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Flushable wipes have become a bathroom staple for millions of households, sitting somewhere between toilet paper and a wet cloth in terms of personal hygiene. Marketed as gentle, effective, and safe to send down the drain, they promise a cleaner result than dry paper alone. That promise has come under scrutiny as plumbers, environmental experts, and water utilities have linked wipes to costly clogs, sewer backups, and microplastic contamination in waterways.
Consumer Reports tested 11 brands on tensile strength, cleaning performance, dispensing ease, and drain line passage. Here are the best options and the ones to skip.
1 / 11
Credit: Amazon
Priced at $4.75, Amazon $AMZN Basics Flushable Wipes cost three cents per wipe, making them one of the most affordable picks in the test group. Sticky honey came off skin in two passes with a single 6.8-by-5.3-inch wipe, and the wipe dried quickly without leaving residue. Consumer Reports named these the second-strongest wipe in tensile testing and noted they scored above average overall, with the resealable sticker lid helping retain moisture better than a clickable design. CR flagged one dispensing quirk, noting that wipes occasionally bundled in the package, meaning the next user could touch wipes already handled by someone else.
2 / 11
Credit: Amazon
At four cents per wipe, Cottonelle Flushable Wipes retail for $15.79 per pack. These 7.25-by-5-inch wipes earned the highest dispensing score in the entire test, with one wipe emerging cleanly after another and no tearing across repeated pulls. Consumer Reports found cleaning performance solid, with honey removed from skin in two passes using one wipe, though a noticeable wetness lingered on skin longer than competing options. CR identified drain line passage as the weakest area, with Cottonelle ranking among the three worst wipes for traveling effortlessly through the drain despite the label's claim that it is plumber approved.
3 / 11
Credit: Caboo
The largest wipes in the test, Caboo Flushable Bamboo Wipes are available for $19.99, at 11 cents per wipe. At 7.9 by 6.7 inches, these are the only wipes in the group made from renewable bamboo and pulp-based viscose. Consumer Reports noted the wipes cleaned well, removing honey in two passes with one wipe, and dried at a reasonable pace. Dispensing was a weak point, with CR recording a wipe tearing during the pull test and ranking Caboo among the most difficult to dispense alongside Kirkland Signature and The Honest Company.
4 / 11
Credit: Costco
Kirkland Signature Flushable Wipes cost $19.99, or three cents per wipe, matching Amazon $AMZN Basics on price per use. Consumer Reports identified these as the strongest wipes tested in tensile testing, measuring higher than every other brand in resistance to ripping and bursting. Cleaning performance fell short of Amazon Basics, with CR recording four passes from two wipes needed to remove honey from skin and re-wiping required over the same area. According to CR, dispensing was difficult throughout evaluation, with one wipe tearing because the best grip point was hard to locate on the wipe.
5 / 11
Credit: Amazon
Five cents per wipe is the going rate for Good Wipes Flushable Wipes, sold at $18.00. At 6.25 by 8.25 inches, these wipes carry what Consumer Reports called the most pleasant fragrance in the group, a light coconut scent the brand sources from hydrosols it claims are water-based and more sustainable than chemical fragrances. CR found dispensing above average, with multiple consecutive wipes pulling cleanly from the plastic packaging without tearing or clogging. Tensile strength and drain line passage both landed at average, and CR noted the wipes left skin wet for longer than most competing products.
6 / 11
Credit: Amazon
A pack of Charmin Flushable Wipes runs $8.39, at nine cents per wipe. Consumer Reports rated dispensing performance the lowest of all 11 wipes tested, with multiple wipes emerging simultaneously and several tearing during the pull test. Cleaning required two wipes and three passes to remove honey from skin, though CR noted the formula dried quickly and drain line passage performed above average, a notable contrast to the dispensing failures. According to CR, the fragrance, described as shower fresh, was considered pleasant and not overwhelming.
7 / 11
Credit: DUDE Wipes
At six cents per wipe, DUDE Wipes XL Wipes goes for $12.29 per pack. These 7-by-7-inch wipes are the second-largest in the test, behind only Caboo, and are fragrance-free. Consumer Reports found cleaning solid, with honey coming off skin in two passes with one wipe and the wipes drying quickly with no residue. CR rated tensile strength and drain line passage slightly below average, while dispensing landed slightly above, though one wipe tore during evaluation and pulls occasionally failed to come out cleanly on the first try.
8 / 11
Credit: Walmart
Walmart $WMT's Equate Flushable Wipes run $6.98 for a pack, at three cents per wipe. Consumer Reports found tensile strength far below average, measuring significantly weaker than Cottonelle, the brand Equate markets itself as comparable to. Cleaning fell short of most competitors, with CR requiring two wipes and four passes to remove honey from skin, though drain line passage outperformed Cottonelle in the lab toilet test. CR described the fragrance as a fresh scent more powerful than Good Wipes or Charmin, comparing the smell to a household cleaning product.
9 / 11
Credit: Amazon
The Honest Company Flushable Wipes carry a $10.99 price tag, at nine cents per wipe. Consumer Reports called these wipes exceptionally superior at passing through the lab toilet, finishing at the top of the drain line passage test among all 11 products. Cleaning was efficient, with CR removing honey from skin in just one pass from a single wipe, though the wetness lingered a little longer than Amazon $AMZN Basics and Dude Wipes. According to CR, tensile strength was by far the lowest of any wipe tested, described as significantly below the group, and dispensing also ranked below average.
10 / 11
Credit: Amazon
At $9.43 and 11 cents per wipe, Nice 'N Clean Flushable Wipes tied Caboo as the most expensive product in the test. Consumer Reports rated these wipes below average in tensile strength, dispensing, and drain line passage. Cleaning required two different wipes and five passes to remove honey from skin, with a residual scent remaining even after that effort, prompting CR to note that a third wipe was needed to eliminate the smell. CR described the fresh scent as only slightly less powerful than Up&Up's, flagging it as a concern for anyone sensitive to fragrance.
11 / 11
Credit: Amazon
Target $TGT's Up&Up Flushable Cleansing Wipes are the least expensive option tested, retailing at $3.69 and two cents per wipe. Consumer Reports found tensile strength slightly above average and drain line passage also above average, giving these wipes two genuine positives in the test results. Dispensing was a failure, with CR recording multiple wipes tearing during the pull test, and three passes from one wipe were needed to completely remove honey from skin. CR described the fragrance as a strong fresh scent and noted that wetness lingered on skin longer than most other products in the group.
