Flushable wetwipes will block your drains !

[unclebulgaria67]

Bit of sh*t topic, but thought it was worth sharing

 

Recently had a blocked drain which I managed to clear.

 

Found out that flushable wetwipes may indeed flush, but they are certain to block your drains within a few months.

 

So my advice is to either not use them or put them in a perfumed biodegradable bag to put in your rubbish bins.

[seanamarts]

Yup had the same problem, thought I was safe to use them and have been for over a year with no issues, but then out of the blue my sewerage pipe blocked up and had raw sewerage over the garden. got it looked at and there were quite a few blocking the pipes up amongst other things that were nothing to do with me, Ive a shared system. However my wipes that are supposed to dissolve within a few hours certainly had not. so have stopped flushing them now. I thought about contacting the company about this but I doubt I would get very far. 

[Ethel Street]

There has been a longstanding disagreement between the wetwipes industry and the water companies about what is "flushable". Water companies say the tests that the manufacturers use to decide if a wetwipe will breakdown are inadequate and don't reflect real conditions in the sewers. The industry's tests ignored that when wetwipes get coated in fats and oils, as they quickly do in the sewers, they no longer break down.

 

I see that there's now a new standard approved by the water industry.

 

Fine to Flush | Water UK

[honeybee13]

Facemasks cause problems too when flushed down the loo.

 

I remember hearing a plumber give advice on the radio and he said it's important not to think that the loo is just a wet dustbin.

[unclebulgaria67]

Great advice not to treat a loo like a wet dustbin.

 

The other issue I found, was that some idiot had put the drain cover under the patio.  So now I have to build the level up to the patio level and add a new cover.   And my neighbours also have a patio over a drain cover,  theirs is even worse, as the patio has been concreted in.  So if they have a problem, which is likely at some stage, they will have to have it dug up. using a jack hammer.

 

It appears quite common for homeowners not to want drain covers showing in their back gardens and also they don't want the odours that might escape. So rather than install proper patios with a specialised drain cover which has a patio stone inbuilt, so it does not show or release odours, they go for a dodgy alternative, which is to totally cover the drain cover with patio slabs.