Wet wipes

Most wipes end up in landfill as not all LAs/countries have facilities to recycle those that are supposed to be. We never hear mention of the nappy situation nowadays but then I don't suppose they have recycle on them!

Polyester is basically plastic so avoid garments which contain it. Washing leads to micro plastics in the oceans and waterways. Includes fleece I’m sad to say. Buy fewer clothes anyway and when you have to, buy natural fibres.

When I was a child, my mum used to keep a damp flannel in a soap dish in her hand bag for mucky children.. I've reverted to that now, instead of wipes, for my eternally grubby DGS.

Calendargirl

Re ‘moist’ toilet wipes. Try lightly damping some ordinary toilet paper, preferably before you’ve been to the loo, and use that. Finish off with a bit of ‘dry’ paper, and you’re done.

Our poor little tender bums, how did we manage in the good old Izal days?

You can actually buy different products that you squirt onto your loo roll for that final freshen up. I first heard if them from a chap at Thames Water who recommended them instead of wipes which he said were the biggest problem in sewer blockages. One is Fresh U, another is Wype, yet another is a foam in a can called Senset.

I’ve never used a wipe for anything. Always use old tee shirts for cleaning and polishing. Old fashioned wax polish in tins. This year I’ve really got into planet friendly cleaning. I refill existing bottles with washing up liquid, loo cleaner etc at local zero plastic shops. I use shampoo and conditioner bars, after a few failures I found the ones by KinKind are the best. I use stuff like bicarbonate if soda, white vinegar, citric acid, borax, all supplied in cardboard boxes. All do an excellent job. Low chemical Laundry capsules and dishwasher tabs are becoming more available, never use fabric softener. There’s a growing market out there making it easier to be planet friendly. I’ll admit the cost us a bit higher with some products but that will change as the market grows.
Back to wipes. When my children were young I’d always take a couple of wet flannels in a sponge bag on days out, worked well at dealing with sticky fingers and faces.
Tea bags are still a problem that needs to be addressed.

Re ‘moist’ toilet wipes. Try lightly damping some ordinary toilet paper, preferably before you’ve been to the loo, and use that. Finish off with a bit of ‘dry’ paper, and you’re done.

Our poor little tender bums, how did we manage in the good old Izal days?

I get bio-degradable bamboo wipes (dry) from Canny Mum via Amazon,which I use in place of tissues and wet wipes. They also make rolls, I believe. When I want a cosmetic or lotion wipe I just spray on the wipe. CheekyWipes have little cotton or bamboo towelling squares which can be moistened in a container with water and a few drops of scented oil. There are similar wet cloth wipes for cleaning I got from a US crowdfunder, with disolving cleaning agents in a container, but I haven’t come across any uk supplies and the cost is prohibitive to reorder from the US. But ultimately all of these methods require a little more effort and commitment.

I cut up DH's old vests and our old T-shirts to make face wipes, dusters and cleaning cloths. They can be washed and re-used many times, also good for car washing.

I have never flushed wet wipes down the loo, they have always gone in the bin - even the baby ones from when my son was little.
I stopped using facial wet wipes a while ago as I found you needed to use more than one, to make sure my face was clean. I now use micellar water and have just swapped from cotton balls to re useable and washable bamboo pads.
As far as the garden products are concerned - a lot of them are no longer available . You can always try companion planting, such as chives next to roses deter fungal diseases like black spot etc but I must admit that I have had to use something chemical to get rid of ivy after everything else failed and my garden had the stuff everywhere!

I started using bamboo pads to remove my makeup two years ago. I think they cost me a fiver and are still going strong. They go in a bag in the washing machine every week. I highly recommend them. They must have saved me a lot of money as well

Brilliant, most of us know not to put wet wipes down the toilet but many seem unaware that they end up in landfill and take years to break down. The answer is to stop using them.
Cloths, whether purchased or homemade from old clothes and towels, are better for pocket and for environment.

Wipes only block drains if people are daft enough to flush them down the toilet. I'm a fan of covid wipes but always bin them.

Tizliz

The current generation blames us ‘oldies’ for everything but I don’t think we can be using all the 11 billion (?) wipes used in the UK every year. Never use them, use old tea towels etc, very careful as to what goes in our drains.

When you look back at us oldies childhood, things were reused and recycled much more than things are today. Never knew what a wipe was, sometimes had to cut up old towels for sanitary wear, believe it or not, glass bottles for milk, orange juice, people kept furniture til it wore out. The worst discovery for our planet was plastic. Now use,like others, washable floor. and cleaning cloths, use Earth Breeze for washing and dryer .balls if I need to tumble dry anything. Easy to blame us oldies rather than looking at their own habits of chuck away stuff.

Maybe the modern loo just has it got the powerful flush of the old high cistern I wonder how they would cope with That old * Izal* or Jeyes last seen at school. We sometimes used it for tracing paper ?

What about those moist toilet tissue wipes? Some people have to use them. I’m sure that often they must get flushed through habit or accidentally.

It is time now for manufacturers to stop making the plastic ones now we are all aware.

I tried some none plastic cotton buds (bamboo) which were quite brittle and I thought that if you poke them into your ears as a lot of people do - even though they always advise not on the packets - they could snap and get stuck.

Anyone know what happened to QTips *they were *sturdy but not plastic though quite expensive compared.

And what about incontinance products; aren’t they the same materials as nappies?

Don't use them at all. When moist (sorry, horrible word which I know a lot of you dislike) toilet paper was new I tried it and got thrush, which is not something I'm prone to! Does it still exist - the moist (sorry) wiping stuff, not thrush?

I have never ever bought them or used them - until COVID when I bought a couple of packs - and still haven't used them.

Casdon

The Wilko wipes are manufactured in the UK Tizliz.
www.packagingoftheworld.com/2020/07/wilko.html

That is good, too much Chinese tat around. Trying to buy a new torch and so many are made in China it is difficult.

there are no flushable wipes.
all the water companies agree; nothing should be put down the drains except human waste and a reasonable amount of toilet paper per flush.
even toilet papers vary greatly; quilted is worst, and 3+ply.
you can do a simple experiment: take two squares off different type of toilet paper. fold over slightly and leave each in same size containers of water for say an hour.
i use large old yogurt pots, stood in bath tub.
then use an implement to give quick stir and lift out paper.
compare results. i was surprised that the one i thought was good, with the koala and his ears, and had just bought multi-pack of, in fact was almost intact.
the other one, puppies on a roll, had broken up much more.
i'd assumed the puppies being softer would be worse, but no.
so i use that in the loo, and keep the koala for blowing of nose and dispose in bathroom bin then general rubbish grey bin.

I’m always agog at the array of wipes on display in supermarkets. Do people really buy them all? I guess they must, otherwise they wouldn’t be made, but really!

I’ve converted my DD’s to crocheted cotton ‘scrubbies’, which are like cotton wool pads but washable, for removing make up. You can find similar items on Etsy.

All cleaning is done with cloths, torn-up old tea towels and t-shirts. For cleaning round the toilet I use loo roll and flush it away.

I buy a pack of make up wipes maybe once every couple of years for holidays. I’d never flush them, though.

Calendargirl

Whatever happened to using old rags for cleaning, washing surfaces, floors etc? Why does anyone need a ‘wipe’ to wash the floor?

I use old flannels and cut up old tee shirts, tea towels etc. After they get too tatty,they are binned.

Babies bottoms don’t have to be cleaned with a ‘wipe’ either.

We need to get back to basics, and make do with other stuff.

Sounds like you and I were of the 'make do' generation. You got a great shine on the windows and furniture with the remains of an old vest. Did you know you can buy wipes that contain plain water. What on earth is that all about?

My husband's aunt and uncle came to stay, and had bought their own 'flushable' toilet wipes. When I explained they couldn't be put down the toilet because of our septic tank, they were quite upset.

It says 'fine to flush' on the Andrex washlets. They should be taken off the market.

I can remember gripping a corner of the terry nappy and holding it in the toilet while flushing so the majority of the soil went down the pan except when the drain was once blocked by a real nappy!

I nearly always carried a clean damp flannel for faces when we were out and about. Sure the marketing people make it sound so clean, quick and easy nowadays but from what I have observed it is much the same ie babies and toddlers make as much mess as they always did. So Stop buying those wipes and grab a flannel Now

DD had re-usable nappies for her babies. The council gave her a grant of £30 when she bought them, I don't know if they still do. She bought little towelling wipes at the same time. The wipes were wonderful - a spot of soap and water and they cleaned a baby's bottom far more efficiently than a wet wipe out of a packet. Just popped in the wash with the nappies afterwards.

The Wilko wipes are manufactured in the UK Tizliz.
www.packagingoftheworld.com/2020/07/wilko.html