Help keep your sewer lines clear

"Flushable" wipes are clogging your sewer system.

Once used for babies, these all-too-handy replacements for plain old toilet paper are clogging pipes and sewerage systems from Australia to London to New York City.  Many are advertised as flushable, but as Consumer Reports showed recently, they are anything but.  In fact, some of these wipes failed to disintegrate in water after 10 minutes, compared to a few seconds for a piece of toilet tissue.

So, here’s a basic rule:  Indestructible stuff should not be flushed down the toilet. That includes such items as diapers, paper towels, cigarettes, love letters and, of course, wet wipes.  One person’s convenience should not inconvenience all the rest of us. We all will benefit,