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

[RowanMumsnet]

Hello

We've been contacted by a major utilities company asking Mumsnet to throw its weight behind a campaign it's running on the marketing of 'flushable' wet wipes and 'moist' toilet tissue.

The organisation that's contacted us says that 80% of all sewer blockages are the result of sewer misuse, and that 70% of these blockages are the result of wet wipes. They want manufacturers to stop being able to label wipes as being 'flushable'.

They are going to write to the Advertising Standards Authority complaining that consumers are being misled by the packaging and claims on many of these products. They say consumers are encouraged to believe that these products break down harmlessly when flushed - whereas in truth, they don't break down after flushing and can end up causing blocks, leaks and flooding.

We know from previous conversations about tampons and sanpro that MNers tend to be stalwart defenders of the public sewage system, so we said we'd ask you whether this was a campaign you'd like us to swing behind.

As ever, it would be great to hear what you think.

Thanks
MNHQ

i saw on tv the other day about these blockages. with wetwipes floating in the sewer. so obviously they are not flushable/bio-degradable.

greybead you should have gone to trading standards, blatantly lies about product should not be tolerated, especially when it affects our health, wellbeing or environment.

Oh blimey. We've been potty training and the 'dispersable' wipes I've been flushing have been fab. Are these a lie too? We have a shared septic tank and if the lies on the packet are about to cost me a fortune I'll be really angry.

So YY - everyone should know!

Love it. Having to bag up your moist Andrex like it's a nappy or a dog poo will obviously hurt sales of totally unnecessary moist paper. I don't much like Andrex, ever since I was small I wondered why they want me to wipe my bum with puppies.

I flushed the Kandoo wipes too- because they say 'flushable'.

playduh

Simple test for you put one in a bowl of water, if it does not break down fairly quickly then no you shouldn't flush it.

I agree that something needs to be done. I was completely ignorant about this and always bought them when my kids were little as they are much better for helping them clean their backsides.
However every plumber that has come over the past 6 years has said categorically NOT to use them as they do not in fact degrade. They also said don't put whole fruit down the loo but DS2 has learned his lesson there...

Definitely.
I'm always surprised how many people don't realise these things shouldn't be flushed!

I support this too. People flushing wipes etc cost us all money in higher utility bills.

I'm always that signs telling people not to flush nappies and sanitary pads are needed at all.

Yes, definitely back this campaign!

I have machine-washed and reused regular babywipes. They do not break down easily and are therefore definitely not flushable.

OTOH I have toilet-cleaning wipes which are marketed as flushable, and when I use them for cleaning surfaces they disintegrate. Not as much as toilet paper would, but it certainly suggests that they are flushable.

Is it that different sewage systems can cope with different degrees of 'flushability'? Does everything have to be considered unflushable, even if some systems could cope with it?

I am 100% behind this campaign.

Hope nobody is eating whilst reading this

This thread reminds me of when I had to clear my mother's drains for her. She used to use toilet wipes, not wet wipes, actual wipes branded as flushable. TMI Alert:

Several years ago she rang me one day saying the toilet (downstairs one as upstairs was broken) had backed up. It would have been years since anyone had looked at the drains as she had lived alone for years.

So I popped round and opened the manhole nearest to the toilet. This was inside the garage, at the top end as the downstairs toilet backed on to the garage.

Now when you open a manhole/drain cover the actual sewer drain itself is a good 30 - 50cm below the cover. The first manhole was full to the brim of compacted shit, you could not see in to the drain at all, just pure poop.

I then lifted the second manhole cover, which is at the top of the driveway, about a metre outside the garage door. This was same as the first drain, full of poop just full to the brim and compacted together, that drain is deeper than the first.

Finally the third manhole cover which is at the bottom of the drive, yes you guessed it, full of poop, very close to the top and packed in solid, this drain is the deepest but was still nearly overflowing. When I say the drains were full, I bascially mean you could see no clay pipe, no brickwork, just shit.

So that was a full driveway plus a full garage lengths worth of built up poop.

And yes I cleared it for her. Wearing a face mask and using an old washing line pole I had to stir and stir it for hours until it started to loosen.

Quite possibly the worst day of my life.

You can add in my support. I'm surprised there hasn't been some sort of campaign before. I assume those 'disposable' toilet duck things must also be a culprit?

Speaking as someone with a stoma and no working arse I have to use wipes (medical and supermarket ones) and it annoys me they are deemed 'flushable'. They are not.

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.

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!

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

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 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.

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.

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.

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.