North American customers have made disposable wipes a $6.6 billion industry because the little pre-moistened cloths are a huge convenience.

But that perspective is not shared by people whose job includes pulling soggy mountains of smelly stuff out of sewage pipes, pump stations and debris screens and hauling it to landfills.

Sewage treatment plant operators across the Portland area say growing sales of the wipes, even those labeled as "flushable," are creating a costly mess here and across the country.

"This is a big deal," said Mark Jockers, public affairs manager for Clean Water Services, the sewer agency serving the Tualatin Valley west of Portland.

He said 40-pound masses of wipes have clogged a half dozen pumps in the past six months.

Frank Dick, engineering supervisor for sewer and wastewater services in Vancouver, estimates that wipes make up half of the material clogging the city's sewer system and residents pay an extra $4.37 each year to address the problem.

Linc Mann, a spokesman for Portland's Bureau of Environmental Services, said sending even flushable wipes down the drain is "not a good idea."

"They're flushable but they're not water soluble," he said. "They clog up sewer pipes, including the ones that run from your house to the street."

Troutdale implored residents in its March-April newsletter not to flush wipes at all. Sewer operators in Oregon City and Gresham also said wipes were a growing problem.

What if your pipes clog?

Officials say cities are paying a lot to clear pipes and pumps, but the problem can also affect homeowners. A plumber’s visit to remove flushed wipes can cost as little as $92 or as much as $204 if wipes block the home’s main line, according to a representative from Portland’s ProDrain & Rooter Service.

But an industry representative said it's unfair to portray flushable wipes as a major cause of clogged pipes.

Dave Rousse, president of the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, said wipes labeled "flushable" make up less than 10 percent of inorganic materials found in sewer systems. He said paper towels, regular baby wipes and feminine hygiene products – none of which are designed to be flushed – are much bigger problems.

Wastewater treatment operators "are focusing a lot of the blame on a relatively small (percentage) of the items," Rousse said.

Disposable wipes are intended to be discarded after one use. They are made for baby wipe-downs, hand-washing, household cleaning and industrial uses.

Rousse said a subset of disposable wipes – those marketed as "flushable" -- are used by toddlers, and increasingly adults, in place of toilet paper.

Wastewater officials across the metro area said the labeling is deceptive. They've never found a cloth wipe that breaks down like toilet paper after flushing.

A screen is transformed into a disgusting quilt made up of wipes flushed into Vancouver's sewers. The red and orange wipes were dyed as part of a test of different types of wipes' "flushability." They all flunked the test.

Dick, the Vancouver wastewater official, has studied the issue closely.

He's used fabric dyes to mark wipes labeled flushable and not flushable and sent them down toilets. He found that neither type broke down on its journey to the treatment plant. He also dunked the wipes in agitated water for up to 18 hours and came back the next day to find them intact.

"I haven't found any single product that's (labeled) flushable that's acceptable," he said.

Dick said Vancouver has spent $810,000 to replace 14 sewer pumps needed to handle the volume of flushed wipes, which has increased rapidly over the past 10 to 15 years. The city has spent thousands more on increased maintenance costs, disposal fees and electricity consumption because partially clogged pumps operate less efficiently.

Vancouver's Frank Dick marked wipes marketed as flushable and those not intended to be flushed, but neither kind broke up when flushed into the city's sewer system.

Rousse, the wipe industry representative, called the sector "a bastion of innovation" that is meeting demand rising at 4 to 5 percent annually.

He said sales are increasing even faster for products designed to be flushed, although that line of products accounts for less than a tenth of all wipes sold for personal hygiene, household cleaning and other uses.

His association's annual World of Wipes (WOW) International Conference this year will feature a prominent segment on "flushability," part of an effort with wipe makers to better label products that should not be flushed. The group is also working with manufacturers and wastewater experts to develop a wipe that will dissolve fully after flushing but won't disintegrate in customers' fingers during use.

"The dreaded poke-through is what you want to avoid," Rousse said.

-- Eric Apalategui