I see there are these baby-wipes that are labeled as flushable. These in particular are Wal-Mart "Equate" brand. Supposedly safe for septic systems. They're supposed to break down like toilet paper.
Out of curiosity, I set one in a container of water. After several days, it seemed to me to be still quite intact, plenty of strength, whereas I've observed that toilet paper will disintegrate within minutes, if not instantly.
Is this not a valid test? Will the "soup" in a septic tank will degrade these wipes more aggresively than plain tapwater?
>I see there are these baby-wipes that are labeled as flushable. These > in particular are Wal-Mart "Equate" brand. Supposedly safe for septic > systems. They're supposed to break down like toilet paper.
> Out of curiosity, I set one in a container of water. After several > days, it seemed to me to be still quite intact, plenty of strength, > whereas I've observed that toilet paper will disintegrate within > minutes, if not instantly.
> Is this not a valid test? Will the "soup" in a septic tank will > degrade these wipes more aggresively than plain tapwater?
> Anyone had any problems with these?
They "may" eventually break down in a septic tank, but your experiment shows that they do not readily break down, which means a number of them could cause problems and may even clog outlets causing backups while one is waiting for them to break down. I for one would not trust them being disposed by flushing down into a toilet.
Septic tank systems can be expensive to install and even more difficult to replace due to increasingly stringent regulations, I would not risk serious problems that could result from flushing non-natural organic substances into them, especially when a garbage can would take care of the wipes.
>I see there are these baby-wipes that are labeled as flushable. These > in particular are Wal-Mart "Equate" brand. Supposedly safe for septic > systems. They're supposed to break down like toilet paper.
> Out of curiosity, I set one in a container of water. After several > days, it seemed to me to be still quite intact, plenty of strength, > whereas I've observed that toilet paper will disintegrate within > minutes, if not instantly.
> Is this not a valid test? Will the "soup" in a septic tank will > degrade these wipes more aggresively than plain tapwater?
> >I see there are these baby-wipes that are labeled as flushable. These > > in particular are Wal-Mart "Equate" brand. Supposedly safe for septic > > systems. They're supposed to break down like toilet paper.
> > Out of curiosity, I set one in a container of water. After several > > days, it seemed to me to be still quite intact, plenty of strength, > > whereas I've observed that toilet paper will disintegrate within > > minutes, if not instantly.
> > Is this not a valid test? Will the "soup" in a septic tank will > > degrade these wipes more aggresively than plain tapwater?
> > Anyone had any problems with these?- Hide quoted text -
> - Show quoted text -
I'd wondered about this too, although not so much of an issue for me on city sewers. However, tampons are also 'flushable' in theory, but I've read that they are not suitable for septic tanks. Those things wouldn't break down easily at all, although they are generally 100% biodegradeable cotton.
HiC wrote: > I see there are these baby-wipes that are labeled as flushable. These > in particular are Wal-Mart "Equate" brand. Supposedly safe for septic > systems. They're supposed to break down like toilet paper.
> Out of curiosity, I set one in a container of water. After several > days, it seemed to me to be still quite intact, plenty of strength, > whereas I've observed that toilet paper will disintegrate within > minutes, if not instantly.
> Is this not a valid test? Will the "soup" in a septic tank will > degrade these wipes more aggresively than plain tapwater?
> Anyone had any problems with these?
Hi, Anything is flushable but is it safe for septic system? Call the 1-800 number for that products customer service to be sure.
HiC <brasspl...@yahoo.com> wrote in news:2bb906da-4b08-4add-8082- d4c728add...@x41g2000hsb.googlegroups.com:
> I see there are these baby-wipes that are labeled as flushable. These > in particular are Wal-Mart "Equate" brand. Supposedly safe for septic > systems. They're supposed to break down like toilet paper.
> Out of curiosity, I set one in a container of water. After several > days, it seemed to me to be still quite intact, plenty of strength, > whereas I've observed that toilet paper will disintegrate within > minutes, if not instantly.
> Is this not a valid test? Will the "soup" in a septic tank will > degrade these wipes more aggresively than plain tapwater?
> Anyone had any problems with these?
As was already mentioned, a product labeled "flushable" is much different from one labeled "septic safe". Unless you like wasting your time and money.
