Water Sector News
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'Please do not flush them;' Flushables wipes are not so flushable
SOUTH BEND, Ind. --- Flushable wipes are really popular – but are they causing an even bigger mess?
Concerns have gotten so bad in parts of Michiana folks are actually trying to get them banned. Why is this happening? That question has even sparked a few national lawsuits.
To put it simply, so-called “flushable” wipes aren’t so flushable. They’re just not degrading. So they’re clogging pipes in homes and causing issues for towns, cities and even entire counties.
The guys who work to solve those problems are fed up. They’re calling it a nightmare. One that’s costing taxpayer’s money.
Matt Huffman has owned Huffman Plumbing for 30 years. He’s completed hundreds of jobs removing flushable wipes in LaGrange, Elkhart, Noble and Steuben counties.
“They are flushable in the sense that you put one in a stool and flush, they’ll go right on down,” Huffman said. “But, is it a good ethical thing to put in them? No.”
So, why aren’t they flushable?