Pardon the pun, but your toilet is a dumping ground for a lot more than waste.
We don't fault you for wanting a clean bathroom and toilet - we all do. While it's certainly a good practice to keep your toilet clean, you may be doing some serious harm to the planet in the process. Somewhere along the line it was not enough to keep a toilet visibly clean but it must be clean enough to eat out of and smell like a fresh field of flowers.
In order to get there, common toilet cleaners introduced harmful chemicals made from ammonia, chlorine, and hydrochloric acid - all of which are certainly not things that should be added to our waterways (and probably should not be in your home).
How is toilet cleaner bad for the environment?
Many common toilet cleaners are filled with chemicals that are harmful to the environment.
Many contain Hydrochloric Acid, also know as Muriatic Acid or Hydrogen Chloride. When washed down the drain, these cleaners enter our water supply and make their way into the ocean. This causes the pH level of the ocean to lower and become more acidic - harming aquatic life and coral reefs in the process.
Here are some other fast facts:
- Toilet cleaners with chlorine, ammonia, and hydrochloric acid kill both bad and good bacteria, harming the environments they are introduced to (and your septic system if you use one)
- Some toilet cleaners contain formaldehyde, a known carcinogen.
- Chlorine can cause respiratory problems when inhaled.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
When looking for toilet bowl cleaner, look for ones that do not use these harmful chemicals and, where possible, are shipped in plastic-free packaging to limit waste.
The best eco-friendly toilet cleaner alternatives
1) Make your own with household ingredients
As is often the case, you don't necessarily need to buy a new product - you probably have household ingredients lying around your house that will do the trick. The great thing about these eco-friendly cleaners is they can be used on any other surface in your bathroom: sink, tub, floor, you name it!
- Vinegar: White vinegar is a classic eco-friendly all-purpose cleaning product that is great at disinfecting and deodorizing. Simply pour a cup into the tank so the water deodorizes whenever you or your family flushes.
- Baking Soda: Like vinegar, baking soda is a natural deodorizer that can help with any unpleasant odor in your bathroom. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of baking soda into the toilet bowl and scrub with a brush.
- Hydrogen Peroxide: You can also pour 1/4 cup of hydrogen peroxide into your toilet’s water tank to disinfect and whiten the bowl.
- Borax or Washing Soda: Mix one tablespoon of borax or washing soda with warm water and scrub the inside of the toilet bowl. This will help remove stains as well as inhibit bacteria growth.
- Tea Tree Oil: Adding 5-10 drops of tea tree oil to a gallon of water creates an effective yet gentle cleaner for both sinks and toilets (just don’t use it on marble).
- Lemon Juice or Essential Oils: A few drops of lemon juice or essential oils in the water tank deodorizes and leaves a refreshing scent.
Is it safe to put vinegar in your toilet tank?
Worried that vinegar might harm your toilet tank and pipes?
Though white vinegar is acidic enough to clean, it's not acidic enough to do damage to your pipes. You'll likely run it out of the tank and pipes within a flush or two, which shouldn't be a problem if your bathroom is used regularly in your household.
2) Juniper Seed Toilet Cleaning Fizzing Bombs
Price: $12.00
Materials: Made from baking soda, citric acid, corn starch, essential oils, and other natural ingredients.
Brand ethics: Juniper Seed Mercantile is a small business based in Colorado, while they primarily serve their local communities they have an online store shipping around the country. They create all their products locally and are committed to finding sustainable alternatives to common single-use products.
Johnny Drops are specially formulated fizzing tablets that make cleaning your toilet fun and easy, with the addition of concentrated hydrogen peroxide. Just drop one or two in the bowl, swish the water around with your wand a little, wait about 5 minutes, then scrub and flush. These freshen the bathroom and leave the toilet sparkling. Regular use eliminates the need to get in there and scrub with a pumice stone. Can also be used to clean sinks, tubs and garbage disposals. Just add water and scrub! Septic system safe and zero waste with compostable or recyclable packaging.
