By Emily Woodbury
It was a Tuesday and I got a knock on my door from my trusty (and well-loved) Amazon delivery man. I didn’t think I had ordered anything but, then again, sometimes I forget. I opened the box and saw an army-green box inside. What the…? A 42-pack of Bob’s Butt Wipes. Wow! Just what I’ve always wanted! As much as I can appreciate the importance of butt wipes, I was sure I had not ordered these (I didn’t have that much wine…).
Later that day, my phone rang. “Hi! Did you get the butt wipes?!” It was my dad, your favorite RV editor, Chuck Woodbury. “Ah, yes, I did. Care to explain?” Ultimately, am I surprised my father sent me a container of butt wipes with a funny logo? No. I often open my front door to find strange things he’s sent to me (like a 5-foot tall alien blow-up toy from Roswell, or T-shirts that say things like, “I fed Prairie Dogs in South Dakota”). He explained, “They’re selling these butt wipes at Camping World. The box says they’re flushable, but I don’t think they’ll dissolve as toilet paper does. Will you put a few in a jar on your counter in some water, shake it up a couple of times a day, and see if it dissolves?” “Sure, Dad,” I said.
It’s been ten days since I put the butt wipes in a jar of water on my kitchen counter (even the dog gives me weird looks when I go to shake it up). But guess what? They haven’t dissolved, not even a tiny bit. The butt wipe is just as much of a butt wipe as it was when I first put it in there. (I apologize for the poor-quality photo. It was hard to see the wipe against any light surfaces, so my gray couch had to do the trick. At least you get the point.) 
Let’s do a little research here, shall we? Camping World’s website, where you can buy 42 of these wipes for $7.31, writes, “Flushable wipes are biodegradable and disperse in under 3 minutes, so your sewer and septic systems will remain clog-free.” Well, we know from my science experiment above that this is not true. One disappointed Amazon reviewer writes, “This product is advertised as biodegradable and RV/septic tank safe. They are not! They do not break down and biodegrade as stated. These lodged in my RV and clogged the black tank drain. They are effective for their intended use but(t) they should not be used with a septic system or a RV.”
Now, this kind of thing isn’t new to the “advertising-lied-to-me” world. Back in April, many news stories came out saying that flushable wipes (from baby wipes to makeup removing wipes) aren’t actually flushable, and plumbers are getting tired of fishing out huge clogs. Here’s one of those stories. See the photo below from the Twitter account of the Sanitation Districts of LA County. They write, “The wipe is still whole after a year!” Yikes, we don’t even want to think about how bad these are for the environment, much less our septic tanks.
Moral of the story? Don’t flush anything down your poor RV toilet other than toilet paper, and preferably white, single-ply toilet paper at that. The system is just as sensitive as your stomach is after a night of spicy Mexican food, and nobody deserves the task of unclogging that meal from your RV’s toilet … nobody.
Use butt wipes, sure, if you must, but put them in the garbage and walk them out to the dumpster later that night. You’ll get a few extra steps in for your day, and you’ll keep your partner, your toilet, and your plumber happy.
Oh, also, I should share something funny. A few days after I received these in the mail, I got an email from our wonderful RVTravel.com accountant. She wrote, “Emily … Sorry but I have to ask … please see attached Amazon order … butt wipes??? Please share with me what business expense category this is for.” Because they were shipped to me, it looked like I had purchased them. I told her I’d send her this article, once I had written it, to explain the business butt-wipe expense. So here we are.
##RVT935
Thank you for keeping these perpetually misleading flushable claims in the forefront. The influx of new campers who have not experienced the horror or the costs of improper toilet disposal items has definitely increased the unwelcome incidences of improper toilet waste disposal both camping and at home.
I remember back in the 60s when my baby brother was born my mom got some disposable diapers. The instructions said to tear off the plastic outside layer and flush the rest down the toilet. She was smart enough to ignore that advice as we had a septic tank.
Emily, you’re wrong. Us plumbers love those wipes. How do you think I paid for my RV?
If you cannot eat it or drink something it should not go in the RV toilet.
Walmart also sells (Flushable) wipes. They also do not break down.
I found that Scotts wipes will fall apart in a few days. I put them in a jar and shook – nothing. I waited an tried every few hours – still little.
But I left the jar alone for 2 days (I get forgetful0andh when I shook, the wipes fell apart. So, while I use them at home, I may consider using them in my DP when/if they are truly needed.
One big problem commonly overlooked is that even among like-brand/ like-label products there can be HUGE differences: a brand “C” bought from one vendor or one place can be an different animal than the supposed same aquired elsewhere. ( The jar test will back me up on this). Trust NO wipes, they’re just too inconsistent. Be aware, the rate of dissolution varys greatly just from the water source/ treatment type. Despite it being inarguably the worst duty, empty tanks often. Partial tanks given a few shots of dawn concentrate then filled to 3/4 make a great power flush. I personally use old school “Dreft” (yeah, the diaper stuff) laundry soap & warm water to flush anytime the bus will be put up ( helps keep sensors clean as a bonus). Learned that from treating lift pits in commercial buildings. Silicone grease (I use Dow 111) just “wispered” on the dump valves both extend the life & improve the seal.
Emily, please keep writing for RVTravel! Absolutely
LOVE your style.
Has everybody and everything gone totally mad in today’s society? Let’s see, some want to get rid of most forms of transportation today and go back to horse and buggy or maybe bicycles. Some want us to get rid of the estimated 400 million cows in this country because they belch and fart gases that will end our planet, I guess we are supposed to eat Impossible burgers, steaks, roasts etc. now if you get the urge for beef, probably pork and chicken coming soon. Rip out your fossil fuel furnace and replace your heat source with, hmmm, can’t be a fireplace because then we would have to cut down trees for the fuel source and lord forbid the use of coal, egads! And now we have Bob’s Butt wipes that the experiment shows can’t be flushed down the toilet because they don’t biodegrade, so maybe we should throw them into the trash, why even use the toilet anymore? Dig a hole in the yard and compost your body waste, why not!
I think the country has gone nuts…..
Before I retired, I worked in industrial water treatment, but got to see the issues municipalities have to deal with. (actually worked for a couple of cities starting out). Wipes are the bane of their existence. Those public notices you see about sewer overflows? A lot of them are due to ‘flushable’ wipes. Just because it flushes down your toilet, doesn’t mean they disintegrate. They go to city pump stations where they can plug up pumps, and/or mess up level sensors and cause overflows. If these things can stay intact and plug up a pump designed to pump raw sewage, its going to be bullet proof in a black tank. For your sanity and peace, don’t flush wipes in your RV. For the sake of the environment, and to keep your sewer rates down, don’t flush them at home and screw up the city’s system either.
After reading this article on butt wipes, I had to go and test the ones my daughter uses at home. I .one wipe in a mason jar, added water, closed the lid and shook it. It just floated around. I came back and shook it about every hour or so. After about 3-4 hours, the water was getting cloudy, by the next morning it was mostly in little pieces, The brand was Scott Flushable Wipes, so some wipes actually do break up. I should have guessed it. Regular Scott toilet paper is the brand I have used in my TT for the last 13 years. Their toilet paper sometimes doesn’t even wait to be dumped in the toilet before breaking up
What are you thoughts about these new bidets that you can hook up to your existing toilet for RV’s?
The toilet cleaner nozzle works well as a bidet.
Do yourself a huge favor and install a toilet seat mounted bidet. I even have them on my brick and mortar house. Mine cost less than $40 and will save your tanks, your water, and let’s not mention your behind! It’s so much more effective than a hand held wand too. When done you simply pat yourself dry with a sheet or two of toilet paper. Since the tp is clean we simply put it in a small trash can that sits near the toilet. Installation is super easy….takes about 20 to 30 minutes. I purchased mine from Amazon….they have a slew of them from which to choose. Mine is a Luxe Bidet Neo 185
There’s something about cold water spraying on my behind that sounds absolutely shocking to me. I installed one of these things on my wife’s toilet, she loves it, I still use the age old proven method of tp been using tp over 76 years(since I was potty trained) guess I’ll die using it.
The Spousal Unit decreed last year when we were wintering in Texas for 4 months that TP was to no longer go into the toilet. I was not happy, but then again, I do not have to drain the tanks. I solved the odor problem with used TP in a small wastebasket by buying a bottle of the Clorox disinfecting spray and give a couple sprays onto the used paper as it is put into the wastebasket. Works great, and I don’t have to worry about taking the bag out every day.
You must be kidding, used TP in a trash can? Spray what? and it works like all over your hand and fingers then into the trash. Hubby will be complaining about “Alienation of Affection” next as he is wintering alone.
I put a plastic grocery bag [can’t use cloth bags yet for groceries] and use it t to line the waste basket. Then just toss the bag out. Don’t have to stick your hand into the waste basket. No brown streaks on the sides, either. Using this for at least five years now. Works great. Have an abundance of grocery bags now.
Probably half the world throws their used toilet paper in a trash can next to the toilet. And not just the poor countries. Been there, done that. You get used to it.
We learned traveling a few years ago, that in Greece they don’t flush the toilet paper, there is a trash can next to the “convenience” for it.
That same trash can in Russia is called a poo-tin. Sorry. I’ll see myself out.
No you can stay, this is a good one.
Agreed, Snayte. Have a great day! 🙂 –Diane
we use a trash can with a lid. Never a problem with odor we empty about once a week or as needed.
Those who put TP in a wastebasket and have no problems think their system is why. The rest of us use RV toilet paper and also have no problems.
“Flushable” only means that it will actually go down the drain.
Small toys, fabric wash cloths, etc. are all flushable.
Just because it is flushable does not mean that it should go down the drain.
If it takes more than the water jar shake test to dissolve, then I won’t put it down my drain, no matter what biodegradable chemicals may be added.
An advertizing trick. Flushable does not, as you pointed out, mean biodegrable. So the ads are misleading but true. Regretably.
Told my wife about this. She said her cottonelle were biodegradable. To show her she was wrong I put one in a bottle of water. After 6 hrs. she was right as usual. Wipe started to break down. Thanks a lot.
LOL!
I thought so also until my masticator jammed two or three times while dumping my black tank and having to pull out a bunch of Cottonelle butt wipes and I was the only one flushing them my wife wasn’t. Oh i also burnt out one masticator before I stopped flushing them down the drain.
I’d pay the $7.31 just to see the accountants expression when they read ‘butt wipes’!
I constantly “over charge” my customers-their language- to clear their toilets, main building drain, and the outside sewer lateral to the main. Not even a high pressure water Jet machine costing $50,000.00 dollars can clear the line. Now we are into back-hoe country because of a $ 7.00 box of butt-wipes.How to shoot yourself in the foot in one easy and painful lesson!!!!!!!!
Cities are asking residents to not flush them down into the sewer system. They don’t break down easily in the treatment plants.