Bleach is Bad for Your Plumbing Unfortunately, homeowners don't realize that their pipes weren't designed to handle a chemical as harsh as bleach. With enough cleanings, bleach can begin eating away at your pipes.
Like many chemicals found in your home, bleach can be corrosive to your pipes. Consistent dumping could eventually lead to it eating away at your lines and the process only gets sped up if bleach in your line comes into contact with other acid-based chemicals, or even vinegar.
We recommend using a mixture of ¼ cup of vinegar for every 1 cup of water. This ensures your toilet tank is being disinfected without causing damage, which the use of bleach or chemical cleaners can do.
A toilet should be cleaned and disinfected at least weekly. The active ingredient in chlorine bleach, sodium hypochlorite, effectively kills bacteria, fungi (mold), and viruses.
Deterioration of Rubber and Plastic Parts
These components include the gaskets, washers, tank seals, flush valves, and flappers. The constant exposure to bleach and chlorine can cause these parts to warp, become brittle, and otherwise deteriorate prematurely.
Yes, bleach can damage rubber seals. Bleach is a harsh chemical that can cause rubber to deteriorate, become brittle, and lose its elasticity over time.
Pouring a couple cups of bleach into your toilet can help to break up a clog if the clog isn't too bad. If you decide to do this, carefully pour the bleach in, and then wait at least 10 minutes to let it sit and work on the clog.
Bowl cleaner: A cleanser specifically made for toilet bowls will do the majority of the work to remove bacteria and hard-water buildup. The experts we talked to recommended any cleaner with some form of bleach, but you can find plenty of bleach alternatives, as well.
Avoid using cleaner tabs—they often contain bleach, which is a no-no for cleaning toilet tanks because of bleach's corrosive properties. Add a cup of white distilled vinegar to the tank once a month. Leave it to sit overnight and then flush it in the morning. Check for sediment buildup and staining every month or so.
For white porcelain only, bleach can be used to remove stains; never use chlorine bleach in colored or vintage porcelain, as it can damage the finish. For both white and colored porcelain, liquid oxygen bleach (such as hydrogen peroxide) is a good alternative.
Step 1: Pour baking soda and vinegar into the toilet
Pour the baking soda first, followed by an equal portion of vinegar. For minor clogs, you can use about a half cup of each ingredient. For severe clogs, increase the quantity to one-half cup.
There is no denying that white vinegar is the best eco-friendly alternative to bleach. It is exceptional in the DIY cleaning community for its effective and dirt-breaking qualities. For more effectiveness, use cleaning vinegar as it has 6 per cent acetic acid.
They either dump the entire bottle directly into the toilet tank, or cut a hole at the bottom of the bottle and place it inside the tank. The idea is that whenever they flush, the toilet bowl itself will fill up with the sweet smell of Fabuloso, negating any unsavory scents that might otherwise be lingering.
Baking Soda and Vinegar
Baking soda is also a mild abrasive, so it will remove stains and grime from your toilet bowl. To clean your toilet, use one cup of baking soda with two cups of white vinegar. Brush it into the bowl, let it sit for five minutes, then flush again with the water on full force.
Bleach is a common cleaner found in most homes, but is it safe to use in homes with PVC piping? In short, yes. You can safely use bleach to clean and disinfect your PVC pipes, as long as you dilute it first and avoid mixing it with other chemicals.
Drain Line Material
Chlorine bleach can quickly eat away at not only the line but the glue and cement joining the line to the fittings and the condensation pan. If your drain line is PVC, stick to white distilled vinegar for clearing clogs and debris, particularly during winter.
It is widely claimed that adding aluminum foil to a toilet tank helps to achieve a clean and shiny toilet, but critics challenge these claims due to a lack of scientific evidence.
Dumping Pine-Sol in your basin might sound like the easiest way to clean your toilet tank, but it can eat away at the plumbing system. The disinfectant is acidic. The rubber pieces in the cistern will erode, causing the flushing mechanism to malfunction.
While it's drilled into us that the best way of cleaning a toilet is with bleach and a toilet brush, this isn't the case with a matt black toilet. Black toilets need to be cleaned with much more care and no abrasive items or harsh chemicals.
Yes. You should try and avoid using bleach in the toilet when possible, and opting instead to apply a non-chemical cleaner such as soapy water for cleaning purposes. In doing so, you'll avoid causing potential damage to the glazing on the porcelain surface of the toilet.
Luckily, many safe alternatives exist for achieving a clean and odor-free toilet. You may already have some of them in your home. These include white vinegar; baking soda; hydrogen peroxide; borax or washing soda; tea tree oil; lemon juice and/or essential oils; and castile soap or liquid dish soap.
While it is okay to pour boiling water down sink drains, you should never use boiling water in your toilet, as the heat can cause the porcelain to crack. Instead, run your tub until the water is hot and fill a good-sized stockpot or bucket with it.
There is only one Drano® product recommended for use in slow-running toilets: Drano® Max Build-Up Remover. It contains microorganisms that break down organic matter in pipes that can slow water flow. (However, it will not open a completely clogged toilet. For that problem, see How to Unclog a Toilet.)
Although you can use 1/5 to 3/4 of a cup of bleach to clean and deodorize drains, followed by a good flushing of hot water, it will not clear a clog. Bleach is amazing at sanitizing and killing germs, but it won't eat through hair and soap scum that's trapped in the pipes and causing a clog.