Roseville to residents: Stop flushing those 'flushable' wipes

The city of Roseville is asking residents to stop flushing down the toilet products like baby and personal hygiene wipes that are advertised as flushable because they cause problems for sewer infrastructure as the city responds to a rise in backups.

"These products do not break down. You only want to flush products that dissolve as soon as it hits the water, and the only product that does that is toilet paper," Roseville Public Works Director Jesse Freihammer said in a post on the city website. "The only paper product safe to flush is toilet paper."

In addition to baby and personal hygiene wipes, the east metro city listed disinfectant cleaning wipes, toilet cleaning pads, feminine hygiene products and paper towels as items that should not be flushed.

The city repairs the main sewer lines, but homeowners pay for repairs when issues occur between their home and the main sewer line.

The city noted that most homeowner insurance policies don't cover sewer backups, though sewer coverage can be added.