All too often we attend to blocked drains that are caused by flushable wipes and last night was no exception. Last night we were called out to an emergency blocked drain in Box Hill. Upon the service experts inspection he found the sewer drain to be blocked at the boundary trap.
The service expert set up his drainage equipment including a high pressure water jetter and CCTV drain camera equipment to investigate the blockage to the boundary trap located at the rear of the property.
He found that the issues were located down the boundary trap and there were tree roots growing into the drain just past the inspection going to the main sewer. The drain was full of tree roots and these so called “flushable wipes”
Kleenex’s range of flushable wipes are getting the thumbs down from consumer group CHOICE.
In 2015, Choice awarded these flushable wipes the Shonky Award. Choice conducted tests on Kleenex’s ‘Clean Ripple’ range, finding the wipes post a blockage threat to household drainage pipes.
It’s claimed the so-called flushables cost the Australian water waste industry about $15 million to clear every year. One Aussie household was hit with a plumbing bill of $16,000 after the wet wipes clogged their pipes.
“Although the new wipes disintegrate more than the old wipes, they don’t break down fast enough,” said Choice Head of Media Tom Godfrey.
“We believe they post a blockage threat, particularly in the first several metres of pipe on the consumer’s property.”
Well, we agree and warn against the use of flushable wipes, that aren’t so flushable after all. The issue of these flushable wipes can be exacerbated by the state of your sewerage drains. If your drains are prone to clogging because of tree roots, then flushable wipes are only going to make it worse and clog quicker and more frequently.
Stick to good old toilet paper. It will save you money in the short term and save you the frustration of a 10pm emergency call to a plumber too.
