A friend of mine absolutely loves using wet-wipes to do his business. He speaks joyfully of the level of cleanliness and convenience it provides. This gives him a certain peace of mind, knowing that he's "fully clean".
Ain't nobody dope as me, I'm just so fresh and clean. So fresh and so clean!
Myself, I don’t use this type of product. Call me old fashioned but although using wet-wipes may be the ultimate in clean, it always struck me as some sort of an elitist, self-indulgent and wasteful activity. I always thought that wet-wipes were for babies with sensitive skin, not grown men. Granted, it's not as extreme as bleaching as I understand some famous Hollywood actresses are prone to do, but the idea is still unsettling to me.
It came as quite a surprise then, that a quick survey of my circle of guy friends showed that the majority of them use some kind of wet-wipes to cleanse their arses on a regular basis.
What in the fuck??
I immediately found myself in the minority and even at the but end (pun intended) of some mild teasing.
“You’re clean but not baby fresh clean.”
“Oh, he’s got dingle berries!”
“You have no idea what you’re missing, bro!”
“You’ll never regret, going wet.”
Despite my protests, it was determined that basically I’m a filthy unrefined caveman still using paper, gaffaw, and a soon to be extinct subspecies.
I took their mild abuse well but I seriously questioned the impact wet-wipes have on the environment and if they were truly "biodegradable" & "flushable" as is the claim.
Some in the group stated matter of factly that was that it was their own personal preference and they're free to do as they please. Another friend admitted to having IBS (too much info there) and that's why he uses wet-wipes. We argued back and forth for quite some time until a friend slipped into a convenience store, bought a pack of wet-wipes and tossed it my direction.
"Flushable and 100% Biodegradeable" was printed in bold on the packaging.
Case Closed.
I had lost the argument... but I vowed I would never join their infantile wet-wipe flush cult.
Dude Wipes
Recently, I read an article about the increasing use of wet-wipes by adults. Apparently, there's a substantial and growing market for this product. There are even wet-wipes specifically targeted at young men.
As the story goes, 4 college roommates became obsessed with using wet-wipes for their #2s that they decided to start their own company - Dude Wipes was born. The product is enjoying a lot of success and the group of friends believes that their special brand of toilet humor is a big part of their success. The group call themselves "The AmbAssadors" (absolute genius ).
Here's one of their amusing commercials co-starring Shark Tank investor Mark Cuban called: Take it to the Hole.
Of course wet-wipes began as a baby product, but in the early 2000s the market expanded as companies such as Kimberly Clark and Procter & Gamble began to rebrand baby wipes (reduced in size for flushing) into a sort of luxury toilet paper for adults. By 2015, the wet-wipes industry surpassed $2 billion in sales.
Dude Wipes has been recognized in the industry as a rising star winning awards for "most exciting new product".
Biodegradability
When we purchase products at the grocery store or pharmacy we often select products based on the information provided by the labels to make informed decisions.
Environmentally friendly, eco-friendly, green, recyclable, and biodegradable markings are important for many consumers as they want to reduce waste and avoid introducing toxic substances or pollutants into their homes or adding more to the natural environment.
Unfortunately, the claims made by many products can be very misleading.
Are Wet-Wipes biodegradable?
The short answer is, Yes.
A better answer is, yes, under the right conditions and temperatures.
Wet-wipes are made of synthetic cellulosic fibers and each product has it's own particular composition. Therefore, wet-wipes disintegrate at various speeds while having different rates of emission. And at this point, there's never been a study conducted to see how these various synthetic fibers effect aquatic ecosystems.
So, are they really biodegradable?
“They are, under certain conditions and temperatures, [but] I don’t think those are the conditions and temperatures that they’re exposed to in the wastewater system,” Villee says. He calls this the “disingenuous part” of the biodegradable label. “Yeah, they’re biodegradable, but when? Ten years from now?”
Fat Bergs
Fat Bergs is new term that aptly describes a fairly recent phenomenon related to the increasing use of 'flushable' wet-wipes.
Lawsuits are now popping up across the country over use of the word “flushable.” Sewerage authorities claim that flushable wet wipes don’t break apart, and, as a result, are destroying municipal sewer systems. The wipes cluster with congealed food fat to form large blockages known as fatberg—a portmanteau of fat and iceberg. Last year, a 10-ton lump was removed from the London sewer system at a cost of £400,000. Cases have also been reported in Newcastle, Sydney, San Francisco, Miami, New York City, Toronto, and Washington, D.C.
After wet wipes are flushed, they exit a house through a lateral pipe that connects to a public sewer system, where sewage pumps ensure that the wastewater flows in the correct direction. But unlike toilet paper, wet wipes fail to disintegrate. They clog the pumps, causing them to break down and redirect stagnant wastewater back toward houses. Sewer systems must be shut down so that the wipes can be manually removed. When the four-foot pumps are lifted for maintenance, “it looks like you’re pulling up Cousin It”
As the use of wet-wipes becomes gains in popularity it is safe to say that Fat Bergs will also be an increasingly common phenomenon in our sewage systems.
Solutions
Get a goddamn Bidet
- Sure it's expensive but only the best for our royal highness
- The Japanese and Korea models are truly impressive, with heated seats and different water pressure options.
If you're going to use wet-wipes - Don't flush them, dispose of them properly in the trash.
- It's simple
- You'll be saving your municipality and tax payers a lot of money
A shredder
- A final option would be to invest in a shredder that tears the wet-wipes into small enough pieces they do not collect and accumulate in the sewers and water treatment sites.
Images
NY Times
NY Daily News
ABC.net.au
Dude Blue
Getty
Colorado Gov
nomorewipes.com
Aliexpress
Yes, this is why I love Steemit! Just browsing a bit to find interesting posts, and then I find an in-depth analysis of Dude Wipes and Fat Bags...
Win!
On a more serious note, @v4vapid: you make a very good point to get a bidet and don't flush wet wipes.
I've been living in SE Asia for a few years now, and every western toilet here has a toilet hose, or what's more commonly referred to as: a bum gun.
Image Credit
And where at first I was like: "wtf? I ain't using that!" I have grown accustomed to it, and I think it's more hygienic too. May still use a piece of paper to keep things dry 😉 .
This would be a great solution for the trend towards the use of wet wipes you are signaling in the US. It is:
What do you think?
+1 for the bumgun @livenowandwow – the rest of the world (Japan and S Korea aside) just doesn't know what it's missing
Haha, yes, agreed!
Bum Gun! You know, I've traveled around S.E.A. a bit myself and the first time I used the 'facilities' I was confused... shower, hose, big bucket, small bucket with a handle...I was never quite sure i was doing it right. But, just like you, I gor used to it and found it to be a much better system.
Thanks for commenting!
You're welcome!
I'm sure you have also seen the more primitive toilets then, the ones with just a whole in the ground and two spots to place your feet on.
I love how often Western toilets in public places in SE Asia refer to those, showing that you cannot 'sit' on that toilet with your feet:
Image Credit
Wet toilet paper sucks... I do like the wipes when available but I throw them away, provide I have somewhere nearby to do so.
This is gross but it's the reality of the wasteful world we live in. People really don't look at the things that happen after we flush the toilet. There are more dangerous things in the sewers than alligators.
Irritable bowel may give you a sore butt, but... that's the time to whip out the Preparation H. Actually, Prep H makes wipes for sufferers, too. Still, why not just take a shower daily? Or, learn how Asians use water to clean themselves après-poop? Personally, the thought of using wet-wipes in that region evokes images of slimy snails crawling around my anus. Not something I want to feel down there, thank you. Regular toilet paper, a daily shower, and good old Prep H as needed for me.
Oh, one final note for the penny-pinchers and those who can't install a bidet: use a good, old fashioned watering can. People will wonder why you have one in the toilet when you don't have plants there, but it is an option. I discovered this reasonable alternative after quizzing an Iranian friend about the watering can in his own toilet.
What a wonderfully disgusting post, I enjoyed it with my morning coffee!!🤢 We need to produce less waste, not more and especially not of the slow-to-degrade kind.
Lol, sorry about ruining your morning!
I would also like to see less waste throughout society but in a consumer/capitalistic society it's an uphill battle.
Wow. Who knew? The deeper I got into the article the more I was thinking bidet and then you said it! But I think you meant to say "our royal hinys" right? lol
Doh! That would have been best ;)
lol didn't expect this from you. But a good point well made nonetheless.
nice one.
Lol, I know right?
Actually, as a surfer I cannot stand what is happening to our oceans and waterways. This subject just irritated me so much, I needed to vent some of my frustration.
Bidet, all the way!
Informative and disturbing at the same time!
Have to say bidets are the best though and would recommend them to everyone.
I have to remind family not to flush wipes all the time as alot of the time they are not even purchasing the types that claim to be "flushable". Now i can show them pics of the fat-bergs.
I have a nephew. He's 2 years old. When he comes to visit and I'm not at home or I do not pay attention to him, he takes my napkins with which I wipe my laptop and pulls them out one by one and throws them into the toilet. Why he does it I do not know.
Now I hide them that he could not take them. But sometimes I forget to hide them and then they again find themselves in the toilet.
People use baby wipes to scrub their arses?
Doesn't it sting? haha I wouldn't know since I've never used them except for when I was once a baby but that was many years ago.
I've heard about all the problems things like baby wipes and some oils can cause and how they cost the tax payer quite a bit to recrify this problem.
So my is we need to have baby wipes that disintegrate when they touch water and then we wouldn't have this problem.
Although there are loads of problems and flaws with this it is still a genius plan!
Maybe
It's good idea, but I'm not sure it would work as they're wet to begin with so they need to be resilient to liquid to a certain extent. Also, since these wipes are made of synthetics fibers we don't know how this is effecting aquatic life and ecosystems. We already have a huge problem with micro plastics and of course plastics in general.
Why can't people just use TP? Or a bidet or a hose (lol)?
Noooooo! They be tellin' us More lies. Definitely need to know this. I feel sorry for the people have to get that stuff out, yuck.
I hope these guys are paid well! I could never do that job.
I hope so and all the vacation time they need.
Yuck! I wouldn't want to be the person cleaning up those fat bergs. I hope they get paid a lot for doing that 🤢. What about tissues? Are they flush-able like toilet paper?
LULZ nice...voted followed And RESTEEMED!!!
water jet best
Fatbergs.... oh Lord.... "As the use of wet-wipes becomes gains in popularity it is safe to say that Fat Bergs will also be an increasingly common phenomenon in our sewage systems." HORRIBLE. I've heard multi-vitamins and other pills also come out intact, clogging sewer lines.... thanks for the post ...
Lol, I love this post, the humor in it was hilarious.. I once fel a victim to the wet wipes, but could quit before I was completely hooked! 😂 and about a year ago when I lived in a community for 2 months, there was only the choice of a sort of bum gun like you explained but, this was in a more primitive setting, a self build compost toilet. First I couldn't picture it, how is this better, I thought to myself. I found the idea of not using toilet paper disgusting. After awhile I changed my mind completely! Now I find using toilet paper disgusting! The magic of the bum gun is beautiful..haha😂