Flushable Wipes Face FTC Scrutiny After Costing Millions in Damages

Flushable wipes are responsible for millions of dollars in damage to sewer and plumbing systems in the United States each year, according to recent reports.

In the past five years, New York City alone has estimated $18 million in costs related to unclogging pipes and repairing the damage left from flushable moist wipes.

This has prompted the Federal Trade Commission to take action some hope may wipe out the flushable toilet wipes industry.   

In a recent agreement between the FTC and Nice-Pak, the manufacturer of store-brand flushable wipes for Target, CVS, Costco and others, the company agreed to no longer advertise that the disposable wipes are flushable without evidence that they will break down in a short amount of time after flushing.

The FTC claims that this action will help consumers from spending significant amounts of money to fix clogged toilets and other damage caused by flushable wipes that aren’t actually flushable.

However according to a Nice-Pak source, the FTC agreement only covers a discontinued product and they have already tested and proven that their current flushable bathroom wipes are safe to flush.

Flushable Wipe Study

Despite manufacturer claims that moist wipes break down easily in plumbing systems, a New Jersey sewer director conducted a flushable wipe study to determine how long certain brands of flushable wipes take to dissolve.

According to the study, Cottonelle flushable wipes manufactured by Kimberly-Clark Corporation dissolved within 20 minutes while Costco brand flushable wipes and Charmin Freshmates took longer than three hours.

However, a spokesperson for Proctor & Gamble questions the methodology used for the study alleging that Charmin Freshmates exceed standards for flush-ability.

A Kimberly Clark representative stated that they have done thorough testing on their flushable wipes in real sewers, and their product exceeds standards for flush-ability as well.

Are Flushable Wipes Actually Flushable?

Flushable wipes create $6 billion in U.S. revenue each year but consumers want to know if they are to blame for an increase in toilet problems including clogged pipes and backed up septic tanks.

According to a 2013 Consumer Reports study, researchers took four different brands of flushable wipes and placed them individually in stand mixers to break them down.

The flushable wipe study found that it took nearly 10 minutes of constant mixing to get the wipes into small enough pieces to be considered septic safe. Experts claim there is not enough vigorous churning within a toilet that would allow for the proper breakdown of flushable wipes.

These studies have led to a flushable wipe class action lawsuit investigation as customers claim that they would not have purchased the so-call “flushable” wipes had they known it could create plumbing problems.

Flushable Wipe Lawsuits

There is a putative flushable wipe class action lawsuit pending on behalf of 100 potential class members who claim their plumbing was damaged by flushable wipes.

In addition to the federal class action lawsuit, two states have filed a municipal lawsuit against flushable wipe manufacturers alleging the moist wipes caused damage to their sewer systems.

Flushable wipe lawsuits seek to reimburse plaintiffs for repair bills as well as the cost of the moist toilet tissue products.

Join a Flushable Wipes Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you purchased one of the following flushable wet wipes, you may qualify to join a free class action lawsuit investigation:

• Babyganics® flushable wipes
• Charmin Freshmates
• CVS flushable wipes
• Equate® flushable wipes by Wal-Mart
• Kandoo® flushable wipes by Pampers
• up & up® flushable wipes by Target
• Walgreens flushable wipes
• Other flushable wipe products

Join Now