Dr. Oz: Should We Be Using Flushable Wipes?
Dr. Oz said on his show that he’s always used flushable wipes in the bathroom, but he recently read an article that said flushable wipes may not be so flushable after all. So he went to the sewers to find out exactly what’s going on. It turned out that wipes are causing big problems in waste and sewage facilities throughout the country.
Dr. Oz talked about the danger of flushing flushable wipes to the sewer system and what else you shouldn’t flush. But what should we use instead of wipes? (Zern Liew / Shutterstock.com)
After putting on a hardhat and vest, he got a tour of the facility and found out that the wipes are coming to the facility whole and not broken down as advertised. The man giving the tour told him that tens of thousands of the wipes came in exactly as they went in to the toilet.
It turns out that while it’s safe to flush them, they don’t break down. They’re a big problem for sewage facilities.
Dr. Oz: Flushable Wipes
Dr. Oz said he always checks to make sure the wipes are flushable. But even if it says they’re flushable, they’re still a big problem. Dr. Oz demonstrated how wipes break down as compared to regular toilet paper by mixing a bowl of water and toilet paper and another bowl of wipes and water with an electric mixer. The toilet paper was broken down, but the flushable wipe was completely unchanged.
Dr. Oz: What Should We Be Flushing?
Dr. Oz sat down with Cynthia Finley, an engineer and Director of Regulatory Affairs in the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, to talk about the problem. She said that makeup wipes and baby wipes aren’t meant for the sewer system at all. She said there are a few flushable wipes that break apart a little, but they’re still not good enough for the sewer systems.
Cynthia Finley said that some companies are following the voluntary industry guidelines, but she said the guidelines aren’t stringent enough. She said we need stricter guidelines to make the wipes break down better.
Cynthia Finley said that people should only flush the “three Ps”: pee, poop, and toilet paper. She said that toilets aren’t trash cans. Don’t flush paper towels, dental floss, or tampons or other feminine hygeine products. Dr. Oz joked that he saw a lot of weird things on his voyage to the sewers.
Dr. Oz: Substitutions For Flushable Wipes
Dr. Oz said that people may still want a cleaner feel after using the bathroom. He said people should use a spray bottle to spray some water on the toilet paper to make it moist to use like a wipe. He also said when he’s in the public restroom, he spits on it. He said it works and that animals do it for a reason.
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