DIY Wet Wipes (Why Flushing Regular Wipes Will Clog Your Drains) Have you been considering making your own DIY wet wipes so that you can flush them down the toilet? Although there are several testimonies online that suggest you can make your own baby or wet wipes from cotton and therefore flush them down the toilet, think again. While DIY wet wipes are a temptation for environmentally friendly homes, there is still one main reason that they are impossible to get rid of in your plumbing. Why do they advertise wet wipes as “flushable”? There are several companies that sell toilet wipes for child or adult use that clearly state they are not made from “flushable materials.” Does that mean, alternatively, that “flushable” wipes for the face, hands or toilet use are perfectly safe? While they may be made from biodegradable materials, the sanitary products companies that make the wipes are not taking into consideration that the pipes that lead from your home to the city drainage areas may not be completely clear in the first place. Solutions at the Water Treatment Plant Might Not Help You Have you heard that there are cities around America suffering from the effects of having too many wipes clogging up the sewer system? One of the solutions for many cities has been to increase the fees related to the water bill that property owners pay and buy grinders. Despite this, homeowners will find that this does not help them if the problem is their own plumbing pipes and drains. Where Flushing Wet Wipes Goes Wrong The reason why moist wipes (even the “flushable” kind) clog the drain is because there is already something in there that it is getting hung up on. Namely, trees love sewer pipes because it is a steady supply of water and other nutrients. Unfortunately, when tree roots start growing inside of your sewer pipes, it gives the wipes a chance to get snagged. The materials wet wipes are made from do not promote breakdown. One of the main purposes of wet wipes is to have a product that is moist and does not breakdown while it is being used. For this reason, many baby wipes are made from synthetic materials, and most do not easily breakdown in the environment because of these plastics. Alternatives are being tested, but the fact that customers need a sturdy product that withstands scrubbing has been a main reason for a lack of newer, biodegradable products on the market. Trapped wet wipes accumulate trouble. Flushing one wipe down the drain will likely not cause problems, but if your neighbor is doing it on a consistent basis, it could eventually become your concern. Sadly, there is always a chance that you have a shared sewer line, and if your neighbor clogs it with baby wipes, it can cause your separate plumbing to stop draining. What is happening in this situation is that, over time, the trapped wipes will also collect grease or other debris. While you may pay a separate sewer bill than your neighbor, you two may cross paths eventually over wet wipes because you both share the same drainage pipe before it enters the main city drainage area. Compounded environmental damage of flushing wipes One other concern for many homeowners is whether or not flushing wipes is better for the environment than using a landfill option by chucking it into a trash bin. Although some argue the only way to compost wet wipes is to buy the biodegradable option in the first place, the poor impact on the environment that flushing moistened wipes has is much worse than first expected. On top of overflowing sewers clogged with wet wipes causing sanitation and public health issues, many of these burst pipes overflow and contaminate waterways. When the wet wipes do eventually breakdown in waterways, they add to the amount of plastics found in the ocean, which are detrimental to certain types of aquatic creatures. Laws are changing about “flushable” wipes. Since the surge in disposable wipes use has increased dramatically since 2013, the Federal Trade Commission has gotten involved because of complaints from the waste water industry. Naturally, one of their chief reasons for the investigation is due to the water management facilities in major cities attributing up to 75-percent of their problems to be wet wipe-related. Defining “flushable” may be the end result of the investigation, and there may also be a change in materials accepted for making products like baby wipes. Modern Solutions for Wet Wipe Toilet Repair and Drain Cleaning Instead of worrying about unhealthy chemicals going into your pipes to unblock the drain or pipes from wet wipes, consider choosing our high-tech services. We clear drains using a sophisticated hydro-jetting system that uses pressurized water to clear the drain of wet wipes and remove the tree roots clogging the pipes. When we are finished, we can examine the affected areas to see if the pipe needs to be repaired or replaced. In many cases, a food-grade epoxy can be sprayed inside the pipe that will seal it instead of digging up the yard to replace the pipe. Altogether, it is an environmentally friendly set of solutions that get the results you need at a price that is affordable. Get your green drain cleaning and toilet repair services with us. If you are waiting on the city to fix sewer problems that are making your home uninhabitable, give us a call today! We work with insurance companies to get your home restored, and we can provide the appropriate paperwork for getting a refund from local water municipalities. From emergencies to sneaking suspicions that your slow-flushing toilet is about to go on the fritz, we are here to help. To get started, call A & A Plumbing today at (210) 566-2665 and our friendly staff will send our trained plumbing technicians to your San Antonio, TX home. Thank you in advance for choosing us and we look forward to hearing from you.