What You Need to Know About Toilet Cleaning Products
Posted: Wednesday, December 08, 2010
by Pamela Garner
http://cleaningsecretsinfo.com
There are many products out there, store-bought and homemade, for cleaning your toilet. Here is a list of your toilet cleaning product options.
The Tools:
-A toilet brush: either the traditional bristled kind or check out the "toilet bowl swab." It is like a brush, but is made out of acrylic yarn.
-A toilet brush stand or holder
The Cleaning Solutions:
Use cleaners that can disinfect as well as clean and deodorize.
Never mix products that contain chlorine bleach with ammonia-based products, which most toilet cleaners are.
For Wiping Down the Toilet Exterior:
-All purpose cleaner and a clean soft cloth. This is the traditional option... and it's effective!
-Antibacterial Wipes. These are quicker than spraying and wiping.
-A homemade cleaning solution such as vinegar and water and a clean cloth. This option is more cost efficient and better for the environment because it doesn't contain any harsh chemicals.
In the Toilet Bowl:
-A store bought liquid or gel bowl cleaner such as many of the products sold by Clorox, Lysol, and Scrubbing Bubbles. Most of these are very effective and they are widely used so you can read about other people's experience with individual products on the Internet.
Warning: some of these products are blue and if you leave them in the toilet longer than recommended they can eventually begin to stain your toilet blue.
-A store bought powder cleaner such as Comet. This is my preferred cleaner!
-A home-found solution.; some options include baking soda, bleach, or coke. These options are cheaper and usually more environmentally friendly.
-1/4cup of sodium bisulfate (sodium acid sulfate). Wear rubber gloves. Let it stand in the toilet for 15 minutes and then scrub and flush.
-Vinegar. This can also be helpful when you have hard water stains in your toilet bowl.
The Magic Cleaning Tablets:
If you clean your toilet regularly it doesn't take long and it can be done on a cheap budget. These "automatic cleaning" options are expensive, sometimes ineffective, and you still need to clean regularly. No matter what they say, a product cannot scrub your toilet with the vigor of a human arm. If you are interested in spending the extra money, remember that these products are great for maintenance. They keep your toilet smelling clean between cleanings, but they cannot replace your regular cleaning routine. Here are a few options:
-In the tank: these flush cleaner through your system with the new water. There are some reports of flusher and valve trouble resulting from this kind of tablet when it sits in the toilet unused, while you are on vacation, for example. Products with bleach in them also shorten the life of your toilet when used everyday.
-In the bowl: the cleaner in these tablets runs down into the bowl each time new water runs from the rim into the bowl when you flush. I recommend these if you want to use a maintenance-disinfecting tablet because of the reported problems with the tank tablets.
For Bigger Problems:
If you are having severe stain problems make sure to do a deep cleaning with a product containing hydrochloric acid. You may also want to try using a pumice stone instead of a toilet brush.
In the end, for whatever products you choose, make sure to read any and all instructions on the label if the product is store-bought. And don't forget to post somewhere on the Internet about your favorite products so we can all learn from each other! Happy hunting!
Pamela Garner hates to clean. Her answer? Develop a "Speed Cleaning Secrets" system to make it as painless as possible. You can see more tips on toilet cleaning at her site www.cleaningsecretsinfo.com. While you are there, check out her free email minicourse on speed cleaning.
Original Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Pamela_Garner
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