The convenience of using cleaner tablets for your toilet to keep your toilet bowl sanitized, deodorized, and to reduce hard water and mineral buildup is great. Unfortunately, these tablets are not your toilet bowls best friend. They are highly concentrated, remain in one place for too long, and damage parts in your tank.
The chemicals, especially bleach, in toilet bowl tank tablets will corrode your flush valve which is the mechanism that moves the water into the bowl. Toilet tank tablets can also get lodged against the flapper and not allow the seal to close which will cause your toilet to run continually. All plastic and rubber parts are susceptible to corrosion and will fail prematurely. The blue dye can also coagulate and plug up the jets under the rim of the bowl reducing water flow. A well-known toilet tablet manufacturer, after an $8 million lawsuit claiming damages to toilet mechanisms, has since added to their packaging that “toilets must be flushed daily,” so these tablets aren’t safe for components in toilets that aren’t used regularly.
A safer way is to pour 1 cup of white distilled vinegar inside of your tank and allow that to circulate to the bowl where the natural acids will dissolve lime and other deposits when used regularly with your good, old fashioned toilet brush.
Here at De Hart Plumbing Heating and Cooling, we can’t stop you from using these toilet bowl cleaner tablets, but we can be there for you to replace any components if the damage has already been done. Call us at 785-341-4193 for all of your plumbing, heating, and cooling needs!
De Hart Plumbing Heating and Cooling, serving Manhattan Kansas, Junction City Kansas, Wamego Kansas, Topeka Kansas, and some surrounding areas.