An excellent way to avoid dealing with a sewer system horror story in your home is to stop flushing personal wipes down the toilet. If you’ve recently noticed advertisements on television for flushable wipes, you’re not alone. In fact, many consumers have watched these commercials and decided to purchase and use personal wipes.
For many companies, the primary selling point is the fact that the wipes can be flushed down the toilet. Despite what manufacturers have said, these wipes aren’t flushable, and they’re creating many problems for municipal waste managers.
However, it isn’t just the public sewer systems that are having trouble with wipes. After flushing regular wipes down the toilet for an extended period, many homeowners are beginning to feel the pain in the form of costly plumbing repairs.
We try to help customers understand that toilet paper and human waste are the only things that should be flushed down the toilet. If you find yourself dealing with any plumbing problem, we offer services for toilet repair and drain cleaning.
A Deeper Look into DIY Wipes and Clogged Drains
Many consumers are flushing pre-moistened wipes down the toilet. These products have become so popular that they can be observed in almost every bathroom in America. Customers choose to use wipes because they offer unbeatable convenience. Whether it’s cleaning the baby’s bottom or removing makeup, wipes are commonly the preferred tool of choice.
Big brands are marketing their wipes as being flushable because it helps them to gain an edge over the competition. Many consumers have bought into the myth that flushing wipes down the toilet are completely safe. The truth is that most personal wipes have no issues making it down the toilet, but once they pass through the toilet, they’re introduced into the deeper components of your plumbing system.
What people don’t realize is that the problems start deeper inside the plumbing system. Some home sewer systems have tree roots growing throughout the system. When the flushed wipes get caught on tree roots, significant problems can arise.
This is an especially common problem with older plumbing systems. A standard strip of toilet paper should dissolve entirely within 24 hours. Unfortunately, wipes can take weeks to disintegrate completely. If enough wipes can cling together inside of your sewer system, they can create a massive blockage, which could leave you paying thousands of dollars for plumbing repairs.
Problems for America’s Sewer Systems
If you frequently flush wipes down your toilet, and they manage to pass through your entire plumbing system, there is a good chance that you’re still causing problems for other people. Some American sewer managers have declared a plumbing emergency because flushed wipes have been ruining public sewer systems.
Wipes that are flushed down the toilet must go somewhere, and eventually, they’ll end up inside the local sewer system. The sheer volume of DIY wipes entering public sewer systems is causing major problems for public sewer municipalities. Any wipes that you use should be discarded into a trash can.
If you choose to dispose of them using your toilet, it won’t take long before you’re forced to pay for costly plumbing repairs, and even if your plumbing system doesn’t lead to clogged toilets and pipes, flushing wipes down the toilet cause major headaches for the people who operate the public sewer systems.
The Major Problems with Regular Wipes
In response to the controversy, many companies have created videos and tried to show consumers that it’s safe to flush wipes. The problem is that these laboratory tests don’t correctly simulate a typical sewer system. In London, a 15-ton ball of grease and wet wipes clogged the main sewer line. If you look on the Internet, there is no shortage of horror stories involving regular wipes.
A great example is a homeowner who flushed only three wipes down the toilet. Due to a lack of regular drain maintenance, the three wipes formed a major clog in the man’s home sewer system. As a result, he was forced to pay thousands of dollars to have the problem fixed.
Countless other horror stories are just like this one. Over time, many companies have entered the market for disposable wipes, so consumers are using wipes more than ever before. Some manufacturers advertise these products as flushable, but according to a variety of independent studies, these wipes are anything but flushable.
Several studies have revealed wipes to be the cause of clogs, sewer overflows, and system disruptions. There is no way around the fact that regular wipes are causing major problems when consumers decide to flush them down the toilet. Several brands of wipes have been tested, and according to the evidence, most of the wipes were intact and easily recognizable after 24 hours.
Another serious issue is that most flushable wipes look too similar to wipes that are made to be thrown in the trash. For example, the wipes used to remove makeup and clean babies aren’t marketed as being flushable, but since they look almost identical to flushable wipes, consumers are getting confused and tossing all of the wipes into the toilet.
It’s not uncommon for users to assume that all types of wipes can be flushed because they look almost the same. If you want to avoid altogether this problem, you should make sure to throw all wipes in the trash.
Preventing Plumbing Issues Caused By Wipes
A lack of proper drain cleaning is one of the main reasons why home plumbing systems get clogged by wipes. If your plumbing system hasn’t been cleaned in ages, it could be filled with obstructions, which give flushed wipes something to cling to. We offer services for drain cleaning and toilet repair, and we can come to your home and inspect your plumbing system.
For quality services in your Leesburg, FL home, call Ross Plumbing at (352) 728-6053.