The Risks of Flushable Wipes

Flushable wipes come in a huge array of options. Countless brands offer varieties for both adults and children, and they are extremely popular. Though flushable wipes are increasingly common, they aren’t everything they claim to be. While packaging will assure you that flushable wipes won’t cause clogged pipes, flushable wipes are actually one of plumbing’s worst enemies.

Get Drain Jetting Services

Whether you live in London, New York, or Colorado Springs, CO, you don’t want to deal with what flushable wipes do to plumbing. Even the smallest plumbing issue can be a nightmare for any homeowner. If you get into trouble with flushable wipes, be sure to call a reliable plumber for assistance.

Many wet wipes are specifically branded as being “septic safe” or “flushable.” On some level, homeowners can’t be blamed for assuming that flushable wipes wouldn’t clog their pipes! While flushable wipes do eventually break down, they don’t disintegrate nearly as quickly as toilet paper, which is made to dissipate as quickly as possible. Flushable wipes can cause a lot of damage through clogs and blockages before they are able to fully break down.

Since the breakdown of wet wipes occurs so much more slowly than toilet paper, clogged pipes and blockages occur much more frequently. You definitely don’t want to have to pay for serious clogs caused by flushable wipes in your plumbing, but you also don’t want to cause fatbergs to form in the Colorado Springs, CO sewage system.

A relatively new phenomenon, fatbergs are masses of wet wipes and hardened cooking fats that congeal in turbulent water. They can become as hard as rocks and contain all kinds of inorganic and organic materials that get caught up. Fatbergs in large cities have become such a significant problem that they’ve inspired movements against flushable wipes.

The short answer is, “toilet paper.” Even those who know not to flush larger items like sanitary pads or toilet cleaning pads might still send many small and seemingly harmless bathroom items down their toilet drains, like dental floss, paper towels or cotton swabs. Unfortunately, anything that isn’t toilet paper or human waste can cause plumbing problems for you and fatberg problems for your community sewage system. Any small item that gets caught in your plumbing can combine with a flushed wet wipe to cause a kind of blockage called ragging. If that happens, you’ll want to call for help as quickly as possible.

Now you know not to believe any branding that calls wet wipes flushable. If you learned too late not to flush any wet wipe, no matter the branding, and now have clogged pipes caused by flushable wipes in Colorado Springs, CO, be sure to give Affordable Rooter a call. Serving the area since 2000, we live up to our name with a full range of plumbing, sewer, excavation and drain cleaning services at affordable prices. Click here to learn more about our services and schedule an appointment!