Anyone who buys paper-based nappy liners will know that, in most cases, these are described by the manufacturer as 'flushable'. I've used this same term on my website for years now but I've recently made the decision to change this description to 'disposable liners'.
I've spoken to a couple of people recently who work for water companies and they have advised me that the term 'flushable' causes a lot of problems in that people feel they can flush liners down the toilet willy-nilly and everything will be fine. I have been told that nothing should be flushed down the toilet other than toilet paper. This includes tampons, baby wipes and flushable nappy liners.
I now advise people, wherever possible, to use washable nappy liners. Saying that, I understand that, certainly when you're new to cloth, it's much easier to use a disposable liner. In this case I recommend the following:
- WET ONLY: place in the bin
- SOILED (SOLID): plop it off into the toilet and throw the liner in the bin
- SOILED (SLOPPY): flush everything down the toilet if absolutely necessary
This means that you're really minimising what is being flushed.