Pop quiz! Books closed! Grab your pencils. Okay, “What do poop, pee, throw-up and toilet paper have in common?” Hold your answers for a second…

Now, “What’s the common link between tampons, condoms, paper towels and baby wipes?” <I can see the confusion setting in> Think about your answers…

Well, if you answered “those all get flushed down the toilet” to the first question and “those don’t get flushed down the toilet” to the second – you’re a gentleman (or lady) and a scholar!

Unfortunately, I deserve detention for not knowing that my very own employer (Halton Region) provides very direct instructions about what can and cannot “skip to the loo with you,” with which I have been…well…not quite compliant.

OK, I admit it! I flush baby wipes. My bad! I didn’t know it was such a bad thing. (Well I kinda suspected it wasn’t a great thing, but didn’t wanna focus on it too much, opting instead for honest deniability should I later find out it was a big no-no). I even purposely bought “flushable” wipes, thinking (a.k.a. hoping) that I was doing the right thing by the porcelain god. But, as it turns out, my gut was right: the only things that we are supposed to be flushing are those that either come out of our bodies directly (actual biological waste; you know, the gross stuff we naturally produce) and good ‘ol TP (toilet paper that is). That’s it, my friends. That’s it.

So, as a parent who LOVES organic baby wipes and the job they do on stinky little bottoms in comparison to their lesser cousin, TP, what am I to do about this? I don’t wanna put poopy, gross baby wipes in the bathroom garbage! YUCK. But I do want to role-model good toilet/sewer practices for my kids (wow – the list of stuff we parents have to role-model never ends! LOL!). I am looking to change my ways; to avoid causing problems with the regional sewer system and/or incurring the unnecessary cost of plumbing repairs in my home whilst setting a good example for the little ones. What to do…what to do? Well, I actually know full well what I could do but have been avoiding it for quite some time.

A friend of mine keeps a stack of clean face cloths and a little laundry hamper under her sink so her kids can get that “baby-wipe-esque” experience when they have that not-so-fresh feeling down south. She launders and reuses the facecloths and Bob’s your uncle! She feels good about it, citing its ecological friendliness (i.e., not creating any paper waste) and effectiveness. Sounds good, no? So, why have I never seriously considered embracing this excellent strategy? Your guess is as good as mine. I have no idea. Old habits die hard, I suppose. Hmmmmm…now that I’ve put it in print, I guess honest deniability is a thing of the past. Jeeeeeezzzz…know of any deals on face cloths?

So, are you a baby wipe flusher?  Answer our poll (don’t worry it’s anonymous :)) 

If you’ve got a story to share about your experience, please do. We’d love to hear it – even if it’s gross. We’re parents too. We get it!

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About this blogger:

Paula D’Orazio RN is a public health nurse with the Early Years Health Program at the Halton Region Health Department.  Wanna know more about her?  Read her blogs!  She’ll tell ya!  (She kinda likes to talk.)