How well known is that flushable wipes are clogging the sewers?

I thought I had “baby products” in topics box in there, I must have touched something by accident.

I’ve heard this before. I don’t want to give them up, though. And putting them in the garbage is just…no.

I do know there are some “natural” ones made of plant material and such. Don’t know if those would be any better.

The complaint is from an environmental lobbying group. They have an axe to grind.

I’m more likely to believe this if it is published by some non-lobbying group and didn’t have a monetary incentive to publishing it.

@elbanditoroso There’s plenty of articles on this issue from “non-lobbying” groups like Washington Post

Consumer Reports gave up after ten minutes. Testers even ran them for ten minutes in a mixer, the wipes still didn’t break apart.

Flushable wipes will break down, but not at the same rate as toilet paper. I guess if you used them a lot you could possibly clog a line, but typically that means there’s something else wrong with the line. Wastewater plant operators don’t like the flushable wipes. They get screened out on the head works of the plant but then someone (the operator) has to clean the head works more often. If you have a septic tank, the flushable wipes can cause you problems. They will sit in the tank for a relatively long time before they break down. That can lead to your septic tank needing to be pumped more often.

In London, it’s called a “Fatberg.” NY Times article from 2017 on this topic:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/13/world/europe/uk-london-fatberg.html?searchResultPosition=2

Great answers, most.

Well they’re going to clog up your toilet first.

I’ve heard this too, oddly the news for it always seems to come from Canada. I do like them better than regular toilet paper, but try to use to many. Just have to be careful with them.