Wet Wipes - New York Epidemic

[Black Octagon]

I've always assumed that was marketing bullshit. If they were flushable, how would they stay wet in the package without disintegrating as soon as you used them? They have to be pretty fibrous to be of any more use than toilet paper, so how could they be flushable?

They're flushable under certain circumstances. Unlike regular TP, they need both water and velocity to disintegrate. They're not made of paper but rather certain types of short fibre nonwovens.

Source: I used to work for that industry as a service provider.

Anecdote: despite seeing them pass the flushable test under controlled conditions, I wouldn't actually flush them in my own bathroom. If I absolutely HAD to, I'd flush just a single one at a time.

Btw: while these things are indeed a problem, you should see some of the other crap people flush. Tampons. Baby diapers (!!). Electronics. BATH TOWELS. Seriously, it's enough to turn you off living in a condo for life.

 

[Mike64]

Switch to lizards. They wipe clean.

Better yet, switch to dogs or cats. They can wipe themselves clean.

 

[mikeford]

Mexico used to at least not flush toilet paper, hence signs in many US public restrooms saying flush it.

Unless it immediately stopped up my drain, anything with poop on it gets flushed.

 

[Bulk Beef]

“A golf ball is flushable, but it’s not a good idea.”

I'd just like to add that while it seems like a good idea, wiping your ass with a golf ball just does not work. At all.

 

[Jeff7]

I'd just like to add that while it seems like a good idea, wiping your ass with a golf ball just does not work. At all.

But what about all those little dimples? Why else would they be there?

 

[Mark R]

Well they do make macerating toilets. I wonder how they would handle these wipes.

They don't. Guaranteed to clog up the macerator.
Even the extra-thick TP can clog them up.

Only useful where a normal soil pipe is impossible, or where the toilet is installed below the level of the nearest drain and the waste requires pumping to a higher level.

 

[RelaxTheMind]

I had to miss work one day to come home to a yard that was saturated in sewage. city came out and pulled out a wad of those flushable wipes. Luckily it was on the city side and they just cleaned it up. needless to say we dont use them anymore.

 

[Blanky]

Btw: while these things are indeed a problem, you should see some of the other crap people flush. Tampons. Baby diapers (!!). Electronics. BATH TOWELS. Seriously, it's enough to turn you off living in a condo for life.

People are stupid.

 

[Black Octagon]

Except people who post on AT. They're underappreciated geniuses

 

[rh71]

Yeah, my last tenants had those in the bathroom. I kindly told them to not flush those things. Seriously, too many tissues can clog sewer lines, what made the company think those wipes would be flushable.

It seems by themself it would be flushable if that was the only solid going through.

Often, the wipes combine with other materials, like congealed grease, to create a sort of superknot.

 

[Ichinisan]

Tampons, dental floss, cigarette butts, cotton swabs, and wet wipes...my stubborn sister flushes all those things. She has no idea the inconvenience (MASSIVE understatement) it will cause. Anyone who has had to deal with the resulting disaster will tell you: ONLY flush human waste and toilet paper.

 

[Ichinisan]

I call BS, there are cheap enzymes that eat cellulose. All of our bathrooms have a box of WW with 1/3 cup of Witch Hazel added.

Youre one of THOSE people.

1. Don't wipe your ass with them.
The right kind of toilet paper is better anyway.

2. Don't flush them.

 

[Ichinisan]

Mexico used to at least not flush toilet paper, hence signs in many US public restrooms saying flush it.

Unless it immediately stopped up my drain, anything with poop on it gets flushed.

The problem is that, in Mexico, most TP sold is not the "septic-safe" variety that's ubiquitous here in the states. Mexicans come stateside and continue to avoid flushing the TP -- just as they did back home in Mexico.

 

[phucheneh]

So what about our poops themselves? How do we even know that they are 'flushable?'

I have some dense poops sometimes, man. It's pretty much like flushing a chunk of old fence post. Sure, some bits come off of the outside and make it seem like the whole thing could crumble, but the truth is that the core is SOLID.

I wonder what my oldest turd is that's still in existence...

 

[chubbyfatazn]

I wonder what my oldest turd is that's still in existence...

It's yourself.

 

[phucheneh]

Ooh iceburn.

 

[preslove]

I've lived about 35 miles north of Mexico for the last 5 years and haven't ever seen a sign saying to flush the tp...

 

[Jeff7]

So what about our poops themselves? How do we even know that they are 'flushable?'

I have some dense poops sometimes, man. It's pretty much like flushing a chunk of old fence post. Sure, some bits come off of the outside and make it seem like the whole thing could crumble, but the truth is that the core is SOLID.

I wonder what my oldest turd is that's still in existence...

Unless you have an extremely unusual diet, I'm going to say that they won't remain solid once submerged for a short while. One of the jobs of the lower intestine is to attempt, sometimes unsuccessfully, to extract water from everything that's passing by.

 

[teong]

I cant imagine how nasty the water must be really be around the New York City area, or any large city for that matter.

 

[Ken g6]

High-profile wipes champions have included the television host Dr. Mehmet Oz; he has since reversed course after conferring with wastewater experts. In a segment outlining his change of heart, he advised viewers to return to regular toilet paper, manually moistened if possible.

At which point they very promptly disintegrate.

Try hand lotion. It "moistens" without actually using (pure) water, so it doesn't make the TP disintegrate so much.

 

[ScoobMaster]

I am sure any owner of an RV or travel trailer will tell you if it isn't human waste or thin ply TP it doesn't go down the toilet. I learned the hard way after I upgraded from a popup camper (no bathroom) to a self-contained travel trailer two years ago. I had never had experience with the black (sewage) holding tanks before, so we thought nothing of dropping lowly tissues "down the hatch". Let me tell you - I am SOOOO glad my camper came equipped with a "power flush" option inside the black tank. It allows you to hook up a hose to a port on the side of the camper that power washes the inside of the black tank to help clean it. Luckily this dislodged the clumped clog of what I found out later were tissues. (Tip to new travel trailer owners - get a clear 45 degree elbow too hook on the sewer outlet before your drain hose so you can see what is coming out and know when the water is running clear).

Long story shortened - I have learned that only TP is to go into the tank. And I always test new brands by putting a few squares into a jar of water, closing the lid and shaking. If the TP breaks apart into tiny bits with some gentle shaking - it is safe to use. You would be surprised how resilient even tissues are. I shook my test jar like mad and could not get a tissue to fall apart in the slightest.

 

[DCal430]

Eh, I use the cottonelle wet wipes and I flush them. No problem so far.

 

[Ichinisan]

I am sure any owner of an RV or travel trailer will tell you if it isn't human waste or thin ply TP it doesn't go down the toilet. I learned the hard way after I upgraded from a popup camper (no bathroom) to a self-contained travel trailer two years ago. I had never had experience with the black (sewage) holding tanks before, so we thought nothing of dropping lowly tissues "down the hatch". Let me tell you - I am SOOOO glad my camper came equipped with a "power flush" option inside the black tank. It allows you to hook up a hose to a port on the side of the camper that power washes the inside of the black tank to help clean it. Luckily this dislodged the clumped clog of what I found out later were tissues. (Tip to new travel trailer owners - get a clear 45 degree elbow too hook on the sewer outlet before your drain hose so you can see what is coming out and know when the water is running clear).

Long story shortened - I have learned that only TP is to go into the tank. And I always test new brands by putting a few squares into a jar of water, closing the lid and shaking. If the TP breaks apart into tiny bits with some gentle shaking - it is safe to use. You would be surprised how resilient even tissues are. I shook my test jar like mad and could not get a tissue to fall apart in the slightest.

By "tissue," do you mean something like a Kleenex tissue?

I've been taught since I was a kid in the '80s that those are as bad as paper towels. Don't flush *anything* except "septic safe" TP and human waste. Period.

 

[Mixolydian]

Diapers ftw.

 

[phucheneh]

So I just read the full article from the OP, and I feel I should point something out:

This writer is like the Hemingway of clogged shitters. Seriously. In a world of barely-literate journalism, this guy is not just grammatically correct (which is itself a feat); he's a goddamned literary virtuoso. Kudos to you, poop-story-guy.