Ignore TikTok and Stop Pouring Cleaning Fluid Down the Toilet Bowl
If you spend enough time on TikTok, you will most likely stumble upon a video of someone abusing a bottle of Fabuloso cleaner with a caption like “Had to try this hack!” After making a hole in a plastic bottle, they will place it in the toilet bowl and then show you how the toilet water becomes the same color as the cleaner. This purportedly helps clean the toilet with every flush and disperses the pleasant smell.
By now, you should be skeptical about TikTok cleanup or homemade hacks, but this one seems more harmless at first glance. So is it worth it? Well no.
This reduces the flushing power of the toilet.
The first reason you shouldn’t put a bottle of cleaning solution in the cistern is because it takes up space that should be taken up by water, which reduces the effectiveness of the toilet flush. Bomisch, a resource guide to home renovations, notes that if you use a standard 45-ounce Fabuloso bottle for cracking, you reduce the amount of water used for flushing from 1.6 gallons to 1.2, which is “not enough for a powerful flush system.” especially if you want to keep poop from sticking to the toilet.”
So in the name of cleanliness, you’ll flush out the smelly water… but maybe not all of your poop. This makes no sense.
You can do real damage to your toilet
If the thought of having to double flush or even dip in the toilet hasn’t put you off yet, keep in mind that depending on what kind of cleaner you pour into the tank, over time you can also damage the parts of the toilet. Parts made of plastic and rubber are particularly susceptible to chemical damage .
Spruce Toilets, a manufacturer in space, also warns that floor and surface cleaners are simply not made for toilets — at least not in this volume or consistency. You’re risking your valves and fittings by letting these chemicals run down them all the time, so “someday you’ll have to replace everything in your toilet if you want to keep using it.”