To think you should not put baby wipes down someone else's toilet?

[LiegeAndLief]

This going to be massively identifiable if the culprit is an MNer, but anyway...

We have a downstairs toilet with a macerator on it. I had a friend round with a potty training toddler who had an accident, so she went to the downstairs toilet to clean her up. Later that evening, I discovered that the toilet was backed up and the macerator wasn't working. There was a suspicious looking wipe floating in the toilet.

Dh and I tried to unblock it but had to call in a plumber, who has just left (with a large chunk of cash). There was what looked like half a packet of baby wipes in there. Not even flushable wipes, proper tough Johnson's type baby wipes. Some of them have been pulled through into the motor and it's fucked. Going to have to get a completely new macerator at exorbitant cost.

I'm really cross with myself for not mentioning that you can't put anything but toilet paper into a macerator, but really, would you put a whole load of actual baby wipes down someone else's toilet? Or even your own?! My friend is lovely and has done lots for us and I can't bring myself to mention this to her but I am just so frustrated.

[KB02]

My local river has panty liners stuck to the trees from when the water level has been high. I assume sewage went into the river. A nice sight on a nature walk

[Sparklingbrook]

Oh KB that's horrible.

[diddl]

Is it possible that she thought she could put them in the toilet because of the macerator?

[littlemisssarcastic]

I don't flush anything except poo, wee, vomit and toilet paper. (Not the thick embossed charmin type, but the type that falls to bits if it gets wet.)

I am amazed at the lack of forethought from some people who flush wipes. I can only assume they just flush absentmindedly.

I am astonished that there are even posters on this thread that thought wipes etc could be flushed.

To the poster who said a crossed out toilet symbol on a pack of wipes is still not clear enough, have you considered the crossed out toilet gets the message across to anyone, regardless of whether they can read or not, or whether they can read the languages on the pack. How much clearer does it need to be?

Do some people need the toilet monitor to leap out of the toilet screaming 'bin those wipes, bin those tampons, bin those nappies!!!'

It only takes a few seconds of thought!!

I am only confused as to why water companies aren't spreading the message more fervently, since the message is clearly not getting through for some people.

OP, tell your friend whichever way you feel most comfortable, but for goodness sakes, tell her.

[Gruntfuttock]

WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes "Charmin loo roll (or the other thick re-inforced ones) can block things too."

Yes, I've heard several times that Charmin is known as "the plumber's friend" They get a lot of business due to people using that.

[digerd]

My Simple and Johnson's Baby wipes both say not to be flushed down the toilette. The latter has a diagram of a toilette and a big bold red X on it.
The former has it written in very tiny writing right at the bottom under a flap at the back of the packet.

[HorryIsUpduffed]

My friend at the Environment Agency hates in-sink waste disposal units for a similar reason. Undigested is not the same.

[nemno]

Just looked at Sainsbury's own brand, they have the loo symbol with X over it and words "bag and bin don't flush it" written round it; pretty clear then.

[Xmasbaby11]

I don't know if I'd think it was a big deal to flush baby wipes. Maybe she didn't have a nappy bag and didn't want to put smelly wipes in your bin.

I think you should have made it clear, to be honest. The macerator thing wouldn't have occurred to me and if you're flustered dealing with emergency poo, you're likely to make silly decisions.

[froken]

I had no idea you couldn't flush baby wipes

I have never read the paket

Thank goodness ds is only 9 months so all baby wipes have been rolled up with the nappy and thrown away.

I am glad I read this thread!

Maybe your friend didn't know baby wipes couldn't be flushed?

[SoleSource]

My Mother warned my Sister and I never to throw anything but toilet paper into the toilet when we reached puberty stage because of sewer blockages and the negative impact on the environment.

[ravenAK]

I was that idiot.

Dh spent a lovely Xmas Eve disembowelling the main waste pipe in our first year here.

In my defence, the six months' worth of wipes in the Victorian plumbing were backed up behind a shitty, wadded-up t-shirt. We think that may have been a disgruntled tenant expressing their feelings when the house was sold.

[kali110]

There are some wipes that are designed to be flushed though, but those aren't babywipes

[parakeet]

We have a shared drain (four houses) that passes underneath our drive, accessible by manholes. About once a year we have to call out Thames Water as the drain gets blocked (and raises a stink) - fortunately we don't have to pay.

Last time was a few weeks ago. Thames Water contractor pulled off the manhole cover, looked down and said "Yeah, it's a blockage alright." Foolishly, I walked over to have a gander and we both looked down at the sanitary towel floating on top of the water. Even though it wasn't one of mine (know better) I felt so defensive and guilty...

[candycoatedwaterdrops]

When you said moist toilet paper shouldn't be flushed, well when you wipe wee, is that not moist?!

[avolt]

The macerator thing wouldn't have occurred to me

I think this is the thing - until you have one, you don't know. So you either need to tell people or have an enormous sign.

[Saffyz]

Annoying for you, I agree. But I expect she flushes them at home with no problem, and it hadn't occurred to her. And I'm certain she didn't think to herself "I know, today I'm going to block my host's loo!"

A lot of the packets say the wipes are "flushable" so you'd expect to be able to flush similar things unless asked not to. If you hadn't mentioned this to her, then YABU.

You might have to resort to a small notice in the loo asking for things not to be flushed, unless you want to have this conversation with all your visitors who might put something unflushable down the loo. Make sure you put out some disposal bags and a bin too.

[Mintyy]

No, avolt, the thing is you should not be flushing baby wipes down any loo, macerator or not.

Op shouldn't have to anticipate guests flushing baby wipes down her loo because she would assume that they wouldn't flush them down any loo.

So, the resultant mess has cost her dearly today. But it could well cost any normal loo-owner dearly a few months or years down the line.

That is her point.

[quoteunquote]

Even if they don't block your loo, they cause obstruction in the main, and will block eventually,

especially bad if you have cracked pipes, which a lot of insurance companies have now found a way of not paying for repairs which are very expensive,

never put anything in the loo you haven't digested, that and loo roll, everything else does a lot of damage.

but as a builder, do feel free to create as much work as possible, but I would rather not do drains.

it's partly why now when advising clients on property before they buy, we always do a full drainage survey, because drains are ruined by inappropriate use, fat, nappies, wipes, q-tips, quickly mean that you will have problems,

when you buy the insurance you take out, rarely covers drains in the first three to six months, and people ignore as it such an upheaval, so when you buy make sure drains are covered, as it is always really labour intensive work, which takes time ,all while you have no loo, cost loads, and most builders avoid doing it like the plague, which is why I make my clients do theirs in advance, so we avoid doing it when people further up pipe keep flushing their loos.

You are responsible for your sewer pipe until it joins the main, add lots of inspection hatches (they are now an easy clip together lego like product), if you ever replace this section, you can't have to many, it means all future problems are very easily and cheaply solved.

and ban people who put tissues, dental floss, hair, fat, nappies, tampons, sanitary towels and cardboard from using your facilities, it will save you a fortune, and your save the day when the loos back up.

[HorryIsUpduffed]

When you said moist toilet paper shouldn't be flushed, well when you wipe wee, is that not moist?!

Candy, I am going to quote myself to show you why it makes a difference.

If you leave a sheet of normal toilet paper in a puddle of water for an hour or so it will have turned to mush.

Moist toilet tissue and baby wipes can stay wet for years in the package without disintegrating.

[furfoxsake]

I never realised til this thread that you couldn't flush tampons.

I remember my DM - who refused to ever discuss periods, sex, etc with me - warning me prior to an overnight at my auntie's caravan "the toilet isn't a proper toilet ... And... Er.. You can't flush anything down it except wee, poo and toilet paper". I knew she meant tampons but she wouldn't say it. Sad.

I once stayed in a hotel in Cumbria with my boss. He got a normal room and I got one with a macerator. I was most aggrieved - we had to pay the same rate! How is that fair?! He could flush his paper like a normal person and I had to bin mine. Also the hotel owner had no idea he was my boss when he allocated the rooms, he simply gave the man the better room. Sexist!!

[Saffyz]

Op shouldn't have to anticipate guests flushing baby wipes down her loo because she would assume that they wouldn't flush them down any loo.

But if people are not aware there's a problem, then the OP does need to anticipate this. It's not obvious if you've never been informed.

[Ablababla]

Clearly no one round here knows this! metronews.ca/news/world/758598/fatburg-discovered-in-suburban-london-sewer/

[kali110]

Especially if they had been the ones that say flushable that haven't caused her loo problems, it probably didnt occur yo her that her friends toilet was any different.