Toilet bombs work just like tablets, but they are more circular. In addition to baking soda and citric acid, you'll grab the Dawn dish soap. Mix ¼ cup citric acid and ½ cup of baking soda in a bowl. While mixing, slowly and evenly add 2 teaspoons of Dawn.
As it turns out, you can actually unclog a toilet with dish soap instead of turning to a harsh, toxic bowl cleaner. Just as natural dish soap helps break down dirt, grease, and food that may be stuck on dishes and utensils, it can help break down what's in your toilet bowl.
To remove tough stains, add the baking soda and vinegar mix to your toilet and then allow the solution to sit in the bowl for up to 30 minutes. During that time, the chemical reaction between the sodium bicarbonate and vinegar will work to eat away at those stubborn hard water stains.
To that end, when it comes to using baking soda for your toilet, there are two primary purposes: using baking soda to clean and remove stains, and using baking soda to unclog your toilet.
"The biggest don't when it comes to toilet tanks is bleach—do not use bleach or products containing bleach inside the tank, as it can corrode the internal parts of your toilet. If you are aiming to remove tough stains from the tank, I also recommend white vinegar diluted with water."
Use an automatic toilet bowl cleaner.
It will clean your toilet automatically from the inside out with every flush, eliminating and preventing the growth of bacteria and hard water stains on it's journey to the bowl. Also, it will prolong the time your toilet stays clean.
Also, make a simple routine part of your weekly cleaning: Sprinkle the toilet with cup of baking soda. Let it sit for 30 minutes, then spray or squirt with vinegar (a mild acid) to moisten. Scrub with a bowl brush and flush away [source: Niagara County].
When you are using a baking soda and vinegar solution to clean out your drain, you are actually causing the rubber and plastic that are used for the drain's pipes to be eaten away by the mixture. Over time, this rubber and plastic will break down, causing the drain to become even more blocked.
If the clog still seems to be intact, start over at step 1 and repeat the process a couple of times. For extra-stubborn clogs, you can let the fizz mixture sit overnight or combine this method with plunging.
Homemade Toilet Bowl Cleaner With Dawn & Vinegar
The grease-fighting power of Dawn is unmatched. Add that to the acidic nature of vinegar, and you have a powerful 1-2 combo for this easy recipe. In an old dish soap bottle, combine 1 cup vinegar with 1 cup Dawn.
TOILET BOWL CLEANER:
Mix 1/4 cup borax or baking soda and 1 cup vinegar in the toilet. Let it sit for 15 minutes (or longer, if necessary), scrub, and flush.
It's pretty simple — just like they do on food particles that are stuck to your dishes in the sink, the combination of hot water and dish soap help to dissolve and break up whatever it may be that is lodged in the toilet, causing a clog. This handy tip is great should you find yourself in a pinch.
The majority of my solutions contain blue Dawn® Ultra because it's concentrated. The regular Dawn is a non-concentrated version, (also called Simply Clean) so more diluted. Platinum Dawn is almost identical to Ultra, but it contains more surfactants.
“Vinegar is a good cleaner because it's acidic, but when you add dishwashing liquid/dish soap to it (which is a base or neutral) - you neutralise the vinegar. You take away the very thing that makes it work well. “The dishwashing liquid works that well on its own. Adding the vinegar is a pointless step.”
In some cases, baking soda and vinegar can even cause damage to your pipes. Instead it's best to use other methods such as a plunger or drain snake, or removing your trap to empty out the probable blockage. You can also consider using a commercial drain cleaner that is specifically designed for tough clogs.
Clean the P-Trap
If a kitchen or bathroom sink drain still smells after removing trapped hair and using the baking soda and vinegar, there may be something caught in the p-trap that's causing the odor.
Can you leave baking soda in the drain overnight? It is safe to leave baking soda (and vinegar) to work overnight to unclog a drain.
For example, applying white vinegar or lemon juice and scrubbing with a toilet brush typically works on newer stains. You can also try mixing white vinegar and baking soda if you need a stronger scrub. For older stains, using an industrial-strength cleaner like CLR should do the trick.
There are important reasons you should flush after using the restroom, such as being able to avoid bathroom germs that could make you sick. Although some individuals may flush the toilet out of habit—or at least use one that automatically flushes—not everyone does it.
Too much water in the tank
By far, one of the most common causes of twice-flushing toilets is that the water tank holds too much water. Excess water in the tank creates an overflow, and when flushed, it refills quickly while continuing to discharge water into the bowl.
It's easy to let that toilet slip your mind, but it's important to give it a flush at least weekly to keep it flowing and free from sediment and unsightly toilet stains.
Cleaning with a mixture of baking soda and vinegar in the bathroom can work really well. To clean your toilet with vinegar, pour a cup of vinegar in the toilet bowl and let sit overnight. The next morning, sprinkle a little baking soda into the bowl, scrub, and then flush clean.