Do my cleaning wipes need a Do Not Flush label?

Probably yes, if you sell them in Washington, California, Oregon, Illinois, Colorado or Michigan. These states require a Do Not Flush symbol and the words "Do Not Flush" on nonflushable wipes, and the laws read list general purpose, hard surface, bathroom and disinfecting cleaning wipes among the covered products [1][2][3]. In Illinois and Oregon the symbol and the words must each cover at least 2 percent of the principal display panel (the front of the pack a shopper sees), be placed by package type, and stand out at 70 percent contrast [1][2]. A federal bill that would set one national rule passed the House in June 2025 [4]. Each law and the label details follow.

The laws, and the text behind each

The Responsible Flushing Alliance, a trade group, also lists bills introduced in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey and Hawaii [5]. Check their status before you print a pack for those states.

Whether your wipe is a covered product

Illinois and Oregon use the same two-part definition. A covered product is a premoistened nonwoven disposable wipe that is either marketed as a baby or diapering wipe, or made wholly or partly of petrochemical-derived fibers and likely to be used in a bathroom with significant potential to be flushed [1][2]. Illinois's list for the second group names bathroom, toilet, hard surface, general purpose and disinfecting cleaning wipes, along with personal care types [1]. Michigan's bill uses the same structure and the same cleaning wipe types [3], and California's law covers general purpose and hard surface cleaning wipes with petrochemical-derived fibers [6]. Washington's law is broader on fiber: a covered product is "a nonflushable nonwoven disposable wipe that is a premoistened wipe constructed from nonwoven sheets," and the definition names wipes designed for "household hard surface cleaning purposes," with no petrochemical fiber condition in that wording [7].

Three things follow for a cleaning wipe:

• Fiber. A wipe of all plant-based fiber may fall outside the second group under the Illinois and Oregon wording, because the definition turns on petrochemical-derived fibers [1][2]. Get the substrate composition from your nonwoven supplier in writing.
• Where it is used. A kitchen wipe that is also "likely to be used in a bathroom" is in, and the Illinois list names general purpose cleaning wipes outright [1].
• What it claims. Disinfecting wipes are named. They are also pesticides, so the label has to go through EPA first (below).

The federal bill would also cover "household or personal care wipes" made wholly or partly of petrochemical-derived fibers with "significant potential to be flushed" [4].

What the label must carry

These rules are from the Illinois Act and ORS 646A.540, which match closely [1][2]. Washington's law sets the same 2 percent symbol size and 70 percent contrast, and bars seams and folds from obscuring the symbol [7].

The symbol and the notice

• Symbol: the "Do Not Flush" symbol from the INDA/EDANA Code of Practice. Illinois cites the Code's second edition and its Guidelines, Edition 4 (May 2018) [1]; Oregon fixes it as in effect on September 25, 2021 [2]. INDA and EDANA are the North American and European nonwovens trade associations.
• Notice: the words "Do Not Flush."
• Size: symbol and notice each at least 2 percent of the principal display panel's surface area [1][2].
• Contrast: at least 70 percent, calculated as [(B1 minus B2) ÷ B1] × 100 from the light reflectance values of the lighter and darker areas [1].
• Not obscured: seams, folds and design elements must not hide them [1][2].

Placement by package type

From the Illinois Act, Section 15(a) [1]; Oregon is the same in substance [2]. Bulk packs must comply on the outer and inner packages, with exceptions for inner packages that do not dispense and carry no retail labeling. Packages smaller than 3 by 3 inches may put both wherever they are prominent to the user [1].

What the label must not say

No "representation about flushable attributes, benefits, performance, or efficacy," including through product names, endorsements, pictures or trademarks [1][2]. The federal bill uses similar wording: no "express or implied representation that such covered product can or should be flushed" [4]. You may add other words consistent with the law's purpose [1].

Disinfecting and sanitizing wipes

Under both Illinois and Oregon, makers of EPA-registered wipes had to submit a compliant label to EPA by July 1, 2023, and then to the state agriculture department (Oregon) or IDOA (Illinois) [1][2]. If the agency does not approve the full design, you use the most compliant label it does approve [1][2]. For CPSC- or EPA-regulated products, the notice's type size may be matched to the first aid or "Keep Out of Reach of Children" statements as federal law allows [1]. Michigan set February 1, 2025 for FIFRA-registered products to submit the symbol and notice [3]. How a registered wipe is treated as its own product is on wipes, cloths and devices.

Enforcement and penalties

Illinois gives enforcement to local wastewater authorities (sanitary and water reclamation districts, municipalities and counties). After written notice you have 90 days to comply, and then penalties of up to $2,000 for a first violation, $5,000 for a second and $10,000 for a third or later, plus enforcement costs and attorney fees [1]. Multiple units of one package count as one violation. On request you must send compliance documentation within 90 days [1]. Michigan's bill sets the same three penalty levels, enforced by county prosecutors or the attorney general [3]. Oregon has separate sections on documenting compliance (646A.542) and local government enforcement (646A.544), not summarized here [2].

The federal bill and preemption

The WIPPES Act, H.R. 2269, passed the House on June 23, 2025 [4]. As engrossed, it would require the notice and symbol at 2 percent of the principal display panel with high contrast, apply one year after enactment, be enforced by the FTC as an unfair or deceptive practice, and bar any state from keeping Do Not Flush labeling requirements "that are not identical" to it [4]. The engrossed text has no carve-out for existing state laws. Check congress.gov for whether it has become law. If it is enacted, design to the federal text; until then, the state laws above apply.

A pack that meets every law read

1. Symbol and "Do Not Flush" each at 2 percent or more of the principal display panel.
2. Placement for your package type from the table above.
3. A contrast check at 70 percent or more.
4. No flush claims anywhere, including the product name.
5. For a registered wipe, EPA acceptance of the label first.
6. A file showing the calculation of panel area and contrast, so you can answer a request within 90 days [1].

Pack design matters for the label: canisters, flow packs and tubs each have their own placement rule, and a label that wraps over a seam or fold fails. This page reports the laws as read on October 22, 2026, and is not legal advice.

Making the wipe itself

The label is the last step. Substrate, solution, preservation and when a wipe becomes a pesticide are on can I make and sell cleaning wipes?.

References

1. Illinois General Assembly, *Public Act 102-0286* (SB 294, Wipes Labeling Act), effective July 1, 2022, read October 22, 2026. https://ilga.gov/ftp/Public%20Acts/102/102-0286.htm
2. Oregon Revised Statutes 646A.540, via Oregon Public Law (2021 c.181 §1; page current through early 2026), read October 22, 2026. https://oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_646A.540
3. Michigan Legislature, *House Bill 4596 (2023), House concurred April 17, 2024, as passed Senate April 16, 2024*, read October 22, 2026. https://legislature.mi.gov/documents/2023-2024/billconcurred/House/pdf/2023-HCB-4596.pdf
4. U.S. House of Representatives, *H.R. 2269, WIPPES Act*, 119th Congress, engrossed in House (passed June 23, 2025), read October 22, 2026. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-119hr2269eh/html/BILLS-119hr2269eh.htm
5. Responsible Flushing Alliance, *Wipes Legislation*, undated, read October 22, 2026. https://flush3p.org/leg/
6. Bureau Veritas Consumer Products Services, *California Passes "Do Not Flush" Labeling Law*, October 25, 2021. https://www.cps.bureauveritas.com/newsroom/california-passes-do-not-flush-labeling-law
7. Washington State Legislature, *Substitute House Bill 2565, chapter 121, Laws of 2020* (session law, approved March 25, 2020), read October 22, 2026. https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2019-20/Pdf/Bills/Session Laws/House/2565-S.sl.pdf
8. Washington State Legislature, *RCW 70A.525.020* (RCW archive, 2023, through 2023 c 172), read October 22, 2026. https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/Law/RCWArchive/2023/htm/RCW%20%2070A%20TITLE/RCW%20%2070A.525%20%20CHAPTER/RCW%20%2070A.525%20.020.htm
9. LegiScan, *California AB 818, 2021-2022 Regular Session* (chaptered October 6, 2021, chapter 590), read October 22, 2026. https://legiscan.com/CA/bill/AB818/2021