Flushable wipes warning

DON’T be fooled by “flushable” wipes – that’s the warning being issued to Warrington residents in a bid to banish blockages causing chaos in sewers and homes.
Warrington-based United Utilities attends more than 53,000 call-outs to pipe blockages every year at a cost of £20 million.
As well as clogging up the sewer system, items such as wipes, cotton wool, cotton buds and sanitary wear contribute to one in every nine homes served by the water company, having to deal with their own pipes backing up, which can be both messy and costly in terms of plumber call-outs.
One of the biggest problems is that such products – particularly baby care products – are often marketed as “flushable” when in fact they are anything but.
Some 31 per cent of parents also now use baby wipes for general cleaning so it’s a problem that could get even worse as usage of “flushable” wipes increases.
Tony Griffiths, a United Utilities wastewater network manager, said: “We asked Warrington residents if they thought a product labelled ‘flushable’ was safe to dispose of down the loo – 84 per cent said yes. It’s not surprising. If you’re a busy parent and you see baby/toddler moisturising or toilet wipes described as flushable, there’s no reason you’d question it. You’d just assume it was a convenient and helpful option.
“But the term is misleading as while it means the item will go down the toilet, it does not mean the product will break up properly in water – in fact they can take years to disintegrate, if at all. The inevitable outcome is blocked pipes and flooded bathrooms.”
United Utilities, along with other water companies, is now working with wet wipe manufacturers to agree how labelling on these products can be improved so that it is less confusing for consumers.
Just over half of Warrington residents admit flushing things they shouldn’t down the loo, with well over a third saying they’ve done so because the packaging said it was flushable.
In addition to baby and toilet wipes, household cleaning wipes, make-up removal products, sanitary wear and contraceptives are also common items that are blocking Warrington sewers and loos.
Tony said: “Ultimately we want to help people learn how they can keep their drains healthy, because it might not be our sewers that block, it could be theirs. And that could mean calling a plumber and a hefty bill. That’s why we’ve developed a range of videos, fact sheets and other
resources at our website www.unitedutilities.com/thinkbeforeyouflush
“The best thing to remember is, whatever the packaging says, there are only three things that can be safely flushed down the loo without danger of blockage – pee, poo and toilet paper.”
Picture: Jiri Miklo/Shutterstock.com