How to choose a good toilet cleaner?

Home plumbing is considered to be the "face of the mistress." The toilet, unlike a sink, is usually hidden from prying eyes. But this does not mean that he does not require attention. Lime deposits of varying degrees of neglect, urinary stone, rust, plaque, smells, bacteria - all this must be systematically disposed of. And not just for the purpose of “keeping the brand”. This is necessary to maintain hygiene in the bathroom, as well as to extend the life of the plumbing itself. There are a huge number of toilet cleaners available today, and it’s sometimes difficult to make a choice. We have put together practical tips and tricks for you.

What is laundered with what?

To cope with the task, you need to know what type of contaminants are and what substances fight them.

The main types of pollution in the toilet:

• Lime deposits. It can be both a plaque, and large-scale, dense growths. The main reason for their occurrence is the presence of a large amount of salts in tap water, as well as its high rigidity. Strong alkalis help dissolve lime.
• Rust. Quite often it occurs in houses with an old water supply and sewage system, when pipes (of course, still metal) are corroded from the inside. And this rust, of course, constantly gets into the toilet with water for flushing. By the way, rust often appears on the walls of the bath. Salvation from this scourge is acid.
• Urinary stone. Often formed if the toilet is not washed after each use, or if the toilet bowl has roughness, damage in which bacteria living in the urine accumulate and multiply. Strong acids also help get rid of urinary stone.
• Domestic pollutionthat inevitably occurs on the surface of the toilet bowl. Surfactants (surfactants) wash it off well.
• Bacteria, causing an unpleasant odor, multiply in the bathroom constantly for natural reasons. They are successfully killed by disinfecting toilets containing chlorine or aggressive acids. And perfumes remove the “aroma” of the toilet and bleach. Such compounds can handle plumbing, not only in the toilet, but also in the bathroom. Indeed, disinfection in matters of hygiene occupies a leading place.

Of course, not all of these types of contaminants are certainly present in any toilet. Therefore, funds must be selected depending on the problems.

What are the cleaning products?

All plumbing care products can be divided into 2 main groups: those that are designed specifically to deal with problems, and those that serve to prevent their occurrence. The first include, for example:

• Cleaning gel. Its consistency allows you to apply the product evenly. In this case, the gel dissolves the impurities and slowly flows down with them. Often, gels are packed in a bottle with a bent nose to apply it even to the most inaccessible places.
• Powder. Its main drawback is the need to constantly rub throughout the entire duration of the action. To do this is not as convenient as, for example, when cleaning the sink. In addition, powder particles can damage the bowl coating over time.
• Cream. Gently cleans dirt without scratching the toilet enamel. But it also needs to be applied and distributed manually.
• Liquid. Its main drawback is uneconomical consumption: it quickly flows down from the walls of the bowl.

The second group is softer and more gentle compounds, sometimes having an unusual shape.They are not intended for aggressive action, but to prevent pollution and to combat minor "current" problems:

• Cleaning tablets (balls, cubes, washers, etc.). They are attached in the toilet bowl so that during the drain the water washes them, gradually releasing cleaning and disinfecting substances.
• Blocks They are reservoirs into which a gel-like substance is poured, or containers with several balls of different actions inside. They act similarly: they fall on the walls of the bowl when draining.
• Magnetic rings. They are not installed in the toilet bowl, but in the drain tank itself. They are quite expensive. But they work more efficiently than previous tools.

In addition, there are many popular recipes for active and preventive cleaning of the toilet.

Popular brands

The following tools are considered the most popular among consumers (respectively, and the most effective):

• Domestos. It is a thick, viscous gel that is able to defeat fairly complex contaminants thanks to the acid that is part of it. Kills pathogenic bacteria, fungi. Evenly and fairly economically distributed over the surface of the bowl due to the viscous consistency, has a protective mechanism on the cap that does not allow children to unscrew it. However, after using the gel, it is necessary to thoroughly ventilate the room in order to get rid of the pungent odor.
• Cillit Bang. This is also a thick gel-like substance containing aggressive acid - hydrochloric acid. The tool perfectly copes with the most serious problems of the toilet, but requires very careful use (this must be done only with gloves), since hydrochloric acid can cause severe burns. The container has a convenient shape with a spout delivering the gel to the most inaccessible places, and the density allows you to also spend the product economically. But at the same time, the bottle does not have protection against children (which is strange for such a dangerous composition), and you can’t name the price low.
• "Dressing duckling." It is produced by Russian manufacturers. Also a gel-like product, the bottle is equipped with a spout for application under the rim. Its base is the same hydrochloric acid, therefore it cleans and disinfects very effectively. In addition, manufacturers provided a protective mechanism against opening by children and added a pleasant fragrance. The price of the "duckling" is quite attractive. But it is not thick enough, which is why it is consumed somewhat faster.
• "Comet 7 days of purity." The combination of chlorine and sulfuric acid provides active cleaning and maintaining cleanliness after it for a week. This gel is consumed very economically, copes with the most persistent pollution, has protection from children. True, the smell of chlorine is quite pronounced.
• "Sarma Gel for Plumbing." The active substance is oxalic acid. It cleans, bleaches and refreshes the toilet for a long time, without having a pungent odor. The cap is protected from children, and the product itself has an attractive price. But it does not cope with significant calcareous deposits.
• Sanox Ultra. High-quality domestic drug based on sulfamic and oxalic acids. It is very effective in removing rust stains, dirt, limescale. Thanks to fragrance it has a pleasant smell. It is somewhat liquid, therefore it is consumed quickly. In addition, it does not have a locking device on the cap; small children can open it.

Maintain a clean toilet systematically. Then serious problems that are difficult to cope with will not arise. And there will be no need to select a cleaning composition for them, because the best cleaning agent is prevention.

Folk ways

How do the economical housewives clean plumbing? Old proven formulations that contain affordable homemade substances.

• Vinegar, citric acid, Coca-Cola. Their active substance is an acid that can dissolve plaque and eliminate pollution.Depending on the resistance of the pollution, these products are applied for 20 minutes, an hour or left to act overnight.
• Soda (ordinary or caustic - for more advanced cases). It is an alkali that can deal with fat and urinary stone. When using it, you need to scoop out all the water from the bowl, make a soda solution, pour it into the bowl, cover and leave for several hours. Then thoroughly treat with a brush and rinse with water.
• "White". Thanks to the presence of chlorine, it perfectly cleans the toilet. "White" must be poured into the bowl overnight so that it destroys pollution for at least 8 hours.
• Composition of one and a half glasses of peroxide, a tablespoon of ammonia and 2 liters of water. It copes with rust and yellow coating.

If people with allergies (especially bronchial asthma) live in your family, all the more if you treat them yourself, using a pungent odor detergent can be dangerous. Therefore, choose the right one from home recipes and maintain cleanliness constantly so that caustic preparations are not necessary.

Home remedies can also help if you have sensitive skin on your hands, on which irritation, rash, itching, peeling, and cracks appear from industrial chemistry.

So, an ideal cleaning composition that can cope with absolutely all problems and dirt at once does not exist. Each is designed to deal with specific pollution. This is due to the fact that each type of dirt is removed by certain substances, which cannot always be mixed in one preparation. Therefore, choosing household chemicals for the care of plumbing, you need to focus primarily on a specific problem, as well as on its severity. Depending on this, the preparation may be based on chlorine, acids or alkalis.

But, as already mentioned, the best way to always have a shining toilet bowl, which even after many years of operation will look like brand new, is to clean all the dirt once and maintain hygiene constantly.