Experience with flushable wipes in a septic system? Any problems?

 

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.

 

On Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:19:34 -0400, "EXT"


the very simple rule to follow with septics is that NOTHING other than
body wastes and water and toilet paper marked septic safe go down into
them, if you allow anything into the system you are asking for
potential problems
__________________________________________
Never argue with an idiot.
They'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

 

I had a clog in my septic drain. When the snake came out, I could tell my
three year old grand daughter was filling the commode with them.

 


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.