Flushability 101

Cottonelle® flushable wipes are made with fibers that are 100% plant-sourced and start to break down immediately after flushing.

Flushability 101
All Breakdown, No Buildup

Our flushable wipes are IWSFG 2020 complaint and plumber approved. They are flushable: sewer and septic safe.

Flushability Questions and Concerns

The flushability of Kimberly-Clark® products is tested with plumbers and passes widely accepted flushability guidelines. These guideline tests demonstrate that when used as directed, our wipes clear properly maintained toilets, drain lines, sewers and pumps, and are compatible with on-site septic and municipal treatment. Cottonelle® Flushable Wipes are flushable due to patented technology that allows them to lose strength and break up when moving through the system after flushing.

Cottonelle® Flushable Wipes are designed to safely break down in home septic systems and will not affect the normal bacterial activity in a septic system.

We recommend flushing 1‒2 wipes per flush. This instruction appears on our packages.

No. Baby wipes include plastic and are designed to deliver durability and value.

The fibers used in Cottonelle® Flushable Wipes are 100% biodegradable and come from responsibly managed forests. There are no plastic fibers in our wipes. The packaging materials are not biodegradable.

Many plumbers aren’t aware that there are different types of wipes. Cottonelle® Flushable Wipes are tested with plumbers and meet all flushability guidelines.

Cottonelle® Flushable Wipes are made of tree pulp which will biodegrade in some composting systems; check with your local municipality to see if a program that accepts used tissue products exists in your area. Cottonelle® Flushable Wipes have not been tested in home composting systems. Our recommendation is to flush our Flushable Wipes, because they are designed to break down in sewer and septic systems. The Cottonelle® Flushable Wipe packaging materials are not compostable.

Testing for Flushability

Our testing method mirrors how wipes would move through drain lines and sewer systems to ensure our wipes break down fully.

Better than Baby Wipes

Cottonelle® Flushable Wipes Baby Wipes
100% Flushable 100% Flushable
Plumber-approved Plumber-approved
Plastic-free Plastic-free

Revamp your clean routine

Together, Cottonelle® Ripples Clean better*. Add them to your routine for a fresh clean.

*wet + dry vs. dry alone

Shop Now