Something’s in the water. And the Super Bowl made it worse.
Mere weeks after a collapsed pipeline spilled an estimated 234 million gallons of wastewater into the Potomac River, multiple bypass pumps were temporarily taken out of service by D.C. Water on Feb. 8, after being clogged by wipes. During a “high flow period” (that happened to coincide with the Seattle Seahawks beating the New England Patriots), several hundreds of thousands of gallons of wastewater overflowed into the Potomac, according to a statement from D.C. Water.
Additional pumping capacity has been added at the Blue Plains treatment plant. But wipes — both those labeled “flushable” and not — are known as an issue in the wastewater treatment world. “We have piles of them by our pumps,” said a spokesperson for D.C. Water. “That’s how we know that that has been the issue. That’s what we’re physically removing.”
It reopens a long-standing question: Are “flushable” wipes actually flushable? For over a decade, sewer utilities have been asking people to put those already-moist, personal wipes in trash containers. The problem intensified after a pandemic-induced toilet paper shortage, leaving wads of wipes collecting in home pipes and pumping stations.
Here’s what to know about these “flushable” wipes.
Are ‘flushable’ wipes actually flushable?
Manufacturers of these wipes have argued in the past that their products are safe for sewer and septic systems. But treatment plants and plumbers agree that fans of “flushable” wipes should deposit them in trash cans. Fairfax County, Virginia, echoed the sentiment in a post on social media, asking residents near Washington to flush only toilet paper.
Can flushing wipes cause problems with toilets?
Toilets aren’t where you’ll find the issue with “flushable” wipes. Tim Carter, a former custom home builder who writes the Ask the Builder newsletter, said that these wipes move through the toilet itself with ease. But the drain pipe is where customers might run into trouble. “If there are years of buildup in the pipe and the pipes are not perfectly smooth,” Carter said, “then those wipes get hung up.” Older homes are especially at risk for problems, said a spokesperson for D.C. Water.
What can they do to the sewage system?
“Flushable” wipes have been a headache for the wastewater treatment industry for as long as they’ve been advertised. Part of the difficulty is these wipes don’t disintegrate over time like toilet paper does. As they build up, they can clog pipes or pumps throughout the sewer system. According to D.C. Water, they also act as a magnet for fats, oils and grease that ends up coming through the pipes.
“They’re not made of natural material, they don’t degrade in the water,” said Lucas Taden, who works at Stevens Company Plumbing. “That’s what causes the toilet paper to be flushable. It’s basically water-soluble. When it goes into the water, it ends up dissolving over time.”
Are wipes even necessary?
People have gravitated to wipes over the years, in part because they advertise a more-thorough clean than toilet paper. A pandemic shortage of toilet paper saw customers resort to using “flushable” wipes. Carter, who has told his readers not to flush these thick, very-soft wipes, understands the appeal. Still, he cautions “flushable” wipe users to discard them like they would a diaper or another non-toilet paper product.
“You can flush gravel. You can flush sand. You can flush marbles. You can flush Lego blocks,” said Carter. “You can flush just about anything. That doesn’t mean you’re supposed to flush it.”
correctionA previous version of this article misspelled Lucas Taden’s last name.
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