15 Toilet Cleaning Tricks That Take 5 Minutes or Less

Author: Amber Brubaker

Nobody likes to clean the bathroom, especially the toilet which often develops nasty rings. If you clean the toilet more often, you could avoid those rings, but it’s difficult to find the time to pull out all of your cleaning supplies and scrub the toilet several times a week.

That’s where these handy tricks come in. Many of these ideas are purely preventative, some are for deep cleaning, and a few even recommend ways to keep your toilet from clogging. All of them take just five minutes or less of effort on your part. Never worry about a dirty toilet again!

1. Wipe it Down Once a Day

Keep your toilet from ever getting dirty by wiping it down every day. Use a baby wipe or a Clorox wipe to remove dust and disinfect the surface, then squirt some cleaner along the rim of the bowl and scrub with the brush for 30 seconds. You’ll never have to deep clean and your toilet will never smell.

2. Sprinkle in Baking Soda

You can use baking soda to scrub at the rings on your toilet, or as a simple, natural cleanser. Sprinkle it into your toilet bowl and use a toilet brush to scrub, or you can make a paste and apply it with your toilet brush, letting it sit for 10-15 minutes. After that, flush, and brush off the remainder with your toilet brush.

3. Pumice Stone

Have a nasty ring around your bowl? Push all the water back down the drain by inserting the toilet brush into the hole in the bowl and then pushing the water with slow, back and forth motions. Put on some rubber gloves and scrub with the stone. The ring will come off in minutes.

4. Clean Your Toilet Brush

Ok, so this isn’t about how to clean your toilet, but a clean toilet brush means a clean toilet right? Close the toilet seat on top of the handle so that the bristles are suspended above the water. Then, pour bleach over the brush, and rinse with a pitcher of hot water.

5. Try Kool-Aid

Interestingly enough, packets of citrus-flavored Kool-Aid, like lemonade or orange, make great toilet bowl cleaners! Pour the powder into the bowl and let it sit for an hour. Then flush. It removes unsightly rings in a cinch.

6. Make Your Own Essential Oil Cleaners

If you love natural, non-chemical cleaners, make your own with just water, vinegar, Borax, and essential oils. Not only do these cleaners smell great, but they are also wonderful at disinfecting any toilet in a snap.

7. Pour in Bleach or Vinegar

Other great natural cleaners are bleach and vinegar which eat away at smells, rings, and bacteria. These shouldn’t be used every day to clean your toilet, but they’re great at removing grime quickly.

8. Squeeze Toothpaste in a Pinch

If your neighbor is coming over, and you don’t have time to pull out cleaners and scrub your toilet, squeeze some toothpaste into the bowl and scrub with your toilet brush. Toothpaste polishes the enamel on your teeth, which makes it perfect for polishing the enamel on your toilet. Not to mention, it eliminates odors without the heavy chemical smell, so your friend will think your toilet is always that clean.

9. Drop in Toilet Cleaning Gels

Keep your toilet clean and fresh longer with toilet cleaning gels. They dissolve in the toilet water and keep a blue or green colored disinfectant in the water for up to two weeks. It takes seconds and drastically cuts down on the frequency of your cleanings.

10. Toilet Bombs

These little gems look like small bars of soap. You simply drop them into your toilet and watch them fizz as they react with the water. Wait a minute or two, and the natural ingredients will work away at bacteria and gunk in your toilet. Then all you do is flush.

11. Overnight Treatment

Pour vinegar, bleach, or any other product of your choice into the toilet and let it sit overnight. In the morning, just flush and see how much cleaner your toilet looks.

12. Make a Paste for Toilet Bowl Rings

Mix ½ cup Borax or baking soda with enough vinegar to make a thick paste. Push the toilet water back into the pipes by moving the brush back and forth into the little hole in the bowl. Wear rubber gloves, and apply the paste to your toilet stain. Leave for an hour or overnight. Scrub it off with the toilet brush, and voila! A clean, white toilet with just a few minutes of work.

13. Use Dish Soap to Unclog Toilets

Need to unclog a toilet that won’t go down, no matter how much plunging you’ve done? Pour ½ cup of liquid dish soap down the drain. It helps to lubricate the pipes and let the gunk pass through.

14. Grab Some Cola

For an affordable, easy, non-toxic solution to toilet ring stains, pour cola into your toilet, targeting around the rims to make sure it gets everywhere. Let it sit overnight, and there you go!

15. Install a Soft Water Conditioner

A great way to eliminate toilet rings altogether is to install a soft water conditioner. This helps keep both your toilets and jets clean, which in turn helps you avoid clogging. And the best part is, the only effort you have to put into it is making the order.

And there you have it! 15 quick, easy ways to keep your toilet clean. You can have a constant, fresh-smelling toilet without ever pulling out the heavy chemicals again!