Why You Should Avoid Drop-In Toilet Cleaners

While it may be tempting to go the easiest route when cleaning your toilet (because let’s be honest, who enjoys it?), it may be worthwhile to put in a little more effort. Drop-in toilet bowl cleaners may cause damage to your toilet and, over time, cause you to pay a significant price for the repairs. 

To reduce the chance of having to deal with a malfunctioning toilet, consider changing up your toilet cleaning method.

What Are Drop-In Toilet Cleaners?

Drop-in toilet cleaners are often bleach- or chlorine-based tablets that you drop right into the toilet tank. Essentially, the aim of these toilet tablets is to help you maintain a clean toilet bowl and tank for as long as possible. 

Considering the not-so-enjoyable nature of cleaning a toilet, it’s no surprise that many homeowners may opt for drop-in toilet cleaners, which don’t require any elbow grease and seem to put the cleaning on autopilot.

Why Are Drop-In Toilet Cleaners Not Recommended?

As great as they may seem, these drop-in tablets can cause damage to your toilet in a few ways. Additionally, many leading brands have a sticker inside the tank saying that the warranty is void if these toilet bowl tablets are used. 

Deform Plastic and Rubber Parts

When you drop a chlorine tablet into your toilet tank, it dissolves and then interacts with the plastic and rubber toilet components—which can deform, become brittle, or otherwise fail prematurely. Toilet components that interact with the dissolving tablet include gaskets, washers, and flappers. 

When the tablet releases the chlorine, it can slowly begin to break down these parts, likely leading to a malfunctioning toilet later on. 

“Some brands like Toto recommend Bon Ami or Barkeeper's Friend because they're very gentle, but due to the modern glazing techniques, it’s unlikely you'd need much more than a rag and something like glass cleaner,” says Joseph Wood, Expert Review Board member, Master Plumber, and Founder of Boston Standard Company. “Be careful not to damage the factory glazing with abrasive cleaners.”

Leaks in Toilets and Pipes 

Over time, your toilet may begin to leak as a result of how the tablet wears down the various toilet components. Then, you’ll likely find yourself looking at some potentially high toilet repair costs—you and your wallet will not be pleased. 

“One of the worst parts of these leaks is that they're internal to the toilet, so they can go undetected for long periods and result in very high water and sewer bills,” says Wood. 

Clogs and Improper Flushing

When the chlorine tablet erodes the flushing valve over time, your toilet may not flush correctly, and it may even lose all flushing functionality. Additionally, using drop-in toilet cleaner tablets can cause clogs, as pieces of the tablets can break off and get stuck in the pipes. 

These tablets can also get stuck in the flush valve, damaging the flushing function. If this happens, you’ll need to contact a local plumber to fix the issue.

Damage to Septic Tank Systems

If you have a septic tank system, then bleach- or chlorine-based toilet bowl cleaners can potentially kill the live bacteria in your system that break down waste. Your system can back up, resulting in expensive repairs. Other chemicals to avoid include sulfamic acid, sodium hypochlorite, hydrogen chloride, or antibacterial agents. Using baking soda and vinegar is a safer choice for cleaning your toilet bowl. 

Although this may not leave you jumping for joy, the ideal way to clean your toilet is by hand. To effectively clean your toilet bowl, use the instructions on your favorite store-bought bowl cleaner or scrub the bowl with vinegar and baking soda. If you want to give your toilet tank a good cleaning every once in a while, you can also use those handy household ingredients. 

Keep in mind that cleaning your toilet isn’t a one-size-fits-all situation. There are plenty of tricks and methods you can use to get your toilet sparkling. For instance, to give your toilet a little extra love, you can apply an all-purpose cleaner to an old toothbrush and scrub any hardened debris that’s gotten into hard-to-reach areas. Happy scrubbing!