Keeping Your Toilet Fresh between Scrubbings

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Yes, this post is all about the glamorous world of toilet bowl cleaning.  If that doesn't get you excited, I don't know what will.  Seriously, as of late this has been a problem in my house.  Ever since my first daughter was sleeping in a bedroom adjacent to the main bathroom and her little ears would pick up on everything, every flush waking her and subsequently making her (and me) cry, we've been more of an "if it's yellow let it mellow" kind of a household (particularly at night).  I've heard all about how this saves water and is therefore good for the environment, but there is a serious drawback: our toilet gets FUNKY!  I'm mean really grody fast.  Ew!  Sorry if this is TMI, but I'm just keeping it real.  So all of this disgustingness had led to me needing to scrub said toilet about three times as often as I normally would.  Notice I'm not actually disclosing how often this is; I'm well aware it's still not as frequently as I should.  But the point is, I was definitely not enjoying the extra work.

That said, I'm happy to report I've found a solution!  It's actually something my husband picked up when I asked him to buy toilet bowl cleaner.  He brought home Comet (Don't ask me why he's convinced Comet is a toilet bowl cleaner.  It is not.  Don't try it!, it will forever turn your toilet bowl blue--I know this from experience, which he still denies.) and a little box of Clorox Automatic Toilet Bowl Cleaner, which does work!  Each box contains two tablets.  After scrubbing your toilet, you drop one in the back of your tank when the water level is low after flushing.  Clorox says it cleans and deodorizes the toilet for up to three months and it repels stains.  According to the product website, it's safe for plumbing and septic systems.  I do occasionally smell a subtle bleach smell from my toilet, but it's ten times better than what I was smelling before.  And now I'm back to cleaning my toilet at my normal leisurely rate (which will remain undisclosed).

I do need to mention that there are plenty of product reviews online that warn that this product harms valves in the toilet.  For now, I'm trusting Clorox and risking it.

If you're reluctant to try the Clorox solution, I've also read that you can use effervescent tablets (think Alka-Seltzer or denture cleaner) dropped in the actual toilet bowl.  You leave them set for 20 minutes and then brush and flush.  But that still requires brushing, so I'm not sure what the benefit would be.  You might as well clean your toilet if you're getting the brush out. 

The same article say a can of cola dumped in and left for an hour works, too.  I swear, our intestines must be indestructible. On a related note, I was this close to spelling it "bowel" instead of "bowl" throughout this entire post.  I'm an awesome speller ;o)