Are Wipes REALLY Flushable? Let's Test It Out!

Wipes! To flush or not to flush? Well the label doesn't always give the full story. Let's break it down. Hey Dirt Farmer Jay here from DirtFarmerJay.com. Well wipes have become a very popular product and they've exploded in application. So like for instance this is an industrial wipe that's used in the shop, in mechanic work and that sort of thing. And they're also in janitorial, all sorts of industries. We're not going to focus on this today. We're going to look at what is commonly found many times in the home as far as personal care. Now I want you to notice right off the labeling on this particular diaper wiper for cleaning the baby right there. There is both an icon and the wording do not flush. And while it's got all sorts of you know branding and all that sort of thing, still it says you can't flush this. And we'll tell you why in a moment. While you look over here, this says this brand Dude Wipes and there's others like it as well that say they're flushable wipes. But I want you to notice that little asterisk right there because there's a bunch of conditions tied to this being a flushable wipe. Now let's look back real quickly. When something says do not flush, why does it say that? Well that's because it's constructed in such a way using materials that will not break down in a septic tank or in a sewage system, a water treatment plant. And those are non-woven plastics. That's what gives the cloth tear resistance, durability, where you can clean without punching through and having a scientific breakthrough, all of that. This does great for the work but it does not dispose well. It then has to be thrown into the solid waste stream, taken to a landfill and so forth. Sure it'll flush down the toilet but it will not break down in the water treatment further on. Now let's counter that with something like this that claims to be flushable. But then it lists all sorts of conditions that are tied to that claim of flushability. And while you may not be able to read all that, it's going to say such things as, and let me just read a few to you. One, only one one wipe. That's it. Secondly, there's such things as you have to obey local rules. You can't use something that's a macerator or for marine use. It can't be done that way. It can't be put in any drain that you're unsure will drain correctly or may clog. It's almost like one of the pharmaceutical ads that you watch and then it lists all of these outcomes of what could go wrong if you use this thing that can heal you. Well here's all these offsets that are listed and it's a pretty robust list. And it's not just Dude Brands, it's the same as others that use the same claim of flushability. I want you to notice this messaging right here where it says plant source fibers. Now that can be reassuring thinking it'll naturally break down until you think of other plant source fibers. Things like cotton shirts are made from cotton, cardboard from paper, blue jeans that are all made from plant fibers. But you certainly wouldn't flush them down the toilet because they're not going to break down easily. It's interesting to note that there is no federal mandate or ruling that says what is flushable or not. So who says it's flushable? Well it comes from either the manufacturing trade groups that say under certain circumstances, many of which we listed in the back of the package there, that whether or not it's flushable or not. Just because it goes down when you flush doesn't mean it's truly flushable. It's what happens afterwards. So the trade groups and coming up with that. Then there's another whole area that mentions flushability and those are agencies or wastewater management trade groups, operators of wastewater and sewer public works that look and say whether or not the products break down right away. Well we're just going to do a real quick water test on four common products and let's just see if they break down real easily. You can make your own decision on whether you think they're truly flushable or not. We're ready for our test. In jar number one we're simply going to put regular bathroom tissue, toilet paper. Jar number two is a paper towel. Number three is the dude wipe or the flushable wipe as it's advertised. And then over here the non-flushable wipe, a baby wipe. We're going to add water to these and then we're going to shake them to see how fast it breaks down. All right let's get water added. Okay we now have the lids on and some of this will be fairly predictable because you know the practical results that when you take toilet paper and you wet it, it pretty much falls apart. And it's designed to do that because of the short fibers. Let's go ahead and shake it and as you can see I'm essentially getting a pulp of just falling apart materials right there. Now let's move to a paper towel and see what happens. It's still intact so you wouldn't flush a paper towel. You may get it to go down but it's going to stay together even it goes down the pipe. Not so good. Now let's look at the flushable wipe right here made with plant fibers. Okay starting to break up but still largely intact even after violent agitation. So you can see it's still clingy, still partially put together. Now let's move to the last one. The one that says do not flush and has plastic fibers, non-woven fibers that hold it together. We're going to shake that pretty hard. It's still all together. It hasn't broken down a bit therefore you can see the difference between the four. All right let's take another look at this more closely. So we already see that the paper towel is still holding together and same with the diaper wipe, the non-flushable. So we're going to set those aside and what I'm going to do now is compare the flushable wipe with toilet paper and let's see what the consistency is. So if you look in here, I'll just take this and put it in there, you're not going to get anything solid. It's designed to fall apart immediately. Anybody who's tried to use toilet paper to clean a mirror or whatever knows exactly what we're talking about. It falls apart immediately. Okay now let's compare the flushable wipe which you saw that I agitated. Let's look. You see it's quite a bit more clumpy even after some significant agitation. So and it is these clumps that my friends in the septic tank business, the wastewater plant managers that I've read and interviewed all indicate this causes a significant problem. The person that's a septic tank person says never use wipes because they don't break down fast enough and they can actually clog the laterals, the inlet, the outlet. The next thing you know you're pumping out your septic tank. Flushable? Well you make the decision. Well there you have all the information you need to make the decision about what you're going to use and what you're not but for me and my house we're always going to stick to the three P's. P, poo, and toilet paper. That's going to work every time. No problems. Now that we've got that stinky business out of the way something else that may stink in your household is your dishwasher. Well check out this video where we tell you exactly how to get it clean, how to service it very easily, and return it to like new condition. Hey until the next time this is Dirt Farmer Jay from DirtFarmerJay.com and I'm flushing this episode.