The first “wet wipe” was invented by Authur Julius in 1957, in 1958 he trademarked his product as the “Wet-Nap”. In 1963 Authur sold his wipes to Colonel Harland Sanders that’s right KFC and in the past 25 years KFC has handed out over a billion of wet wipes.

In the 1970’s the technology was created to mass produce non-woven wipes, once this happened the industry really took off.

Fast forward to the early 2000’s, and “flushable” wipes were available worldwide.

Why are Wet Wipes and Flushable Wipes so popular?

• Their convenience.

• They improve hygiene and make it easier to maintain.

• They perform well, they are generally of good quality, and provide almost the same level of hygiene as washing with soap and water.

• They are easy to use, for all sectors of society, including the very young and very old, and they are safe for all ages.

• They save time and are efficient.

• They are disposable.

But are they really good? Almost all wet wipes especially “flushable wipes” are not as good as they seem for your pipes and the environment.

Some public works crews are unclogging wipes from sewer pumps on a daily basis. A crew has to go out to clean a pump every day. NACWA estimates agencies are spending $500m to $1 billion a year clearing wipes out of their systems. https://www.nacwa.org

Ryerson University gathered 101 products, including 23 wipes that were labeled as flushable. They conducted a series of tests to determine whether any of these products would actually fall apart or disperse safely through the sewer system and found that not a single flushable wipe product passed the tests.

Flushable wipes are made of pulp, which has different polymers as binders or by creating extra webs of fiber. And a lot of people do not realize most are made with plastic. These wipes can absorb sand, clay, food waste and other products in the sewers, turning free-running wastewater into sewer solids and so-called “fatbergs.”

A fatberg is a rock-like mass of waste matter in a sewer system formed by the combination of flushed non-biodegradable solids, such as wet wipes, and fat, oil and grease (FOG) deposits.



Also most “flushable wipes” come with a small warning label that states “Do Not Flush”. This is why to help keep your plumbing system from blocking up you should only flush toilet paper.

A clog from wipes, paper towels, feminine products can cost your company thousands of dollars in drain clearing. There have been cases of all new piping having to be installed because the clog would not come free.

Enviro USA has certified plumbing technicians across North America that can help fix your clogged or slow running drains.

Call Enviro USA today at 866-564-1414 or visit our website at www.envirousa.com to set up a meeting with one of our team to go over any maintenance or janitorial needs your company may have.

“Building Care Made Easy”