Plumbing Connection Spring 2016

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SPRING 2016
INDUSTRY NEWS
KLEENEX’S GRUBBY MARKETING CLAIMS
Plumbing Connection magazine has been beating the
‘flushable’ wipe drum for years now and it seems our beat
is starting to reverberate to a broader spectrum of ears
now.
Consumer group CHOICE has tested Kleenex’s latest
‘flushable’ wipes and found they pose a blockage threat
to household pipes, which could leave consumers facing
hefty plumbing bills in the thousands of dollars.
“Kleenex seems to have an obsession with trying to
convince people to flush these products, when the fact is
they can clog up your pipes and be rough on your wallet,”
says CHOICE’s Head of Media Tom Godfrey.
“Although the new wipes disintegrated more than the
old wipes, they didn’t break down fast enough and we
believe they pose a blockage threat particularly in the first
several metres of pipe on the consumer’s property.
“Oddly, although the company insisted their old wipes
were flushable, they have decided to reformulate the
product.
“Notwithstanding Kleenex’s renewed push to get us
all flushing wipes, the Australian waste water industry
estimates that it is costing $15 million a year to clear
blockages caused by wet wipes.
“With consumers, local councils and water services
organisations struggling with the cost of removing
‘fatbergs’ from the sewage system, it’s encouraging
Kleenex is trying to clean up its act but this new product
still poses problems,” Mr Godfrey says.
CHOICE’s latest findings come eight months after
Kleenex received a Shonky Award in 2015 for claiming its
Kids Cottonelle Flushable Cleansing Cloths disintegrated
like toilet paper.
“Our tests last year found that after hours of testing the
wipes held together, while toilet paper dissolves in a few
minutes,” Mr Godfrey says.
CHOICE’s latest test also reaffirmed its previous 2015
findings that the older style of wipes such as Kleenex
Cottonelle Flushable Cleansing Cloths are not safe to
flush.