Cleaning your toilet can be disgusting, and we’re all looking for hacks to make it easier. Can you put bleach in the toilet tank to solve this problem? It seems like a sensible solution, but there are some things to consider before you dump a half-gallon in the water. Primarily you should consider the fumes and whether you have pets or children who are likely to be affected by the bleach. Additionally, it pays to be careful since you don’t want to get any on your body. As for the tank itself, there’s little reason to worry. Ceramic can certainly handle a little bleach. In fact, those blue tabs people put in their tanks often contain bleach. However, I recommend pouring carefully to avoid mess and damages.
Can you put bleach in the toilet tank? You can put bleach in the toilet tank. There’s no reason to worry about it harming your toilet, and it can help prevent stains, bacteria, and other problems. Moreover, pouring a small amount of bleach in toilet tanks and other drains can help keep all your drains clean, not just your toilet tank and bowl.
Can I Put Bleach in My Toilet?
You can put bleach in the toilet or toilet tank. However, it is vital to avoid mixing bleach and other cleaners. Unless you buy a pre-made mixture, the chemical reactions can be damaging to your health. Still, using plain bleach should be safe enough with good ventilation.
To clean your toilet bowl or tank, add a half cup of standard liquid bleach directly to the water. Allow it to sit for at least ten minutes before scrubbing and flushing. Alternately, you can use a concentrated bleach tablet if you prefer.
A clean toilet isn’t worth getting sick or hurt, so always take the time to protect yourself from fumes and splashing. Make sure you open a window and wear a mask with gloves when working with bleach. Skin contact and inhaling the fumes is not recommended. Bleach can cause chemical burns on your dermis, and it causes burning and inflammation on the inside of the esophagus and lungs when inhaled.
Evolve Bleach Tablets from Amazon are a lightweight, splash-free solution to your bleach needs. Drop one of these in your toilet tank for a cleaner toilet with far less work. The ultraconcentrated bleach tabs work just like a liquid, with no mess. Plus, Evolve comes in a variety of scents to suit any home. Read the Amazon reviews by clicking here.
Clean Toilet Tank Without Draining
Whether you put bleach in your toilet tank or not, it is important to keep things clean. Unfortunately, draining all the water out and deep cleaning isn’t always an option. Luckily, you can keep your toilet tank clean without draining it.
Preventative cleaning is a great way to start. When you first move in, check to see if your toilet and tank are clean. This is the time to drain the water and do a deep clean if necessary. However, once the toilet is clean, maintaining that level of cleanliness is simple.
You will need to clean about once a week to keep your toilet sparkling. If you have unusually high traffic in your home, such as a large party or even a large family, then you might want to clean every three to four days instead. Regardless, the process for wet-cleaning is the same.
Pour your bleach or another toilet cleaner in the tank and bowl. Once this is done, close the lids and walk away for a while. Ten minutes is enough for a well-maintained toilet, but when you have stubborn stains, it may be necessary to leave your cleaner in overnight. Most importantly, choose a high-quality cleaning product, so you don’t have to do the job twice.
A container of Pure-Eco Toilet Bowl Cleaner Powder from Amazon will get rid of rust, scale, dark spots, and more. This surprising toilet tank, bowl, and multi-surface cleaner will get the job done completely every time. You will appreciate the clean scent. More importantly, Pure-Eco also helps dissolve blockages in your pipes as you flush. Get Pure-Eco when you click here.
How to Clean Your Toilet Tank With Vinegar And Baking Soda
Unlike the regular maintenance cleaning, where you can use a half cup of bleach in the toilet tank, some jobs need more. However, that doesn’t always mean you need a heavy-duty chemical. You can get the toilet clean even when you run out of your standard household cleaning products using a little vinegar, Dawn dish soap, and baking soda.
We didn’t always have industrial strength cleaners available in our homes. Moreover, plenty of people are sensitive or allergic to harsh cleaners like bleach. Luckily, there is another way, but you will have to drain the tank and bowl this time.
Start by turning off the water line that runs into your toilet. Next, hold down the handle or button that flushes until all the water drains out. It should not refill, and if it does, you need to tighten the water valve or turn it in the other direction.
Once you have an empty tank, you will need your vinegar, soap, and baking soda. If possible, you should use white vinegar and Dawn dish soap as these are the most effective. In a pinch, apple cider vinegar can work. Likewise, a generic, less effective dish soap will do the job, but it’s better to use the Dawn brand, in my opinion.
Grab a mixing bowl that is larger than you think you need, or you’ll probably regret it when your mixture makes a mess. Add a cup of vinegar along with two to three tablespoons of Dawn. Stir these together gently. You’re not trying to make a frothy, bubbly mix; blend them. Finally, add half a cup of baking soda, and don’t be surprised when the vinegar and baking soda react together, causing a fizz-up.
Using this mixture and a scrubber or old washcloth, spread the cleaning mix all over the inside of your tank and then the bowl. Always do the bowl last to avoid cross-contamination. Your toilet tank holds clean water, and (obviously) the bowl often does not. Leave the cleaner on your toilet for at least an hour, but longer is better.
Finally, you will come back and scrub down the sides of the tank and bowl. You may need some water in this process, but use a bucket or your mixing bowl instead of refilling things right away. Once you have thoroughly scrubbed the stains, scale, and other nastiness off the sides, it is time to turn the water back on. Refill and flush several times, making sure to wash off any remaining vinegar and baking soda mixture as you go.
How to Clean Toilet Tank Mold
Mold in your toilet tank can be handled in several ways. However, my top two choices are predictably white-vinegar and bleach. Rather than simply pouring the liquid over your mold, it helps to use a spray bottle for your application.
If the mold is excessive, add some bleach or a bleach tab to the tank and bowl first. This will kill off most of it and make scrubbing it away much easier. Draining your tank and bowl, then spraying down the mold with bleach will kill the rest allowing you to clean and flush it as usual. Afterward, it would be best if you remembered to maintain your weekly cleaning schedule, and the chemicals will take care of killing any mold as it forms.
Alternately, you can always use distilled white vinegar and water as an overnight soak. It will take at least two hours to kill all the mold, but letting your toilet sit for six or eight hours with vinegar is even better at making sure the mold is destroyed.
Best General Toilet Tank Cleaner
Bleach in the toilet tank is an excellent cleaning method. Vinegar, Dawn, and baking soda also work exceptionally well. However, not all stains respond the same way. Rust stains and scale can be particularly troublesome.
When bleach or vinegar treatments can’t cut it, the best overall cleaner I’ve found is Iron Out. This multipurpose toilet cleaner seems to handle the rust, minerals, mold, and every other gross toilet based stain or cleaning problem I have found.
Best Toilet Tank Tablets
Don’t get frustrated if your first efforts don’t always take care of serious messes. Take heart in knowing that every cleaning gets you one step closer to a better looking and more sanitary toilet. All that elbow grease and effort will pay off over time. Despite your best efforts, some messes need more than one round of scrubbing to handle all the grime.
I recommend trying Iron OUT Automatic Toilet Bowl Cleaner to get rust stains out of your tank and toilet bowl regularly without scrubbing. These clever tabs do all the work for you and have no harsh or abrasive chemicals. Moreover, Iron OUT is long-lasting at forty-five days per tablet. Have Amazon ship to your door by clicking here.
Final Thoughts
Putting some bleach in your toilet tank is a smart solution. If you see stains or mold growth inside, the bleach will help kill biologically active organisms and clean out the mess. However, you may still need to scrub occasionally. Especially if you already have stains or mold growth, additional work will help remove them, but in the future, you’ll find regular bleach treatments cut back on the chances of that mess returning.
Topics that people are wondering about with respect to their toilets are why does my toilet whistle. Also, if the electricity is out, can you flush the toilet when the power is out for the day? Plus, should I buy a toto and why are toto toilets so good for a bathroom?
For those who hate cleaning toilets, occasional bleach or the self-cleaning tabs are an excellent option. While doing this may not stop every stain and growth that can happen, it will certainly aid the cleanup process tremendously. Less work for you means less wasted time and cleaner toilets overall. That’s not too shabby, considering all you need is a little bleach and about a minute.
Checking your toilet tanks for mold growth is important. No one wants to get sick from something you could easily avoid with some common sense and a little bleach.