If you can’t flush them, why are they called “flushable”?
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Toilet paper breaks down primarily because of water. You have probably already noticed that if you soak most paper in water, it falls apart. This is good for toilet paper because there are all sorts of pumps and machines between your house and leaving the treatment facility that can only handle paper that’s already dissolving in the water and fecal matter, which is mostly pretty soft especially after being soaked in water and mashed up by pumps along the way. Toilet paper is designed to be even more flimsy and able to break up and dissolve in water.
You may also notice that wet wipes are…wet. Despite that, they do not fall apart like normal paper. That is bad for your pipes and those pumps because instead of very soft paper goop it’s a fibrous web that likes to shred into longer strings that get tangled in pumps, caught on debris and imperfections in pipes, and accumulate additional gunk that does not dissolve in water. Chief among that gunk is fats and oils. Fats and oils aren’t great for *any* sewer system at any time, but without something to stick to they mostly just flow through and get filtered out. The fibrous, webby mass of a “flushable” wipes gives the fats and oils a great place to stick to, though, which invites more and more to clump together until you get a [fatberg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatberg) which solidifies into a solid mass clogging up the major arteries of the sewer system and breaking pumps that keep the sewage flowing.
They’re called “flushable” because the manufacturers are liars that want your money. It’s that straightforward. You *can* flush them, physically. You are able to put them into your toilet and then flush the toilet and then the flushable wipes will be gone and not your problem anymore, probably – unless you’re on a septic tank, or they get caught inside your home’s plumbing, or they clog the sewer close enough that it backs up into your home. So it’s “””flushable””” in a literal sense, making the manufacturers not *technically* liars in a specifically legally actionable sense of the word. But they are still liars in the “spirit of the law” sense. That’s it.
NOTE: This all also applies to very thick, soft toilet paper. Although it will probably break down better than wet wipes, all that thick 10 ply softness takes long enough to break down that it can clog up pipes and develop into fatbergs as well. A lot of them also include cotton fibers which will not dissolve at all.
Most consumer products, other than prescription drugs (for example), don’t have very strict rules about what the manufacturer is allowed to claim. As long as they can be safely flushed in some circumstances, they’re allowed to be called flushable, even though there are many circumstances in which they can cause damage.
Most people aren’t in a situation where they can tell whether it’s safe on their specific system. And the people who operate sewage treatment plants don’t want to do the experiments to determine whether their entire system can handle the wipes, so they just discourage them.
They are called flushable because they are made of biodegradable material and, technically, will decompose over time.
The issue is, they found a loophole. While they will decompose, it will not be quick enough for it to be useful. So what happens is these wipes are flushed and then before they can decompose waste will build up and then you have clogged pipes.
Really the definition of flushable should contain a requirement for the material to decompose in a timely manner. Unfortunately flushable wipes do not decompose quickly.
You can flush flushable wipes. They’ll flush just fine in most late-model commodes. You “shouldn’t” flush flushable wipes because over time they can cause blockages in your pipes or the outside sewer system.
There are no rules about what you can or cannot say about your commercial wipes, flushable sells more than non.
Why are wipes bad?
Toilet paper breaks down when it gets wet, so it breaks down in your sewer system.
Wipes are designed to be strong when wet, so they don’t breakdown, instead they can clump together and cause blockages and other problems
Marketing deception – flushable is not a “protected” word, and it means nothing. They can pick any definition of flushable they like and use the word because nobody has defined it.
They are not, however, “flushable” by the definition of “things you’re allowed to flush down your toilet, that the sewer company allow, that the sewage system can handle, or that don’t cause problems”.
Basically they can’t use the words that would say they are actually COMPLIANT and would allow you to put them into the sewage system, so they use another word that isn’t protected, knowing full well that they block the sewers.
It’s marketing bullshit to make you buy them and make you think you’re buying “the right thing” compared to their competitors (except now they all do it because their competitors have got away with it for so long that they all copy the term).
Nothing “flushable” is actually something that the sewage companies will want you flushing whatsoever. You’re gonna clog your sewers and end up with a bill.
Technically they’re flushable… most things small enough are. But, just because they can be it doesnt mean they should be
There’s a scene in Deadpool 2 with the country dudes sitting on a tailgate talking about wiping. As the conversation unfolds I see where it’s going; one is gonna recommend using a bidet! NOPE! BIG WIPE must have had a hand in it, as the dude touts the effectiveness of flushable wipes. Talk about a missed opportunity of pop culture proportions.
Everything that should go down the toilet dissolves. When it comes into contact with water (and especially with a little mixing, like during the flushing process) it will break down into smaller pieces. If it doesn’t break down into smaller pieces very well or quickly enough, it could get stuck and plug things up. So-called flushable wipes don’t dissolve very well.
Let’s try an experiment! Let’s put toilet paper and ‘flushable’ wipes in separate glasses of water and see how long it takes each to dissolve!
(My god, people, it’s called explain like I’m FIVE. You make me think that the last five year old you encountered was yourself.)
Because they don’t care if your plumbing clogs or how they affect the environment. As long as they sell their garbage it’s okay. Technically they’re edible too.
Bidet hoses are the best way to go. A 5 second spray of water leaves you a lot cleaner and you don’t need as much tp.
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