Don't use clorox in toilet tank

[FinallyRetired]

Some of you may recall that I had a major flooding issue in my home several months ago, due to a broken fill valve inside the upstairs toilet. I found out the likely cause from another board. DW had been using clorox toilet tank cleaners, the kind that are round and you drop into the tank, for years. What apparently happened is that this particular toilet, in the guest bedroom, was not used much, so the water evaporated leaving the remaining water highly chlorinated. Over the years this ate away at the PVC on the fill valve until it blew.

So my advice, never use clorox or any chlorinated product inside toilet tanks.

 

[RunningBum]

I had a plumber tell me the same thing. It can also eat away the screws that bolt the tank to the toilet. This happened to me even in our main bathroom, without much evaporation process. You are much better off using the cleaner you clip to the lip of the bowl, or just use a brush on the bowl as often as needed.

 

[calmloki]

Good advice! I run into this often -typical early failure is the flapper gets hard and curled, leading to constantly running toilet. While on toilet no-nos: those no-touch toilet cleaning paper cleaning pads/cloths that you use and flush down the toilet and they dissolve away? Might as well call them Plumber Job Security.

 

[Amethyst]

Guess we should be grateful to our recently departed tenants, then. It appears they never cleaned toilets, let alone used chemicals in them

 

[steve88]

On occassion I would dump half a gallon on clorox bleach on the toilet and let it sit for half a day and flush... about every six months. Would this give me problem?

 

[calmloki]

On occassion I would dump half a gallon on clorox bleach on the toilet and let it sit for half a day and flush about every six months. Would this give me problem?

Not if you are dumping it in the bowl rather than the tank. Another thing to try if you have hard water is dumping vinegar in the bowl - I prefer white wine vinegar*, but any acetic acid will do the trick.


*Goes with the Poupon, donchaknow. badabump.

 

[ERD50]

On occassion I would dump half a gallon on clorox bleach on the toilet and let it sit for half a day and flush, about every six months. Would this give me problem?

Half a gallon!

Wow, that is a lot - that stuff is not good for the environment. I'm certain you could get by with a much smaller amount. One cup is a lot.

-ERD50

 

[steve88]

Half a gallon!

Wow, that is a lot - that stuff is not good for the environment. I'm certain you could get by with a much smaller amount. One cup is a lot.

-ERD50

I have a low flow toilet and you don't want to know why I do it. Let just say if the toilet is clog I don't want any part of it. If you have a better idea without me touching it I welcome it.

 

[IndependentlyPoor]

Concentrated chlorine is wicked stuff.

Back when we lived on a boat, there was a huge problem with algae growing in the cooling water circuit of boat air conditioner heat exchangers. This was in Texas, with summer water temps. hitting 90 degrees. Yuk. People would buy solid chlorine tablets (for swimming pools) to treat the cooling water. They fit just perfectly in the intake strainer basket. After replacing a $400 water pump that failed when algae growth stopped the flow, we tried it too. The next time we inspected the intake filter, the stainless steel basket was gone. I hate to think what it was doing to our heat exchanger.

 

[ERD50]

I have a low flow toilet and you don't want to know why I do it. Let just say if the toilet is clog I don't want any part of it. If you have a better idea without me touching it I welcome it.

OK. There must be something better/safer than bleach though. Personally, I ain't afraid a' no plunger (though it would be fine with me if I never touched one again).

One suggestion - get a BIG bucket of water - pour it into the bowl FAST, but of course monitor it so you stop when you get close to the top of the bowl, and don't flush again until the level goes down. That basically turns your toilet into a high flush model, sometimes the extra weight of that water is enough to push through a bunch of, ummmm, clog.

-ERD50

 

[FinallyRetired]

A Fluidmaster guy just called me back. He says use of chlorine tablets voids their warranty, and they've been leading an effort to publicize this through labels on new toilets. He said as the water evaporates in the tank the chlorine concentration can get as high as 450ppm. He also said there's been a class action suit to try to stop one of the tablet makers from selling this stuff. Surprised it's still being sold.

 

[bbbamI]

Well, crap FR.

 

[ERD50]

Concentrated chlorine is wicked stuff.

...The next time we inspected the intake filter, the stainless steel basket was gone. I hate to think what it was doing to our heat exchanger.

Yep, chlorine attacks stainless steel. Some home brewers use bleach (diluted) to sanitize equipment and they are warned not to soak any SS pots or gadgets in the bleach solution. Wash & rinse is fine, but not prolonged contact.

-ERD50

 

[tryan]

On occassion I would dump half a gallon on clorox bleach on the toilet and let it sit for half a day and flush... about every six months. Would this give me problem?

Well ... you just killed your septic system. It needs "good" bacteria to function. If you're on city sewage, no problem (for you).

 

[Payin-the-Toll]

I must have retired too early. Must be nice to have indoor plumbing!

 

[Rambler]

I've told DW, kindly and gently, time and again not to put that stuff in the toilet, and I have even showed her what it does to the plumbing when I have fixed it. She keeps doing it anyway (here in the JP apartment anyway - she may have stopped doing it at our home in the states). My dad showed her too when he went to fix it for her when I was out of town. Maybe I should show her this thread.

R

 

[clifp]

Good to know those tablets were on my lets buy more at Costco list. No longer. I guess I'll use toilet bowl cleaner and brush.

 

[HFWR]

I must have retired too early. Must be nice to have indoor plumbing!

You don't have indoor plumbing?

 

[LoftyNotions]

Not if you are dumping it in the bowl rather than the tank. Another thing to try if you have hard water is dumping vinegar in the bowl - I prefer white wine vinegar*, but any acetic acid will do the trick.


*Goes with the Poupon, donchaknow. badabump.