A flushable product must pass a set of tests, including clearing the toilet and drain line and breaking apart in a slosh-box test within a set time, plus checks on settling and biodegradation. That rules out continuous polyester and strong binders, so flushable wipes are usually wetlaid or hydroentangled from wood pulp and short cellulose fibers. The label is a standing fight between wipe makers and wastewater utilities.
Flushable base passed the slosh box, but wet strength is too low to survive the packing line.
Also heard as
- dispersible
- flushable wipe
Related terms
Wetlaid
Describes webs formed from fibers dispersed in water and drained on a screen, on equipment adapted from papermaking.
Hydroentangling
Bonding a fiber web by blasting it with rows of very fine, high-pressure water jets that tangle the fibers together.
Latex
Water-based polymer dispersion used as the binder in chemically bonded nonwovens.