Bum Boosa™ Flushability Information

One of the most common questions that we are asked is if our Bum Boosa™ Bamboo Wipes are flushable. Our answer has changed over time based on what we have learned from the experts in the field - plumbers, sewage treatment plant operators, and the like. Below is our opinion on flushability. It is in no way scientific or the only opinion about the subject.

Although we have been told that our wipes will break down beautifully in the septic tank/sewage treatment environment due to the exposure to bacteria and enzymes etc, we have learned from the experts that there is more to flushability than that. It's about more than if the item will disappear from the bowl when the flushing action commences. It's about more than if the item will biodegrade or break down when it gets to the septic tank or sewage treatment plant. What we have learned is that flushability really depends on if the flushed material will cause blockage problems en route to these microbial feasts.

Will Case, owner and operator of W.B. Case Plumbing & Heating in Sharon, CT says, "No plumbing system is perfect. A major issue can begin when one item that is too durable to tear easily gets caught on a snag, a root that has penetrated the pipe, a rough joint or anything that protrudes into the system. It doesn't tear free and the snowball effect begins." Will further explained that often the homeowner is unaware of a blockage "until it's too late", often not until a costly repair of a few hundred (if they are lucky) to a few thousand dollars is necessary.

Butch Walsh, certified operator of the Kent Sewage Treatment Plant in Kent, CT, took us on a tour of the trap system that was cleverly devised to trap non-flushable items in the public waste system. Kent is a relatively small town with only about 320 households on the public waste system but Butch has a daily task which is only necessary because of the flushing of dense, durable, non-flushable items. Each day Butch travels to a site separate from the treatment facility to clean the trap which catches 20-40lbs of wipes and other materials that have not begun to degrade by the time they reach the trap. If this knot of material is not filtered out, it will foul the impellers and pumps causing a shutdown of the system for repair. Flushing non-flushable items results in increased costs for the town either in paying staff to manage the issue daily or in repairs to the equipment.

After spending time with these two professionals, we found that you can boil down flushability to one simple test... if the items you intend to flush do not begin to break down in the bowl (like bathroom tissue) it probably shouldn't be flushed.

A completely non-scientific experiment conducted in this writer's home with four types of wipes with "Flushable" on the packaging revealed some interesting results. Each of the wipes were put in separate jars of room temperature water for 45 minutes and then shaken for 30 seconds each (to simulate flushing action) and none of them, including the ones that say they "break down like toilet paper", showed any signs of beginning to break down.

With all of the above information in mind, Bum Boosa™ has taken the stance that our baby wipes, though biodegradable, should not be flushed. Yes, we could sell more of this product if we said they were flushable but we are committed to being honest with our customers and since we won't flush them in our homes, we won't encourage you to flush them in yours.