City Officials Ask Citizens to Stop Flushing ‘Flushable Wipes’

As the complaints against ‘flushable wipes’ continues to pile on, a number of cities are working to ban them completely due to sewer damage.

In one recent example, Evansville, Wisconsin sewage workers are requesting civilians to stop buying these disposable wipes because they allegedly do not dissolve very easily and end up clogging the sewer system.

The Evansville Public Works Department have started a “No Wipes Down the Pipes” campaign, in order to keep moist disposable wipes from entering their sewer system.

Are Flushable Wipes, Flushable?

The reported problem stems from the fact that advertisements of these towelettes states “flushable wipes,” causing consumers to believe that they are safe to flush down the toilet. However, sewer workers claim that this is not the case as it takes much more churning power to actually shed the fibers.

Flushable wipes are also advertised to be a cleaner and gentler alternative to toilet paper and garner their popularity by stating they are flushable and septic safe; this has not been the case according to consumers and city officials.

Michigan State Extension explains the contradiction of the advertisement verses real life, stating that flushable wipes manufacturers are not conducting proper disintegration tests for these products. These simulations are supposed to mimic the mechanisms in real sewer systems.

According to a 2013 Consumer Reports analysis, experts found that flushable wipes took at least ten minutes to break down in the mixer and flushing toilets do not adequately break them down.

Flushable Wipes Sewage Complications

Employees of the Evansville Public Works Department state that these wipes should not be flushed, regardless of what the product’s label states. Sewer employees further claim that anything that is not human waste or toilet paper should never be flushed because the sewage system is not designed to handle it.

Sewer workers explain that once the flushable wipes enter the pipes, they become stuck to sensors, hung up on screens, and cause massive clogs. This is because the flushable wipes often attach themselves to each other, forming a long rope, which often has to be removed by hand; the Evansville sewage workers call this process, ragging.

The Michigan State Extension explained the term as when these flushable wipes, paper towels, sanitary pads, dental floss, and other items become tangled together in the sewer pipes.

‘No Wipes Down the Pipes’

Evansville is leading the “No Wipes Down the Pipes” campaign after hearing what the Marshfield Wastewater Utility went through.  At one of the pump stations, sewer employees were forced to pull out about 20 lbs flushable wipe clumps at least twice a day.

In 2013, Marshfield had to spend $550,000 to replace equipment and upgrade the pumps at one of its stations. This year, the city will have to spend another $1.45 million to update other lift stations.

Marshfield sewer workers state that this money could have been spent on other major pressing issues in the city, but instead the funding goes to an avoidable problem. Additionally, flushable wipe consumers also suffer as the moist towelettes clog up toilets and street sewage lines.

Wet wipes are very popular alternative to toliet paper within the U.S. as the industry earns approximately $6 billion a year, with sales increasing by 5% to 6% a year since 2007 and flushable wipes take up the majority of this industry.

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