We all know that toilets are for flushing the three P's only: pee, poo, and (toilet) paper. Anything else can pose a pricey problem for your plumbing and the planet.

But that hasn't stopped some manufacturers of wet wipes confusing the message with claims their products, too, can simply be flushed away. One of those companies was slapped with a significant penalty on Thursday by the Federal Court for misleading advertising.

Pental Limited and Pental Products Pty Ltd is the manufacturer behind White King's "flushable" toilet and bathroom cleaning wipes. It's been ordered to pay penalties totalling $700,000 for making false and misleading representations about its product; namely, that it would disintegrate in the sewage system "just like toilet paper".

Packaging and promotional materials for the White King wipes included statements like “flushable”, “Simply wipe over the hard surface of the toilet … and just flush away”, and “White King Toilet Wipes are made from a specially designed material, which will disintegrate in the sewage system when flushed, just like toilet paper”.