Flushable wipes?

[beachbum53]

I did a search on here, but didn't find much helpful information. A family member asked if it was safe to flush personal wipes on the ship. After doing a search on the internet, I discovered that most brands are not safe to use in RV's and septic systems, because they take too long to break down and can potentially clog up the system. I'm guessing that the ship's system would have the same problem. However, I did come across one brand that apparently does break down pretty quickly and does not clog up septic and RV systems. The brand is Scott flushable cloths. They claim that their wipes break down almost immediately and will not clog up septic and RV  systems. I've not found any information that specifically mentions marine toilet systems. I was wondering if anyone has any personal experiences with this particular brand and whether or not there were any problems? 

[flamomo]

As you might already know, cruise lines tend to be very fussy about what is disposed of via the vacuum plumbing system that the ship's toilets are part of, wanting passengers to use only the type of bathroom tissue they supply, instead of bringing their favorite TP from home. I'd imagine they would prefer that passengers dispose of their used wipes in a wastebasket, instead of  risking  plugging up the vacuum system, since the pipes are smaller diameter than the sort of piping used on land.

[CruiserBruce]

On most all cruise ships I have been on, there is signage by the toilet that say NOTHING besides toilet paper and human waste goes down the toilet.

[shipgeeks]

30 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

On most all cruise ships I have been on, there is signage by the toilet that say NOTHING besides toilet paper and human waste goes down the toilet.

Correct.  Use the little paper bags and wastebasket.

[Kmkub]

My most recent visit from Roto Rooter convinced me I shouldn't even be flushing these at home.I put them in the trash; land or sea.

[navybankerteacher]

The recent fatberg problems in England has prompted government action to outlaw wet wipes - which are a major component of the blockages.  The simple fact is that people find flushing them the easiest way to get rid of them, and refuse to get rid of them other than by flushing.  Apparently, the same problem has appeared in Baltimore and Detroit, so it is likely that there will be efforts to ban them in the US as well.

 

Not only is it a bad idea to flush them on a ship:  they should not be flushed anywhere.

[leaveitallbehind]

Agree with the other comments recommending avoiding flushing these or anything other than TP in the ships septic system - regardless of what the manufacturer claims in terms of breakdown. Not only is there a significant risk of plumbing blockage en route to the holding tanks I would think there would also be a concern with how they are processed once in the system.  Ships' septic systems are unique and unlike those on land - don't assume that what may work with one will work with the other.

Edited March 18, 2019 by leaveitallbehind

[chengkp75]

As one who has had to root out clogs caused by flushing wipes down ship's toilet systems, and one who has had to face the ire of passengers whose toilets don't work due to those clogs, I would recommend that no wipe, whether advertised as "flushable" or not, or "septic safe" be flushed down a ship's toilet.

 

I see that the Scott "Flushable Cleaning Cloths" you mention state that their product is "all natural" fibers, which comes as a response to the 2017 class action suit against them, where they advertised their "Scott Naturals" as being flushable and septic safe, but that had plastic fibers in them.  Even given their claim that the product "begins to break down immediately", there is generally a difference in how paper products are made, and this is the problem for ship's vacuum toilet systems.  And, you will note that ship's systems are very different from small boat toilet systems.  Toilet paper and tissues are made with "pressed" paper fibers, which will break down quickly and present little strength.  Things like wipes, paper towels, and paper rags use "woven" fibers which gives the product more strength, but resists breakdown in water (that's the whole point of the product, it can be used wet).

 

The other difference between ship's toilet systems and land systems is that the sewer pipes on land systems keeps getting larger and larger in diameter the further from your toilet you go, while ship's systems stay the exact same 2" pipe almost all the way to the engine room, and is therefore more likely to see the "fatberg" clogs than experienced in many locales as noted above.

 

And, finally, while your private septic system can hold the toilet paper for days, weeks, or months until it breaks down completely, and your municipal sewage system has retention ponds to do the same thing, allow the bacteria to digest paper fibers, a ship cannot hold its sewage, and must process the 1000-3000 metric tons of waste water every single day (that's 1/4 to 3/4 of a million gallons daily).

 

And, as far as the "use the cruise line's toilet paper", that is merely an urban legend, there is nothing special about the paper the cruise line supplies, it is merely the cheapest available.

 

 

[jessencaitly]

We live on a boat full time, and the rule is-

"If you didn't eat it, don't flush it"

Any little thing can mess with the system on a boat of any size, I'd imagine. Always safer to put in the trash, rather than flush.

[cb at sea]

Nothing except TOILET PAPER should be flushed...even at home!  Put the wipes/tampons, etc... in the trash.

 

[Bizmark'sMom]

Those wipes shouldn't be flushed anywhere. They belong in the waste basket next to the toilet. 

[beachbum53]

Thank-you to everyone that replied. I will inform the person that asked me to NOT put personal wipes in the toilet. 

[Kartgv]

I believe I read a recent post that said that room stewards have to hand-sort trash each day, so please put the wipes in one of the sanitary disposal bags furnished in the bathroom!    

[zqvol]

8 hours ago, beachbum53 said:

I did a search on here, but didn't find much helpful information. A family member asked if it was safe to flush personal wipes on the ship. After doing a search on the internet, I discovered that most brands are not safe to use in RV's and septic systems, because they take too long to break down and can potentially clog up the system. I'm guessing that the ship's system would have the same problem. However, I did come across one brand that apparently does break down pretty quickly and does not clog up septic and RV systems. The brand is Scott flushable cloths. They claim that their wipes break down almost immediately and will not clog up septic and RV  systems. I've not found any information that specifically mentions marine toilet systems. I was wondering if anyone has any personal experiences with this particular brand and whether or not there were any problems? 

 

The signs on the ship pclearly say don't put ANYTHING in the toilet other than toilet paper. While the wipes might be flushable they are not flushable on the ship and are almost guaranteed to clog the plumbing.