To answer that question correctly, let’s look at how those potentially flushable wipes are made.

The core of a flushable wipe is made of pulp, which can be treated in a variety of ways to strengthen it, such as using specific polymers as binders or by creating webs of additional fibres for support. Contrary to common assumption flushable wet wipes are not environmentally friendly.
Manufacturers don’t consider any environmental impact when labeling the wipes. Wipes that are labeled as “flushable” sometimes contain compounds that encourage them to break down into smaller pieces once flushed, but this is not the same as biodegradation.

Many people prefer wet wipes over toilet paper. Flushable wipes are sturdier than toilet paper. The moisture helps the cleaning process by more effectively removing anything unwanted, giving you a fresher toilet experience. However, if you care about the environment, you might consider just sprinkling some water on your regular toilet paper and using that instead.

Toilet paper is designed to disintegrate in our pipes and sewage systems, but wipes are definitely not. So even if they flush down your toilet, they end up clogging our sewers. This poses hazardous risks to sewage professionals that must break these clogs up as well as considerable costs that your insurance may not cover if it’s clear that the clog was caused by wet wipes.

If you’d like us to come out for an inspection to see if there are any wipes that may potentially cause a problem, please give us a call:

Give us a call at 508-775-6670

or email cmurphy@plumberscapecod.com