‘Flushable’ wipes aren’t really so, experts say

Something many of you probably use and find to be a big convenience is actually causing big, expensive problems. It’s something that often ends up being flushed down the drain, but as it turns out, that’s really not a good idea.

So-called “flushable” wipes may be out of sight, but they aren’t really flushable — if that means without harm once they leave your house — and can cost the city and homeowners big money.

Nearly 7 million gallons of wastewater flow through the Bend sewage treatment plant a day — and every day, 1,000 pounds a of debris is taken out, all of which should never have been flushed.

“Countertop wipes, Clorox wipes, baby wipes, dental floss — anything that doesn’t devolve should not be flushed,”Orrin Libolt, the city of Bend collections systems supervisor, said Monday.

The biggest culprits are the products labeled as and believed to be flushable.

“Flushable wipes for sure have a negative (impact) on our sewer. They cost us quite a bit of money in operation and maintenance cost,” Libolt said.

In one neighborhood south of Bend, the city has had to replace nearly 250 pumps over the past 10 years.

That adds up to a quarter-million dollars spent on a problem that could have been avoided.

If you end up needing to call a plumber, it could cost you more than $200 for the first hour, because plumbers say the “flushable” wipes never go away.

“It’s not like toilet paper, where it dissolves within minutes, you see it (toilet paper) in the water dissolve,” said Dustin Burris, a service plumber at Severson Plumbing. “You can put a wipe in there and leave it for an hour. It’s still going to be there when you come back.”

Things you should not flush down your toilet include any type of wipe, bandages, dental floss or whitening stripes, feminine hygiene products and kitty litter.

The environmental impact is also important to consider. As sewage pumps get clogged, they can back up and spill out sewage that could end up in the Deschutes River.