Target Will Finally Pay for These ‘Flushable’ Wipes That Were Anything But

Target shoppers, put on your thinking caps and try to recall if you purchased flushable wipes between 2010 and 2014.

If you did, you may be eligible for gift cards or coupons from this class-action settlement.

Target settled an Ohio lawsuit that claims its Up & Up brand flushable toddler wipes were not actually flushable. Instead, customers had to deal with clogged pipes and septic systems, the lawsuit said.

The suit cited complaints from disappointed customers who reviewed the product online while it was still available. One noted a $195 plumbing bill and a “sludge-covered basement floor.”

Another customer said their septic tank backed up into their basement and wrote, “If you choose to use them anyway, and can manage to get the wipes out of the incredibly frustrating package, don’t flush them!”

The suit states: “An entire market of so-called ‘flushable’ wipes has cropped up over the past few years. These wipes have not only been clogging consumer’s [sic] pipes all over Ohio and the country, but have also created a public health hazard by clogging pumps at municipal waste treatment facilities.”

(Want to know what those huge clogs look like? Google “What is a fatberg?” You’re welcome.)

Target denied the claims. The agreement explains that the settlement only covers the extra price charged for the “flushable” feature of the wipes; the settlement doesn’t cover any damage to plumbing systems.

If you purchased these wipes between April 18, 2010, and Oct. 31, 2014, you can file a claim. The wipes were discontinued in October 2014.

If you file a claim without proof of purchase, you can receive $1.35 per package, up to $27, as a Target gift card. If you somehow have proof of purchase, you can claim as many packages of wipes as you have evidence of buying.

You can also choose to receive your portion of the settlement via coupons for free Up & Up wipes.

Submit your claim by Sept. 7 online or by mail.

Meanwhile, in London, researchers dissected a fatberg — everything left behind after a sewer system breaks down what gets flushed — and made a TV special about it. You can bet there were a few “flushable” wipes discovered.

Lisa Rowan is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder.