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Cottonelle Wipes and Septic

12 years ago

I have been careful over the year to use a toilet paper that breaks down quickly in water, to assure it does not cause a blockage in my septic/drain-field system. I have used independent 3rd party tests to select the TP.

In recent times a member of the family has taken to using Cottonelle Wipes to supplement TP. I was told this was only occasionally and that the products is "listed" as safe for use in septic systems.

Any views on this subject?

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Comments (7)

asolo
12 years ago
Have septic. Been using these for more than a decade while caring for elderly mom.

Notwithstanding the "flushable" printed on the label, my pumpers tell me they come out of the tank exactly as they went in. However, have not had any blockage issues. Then, again, I pump out every 4 years or so and accumulation may not have had time to block anything down there. Don't know.
User
12 years ago
If your septic tank is a recent enough installation to have a "solids" filter on the tank outlet then it will still be in there when it's time to pump the tank.

If no filter then I wouldn't use them... the possibility of clogging the leach field is too great and the cost to correct that is too high to take the chance.
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Well I don't know anything about the 'to pump or not to pump' issue but I thought I'd give you all an update. We found out that we had a very leaky toilet, about 2-3 gallons and hour so obviously that didn't help our system any. And we weren't being particularly water wise with washing either. So we replaced the toilet with a low volume toilet and have done laundry at the laundrymat for the past few weeks and we're being very water wise with short showers. As a result, the ground is no longer squishy out there and there is no smell and no more gurgling coming from any toilets or pipes. So it may be too soon to tell but we are treating the system with the kindness and respect it has always deserved. Now we hope it returns the favor. We are giving it a little while longer to 'dry out' a bit. It has been rainy enough here so I don't plan to start introducing clothes washing water to it for a couple weeks. Hopefully it doesn't protest when we do because the laundrymat is a bit inconvenient. Thanks for all the input. If there are any changes, I'll let you know. In the meantime my lucky husband gets to replace two other older big tank toilets with new low flow ones and what the heck we figure we'll change out the shower heads to low flows (and i'm secretly hoping for a fancy new front load low water washing machine....shhhhh I haven't mentioned that part yet). I figure I ought to take it one low flow toilet at t a time and work up ! So even if we haven't solved the problem and a big ticket fix is in our future, at the very least this issue has resulted in our family being a bit more respectful and we are wasting less water for sure. So it's a blessing. A stinky one, but a blessing nonetheless. Thanks all for your help and advice.
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Okay, this will likely be controversial, but anyone that knows how to properly design and operate a biological system (like a septic) will tell you they don't need to be pumped. Biological systems like consistency - pumping disrupts those systems badly. HOWEVER, that depends upon the following: The septic tank and leach system must be properly sized, located and installed, preferably with two leach fields so you can switch (but two is rare). The only things that belong in the septic are human waste, toilet paper (NO WET WIPES, EVER), and gray water from sinks, washer, etc. Minimal food waste - scrape plates into the garbage and use a disposal only for the tiny bits you can't reasonably remove from the sink and that would end up down the drain whether or not a disposal was installed. No bleach tabs in the toilet. Minimal bleach in laundry No septic additives like Rid-X. These are not only unnecessary - they are harmful to septic health. No grease down the drains. Liquid detergents are easier on the septic. None of those cleaners with "scrubbing" beads - those are plastic. Failing any of that, the next best thing is to check annually to measure the depth of solids at the bottom of the tanks. Open the access hatch and use a long board with a rag tied around the bottom 2 ft and stick it in the tank until you hit the bottom. Pull it out and you will see how deep the solids are. Within a ft of the tank outlet? - pump the tank. You can have this done for you, as dadoes explained. If you are unwilling or unable to check yearly, pump no more frequently than every five years, 10 if you are disciplined about what goes into the tank. If you can't/won't take care about what goes down your drains, THEN you pump every three years as recommended by the folks that pump tanks.
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jerry_nj
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks, my system is NJ Code and was built in about 1985, so old but not ancient. It has a double tank, each with an access lid/riser. I think there is just a baffle between the two, I know I don't have to dig both to get the tank pumped.

I think my situation is light-duty compared to caring for the elderly, albeit that's about where I/we are. Still, I understand the use if infrequent, not even once a day.. I'll check. I remain concerned.

Any recommendations on TP? My wife asked if we could use TP that doesn't dissolve in the hand. As I said we've used a Septic recommend TP, Quilted Northern, but some tests say it is both soft and tough, and dissolves well in water. Maybe a tougher paper would eliminate the need for the wipes. I know when I was younger it was a lot easier to wipe... have I gone too far? Sorry, just looking avoid high cost septic system repair.
asolo
12 years ago
Don't know how far along "the path" you may be but....

As things began requiring more attention here and especially after consultation with pumpers the last time some years ago asking specifically about this, I changed our bathroom procedure. For mom's depends and these wipes, I keep a small plastic-bag-lined waste basket near the toilet. Soiled depends or anything other than TP go in there and I dispose of immediately and start over again. Removes septic tank concerns and keeps things clean with just a little extra effort and attention.
User
12 years ago
Probably no filter on the tank outlet in 1985 I I would be cautious on anything that can get out of the tank and plug the leach field or distribution apparatus.

The repair for a plugged or saturated leach field may be to abandon it and put another field on the property. Many people don't have the area available for a replacement field.

You are wise to be cautious.
sschnath
12 years ago
We've been using these since April 30 of last year when we moved into our new home. We started having issues with leaking out of the lid of our septic tank a couple of weeks ago. Just had it pumped yesterday and the tank was full of wipes that had not decomposed. We won't know for a couple of weeks whether any bypassed the baffles and have clogged the leach field.

I did a little online research and found some municipalities are asking residents not to flush these into the sewer system. And our pumper said that anecdotally, he's seeing a lot of the same problem we experienced.

I don't know what kind of testing Kimberly-Clark did to determine these are septic safe but in my opion it doesn't appear to have been sufficient.

To anyone using these wipes, do yourself a favor and do not put these into a septic system, regardless of what the packaging says.
jerry_nj
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks for the follow up, I'll reemphasize to my wife to stop putting in toilet.

I took one of the Cottonelle (brand name I think) and put it in the bathroom sink and let it soak in water for a few hours. It was close to dissolved. I have decided however to try to stop these from being flushed. I'll try to remember to check the package, but I don't recall "Kimberly-Clark". I figured something more like Kleenex or similar brand.

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