There's a huge amount of ignorance around the issue, as evidenced by threads on here.

A family friend fell foul of the Kandoo flushable toddler wipes. Cost them a fortune to get it sorted. They shouldn't be labelled as flushable. Back the campaign please Mn.

correctly functioning toilets in the UK will accept the following without risk of blockage, whether connected to a septic tank or a drain.

1. body waste
2. small quantities of toilet paper.

that's it. Nothing else.

Yes, wipes do need to go in a covered bin. Same as the rest of the world does it with toilet paper (where used).

God yes. It seems like every week there's a thread saying 'AIBU to not know you aren't supposed to flush wipes/tampons?!'

Followed by 'what?!?! I've been flushing my tampons for centuries, it's what they're made for!'

It really does boggle the mind that people still don't know.

Perhaps Roald Dahl gave people the wrong ideas about flushability:

At once, one of the ugly sisters
(the one whose face was blotched with blisters)
sneaked up and grabbed the dainty shoe
and quickly flushed it down the loo.

(And used the word "slut" for good measure.)

I agree with this campaign 1000%

[channels Robert Downey Jr in Soapdish]
[channels being very old and using cultural references nobody else has ever heard of]

Companies aren't allowed to label their cardboard packets as 'edible' even though you can in theory eat them. At least, are they? anyway, after a few people had to have bowel operations becuse they were bunged up with cardboard, there would be a bit of an outcry. Just because in theory you can force a wipe down your own toilet with 10 gallons of drinking quality water doesn't mean you should.

I agree with the campaign, the drains/sewers in our street have been blocked twice now due to someone putting baby wipes down the toilet.
The first time (in heavy rain), literally forced the manhole cover off and all sorts came bubbling out.
The water company said it was a mix of wipes and fat that caused it.

The country couldn't afford it in short order, Jassy

Well, quite.!

Yuk to "moist" pipe clogging toilet tissue. Let's start up a mumsnet campaign for the introduction of bum showers in every bathroom. I'm serious!!

Donkeys flushing nappies though!

Used to work for a Housing Association - these things were the bane of my working life......and then my personal life when the next door neighbour didn't realise that they weren't flushable despite the claims......gggrrr

The country couldn't afford it in short order, Jassy. With some careful husbandry, we can maybe limp along with piecemeal replacement for the next few years. Wipes are not careful husbandry.

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

And how much are you, as the consumer, willing to pay on your water bills for this? even if it were possible to build a sewerage system that can't be blocked by non-dissolving waste?

I'm not sure upgrading the sewer network would actually achieve much anyway. We had one of the fatbergs near here. Bloody massive.

Thankfully he isn't (yet?) that bad, Mistress (although quite bad enough!), so no chicken carcasses or any whole foods.

He will happily empty the remainder of a pot of soup, or leftover spag Bol, though, and thinks nothing of emptying fats/oils either.

It drives me mad.

The same would likely apply to 'biodegradable' - ie over how long and in what circumstances?

I'm very pleased you're doing this, MNHQ. I'm no longer a nappy changer but I have other reasons for using wipes, and it infuriates me that I've had to find other solutions since realising how damaging they are to the sewers. The manufacturers have to take this issue on and sort it out.

I suspect there are issues of definition with them ie you can flush them - so what does 'flushable' actually mean to someone in the street as opposed to 'in law'.

Didn't rtft, but would definitely support. Is this not a legal issue, though? They shouldn't be able to say flushable when they clearly aren't.