The plumbing system in your Clark, Nevada home can stand up to a fair amount of wear. However, before you start sending flushable wipes down your commodes, you may want to think twice. Although these products are labeled as being safe for toilets, they’re actually not. Keep reading to find out why they’re so harmful for plumbing systems.
Flushable Wipes vs. Standard Paper Products
Standard toilet paper starts breaking down as soon as it’s submerged in water. Even when you flush toilet paper with a fair amount of human waste, it’s unlikely to cause a serious clog. If it does, you should be able to quickly clear this clog with the vigorous action of a quality plunger.
Paper towels are a bit more durable. If you’ve flushed them before, then you already know the problems they can cause. These thicker paper products take longer to break down. Like toilet paper, they’re made with wood pulp, but they have a much tighter weave and are reinforced with more adhesives.
Flushable wipes lie at the other end of the spectrum. These products do not break down at all in plumbing systems. In fact, they can remain intact long after they’ve reached municipal sewer systems. Although flushable wipes are largely comprised of wood pulp, they’ve been reinforced with a number of micro-fine plastics. They don’t decompose. Instead, they slowly shed tiny plastic fibers over time.
How Flushable Wipes Can Hurt Your Plumbing System
Flushable wipes can get on snags and cause major blockages. They can even be responsible for whole-house backups. If too many flushable wipes get caught in your plumbing system over time, they can also cause burst pipes.
What to Use Instead of Flushable Wipes
Having a bidet installed on your current toilet is an easy and affordable alternative to using flushable wipes. It’s also better for the environment. You can also upgrade to a toilet that has a bidet included, or use a low-cost toilet paper spray to create plumbing-friendly wipes of your own.
Gibson Plumbing & Mechanical has been serving residents of Clark, Nevada since 2000. We offer air conditioning, plumbing, and heating services. If you’ve got plumbing that’s been damaged by flushable wipes, we’ve got you covered. Call us today.
