The Worst Toilet Hacks You Might See On Social Media

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Social media is full of some absolutely amazing toilet cleaning hacks, yet there are others that not only don't work, but can also ruin your toilet — or are just straight up bizarre — leading you to wonder why they were even posted in the first place. While they claim to make your bathroom smell fresher, your toilet stay cleaner for longer, and even save you money in the process, none of them actually do any of the things they say they do!

In the days of creator fund payouts based on view counts and the overwhelming probability of going viral with weird rage bait, some creators will post just about anything to get clicks, taking advantage of an eager audience that is hoping to make some breakthroughs in toilet cleaning. These viral cleaning tricks are some of the worst around, because they have all been debunked by professional cleaners, plumbers, and even scientists, in some cases. Take a look to see if one you've been tempted to try is on the list, and spread the word so others don't make the mistake of following a disapproved, sometimes dangerous, cleaning "hack."

This hack alleges that if you either poke holes (or cut a slit in) a bottle of Fabuloso and place it in your toilet tank, that the highly concentrated cleaner will mix with the water in the tank of your toilet and keep everything cleaner and fresher. In some videos, you even see the purple liquid filling up the toilet bowl instead of water after a flush.

The first reason this hack isn't good is that it can actually create plumbing problems. While putting in a drop or two of Fabuluso can be great for cleaning, letting it sit can corrode its surroundings and ruin any rubber gaskets present. Breaking these down makes your toilet run constantly due to potential leaks. Next, this "hack" is pretty expensive for what it's meant to do. As mentioned, Fabuloso is highly concentrated. Manufacturers' guidelines recommend mixing just a ½ cup of the liquid with as much as a gallon of water for cleaning purposes. When you follow these instructions, you can make one bottle of the cleaner last quite a while, making it good value for money. However, if it's just constantly leaking out into the back of your toilet tank, it'll run out pretty quickly. If you want to disinfect your toilet on a consistent basis, choose something specifically created for this task. The Clorox Ultra Clean Toilet Tablets Bleach & Blue will not ruin your toilet and one box lasts over a year.

There is a hack floating around TikTok that says using flushable wipes on your toilet makes keeping it clean a lot easier and less time-consuming. This is because you can keep the wipes right on the back of the commode, then wipe down the outside of your toilet with the same wipe you might use on your body (Although, not the exact same wipe ... just one from the same pack). When you're done, you can drop it in the basin and flush it away, making disposal a total breeze.

Yet, this hack is mostly too good to be true, and might not keep things as clean as you think, anyway. First, flushable wipes are still known to clog pipes! While there is an organization known as the International Water Services Flushability Group that has guidelines for what constitutes something as really flushable or not, none of these requirements are legal ones. Instead, plumbers assert that any company can label their wipes as flushable without too many consequences. Second, flushable wipes are gentle enough to use on our most sensitive skin. They are missing key disinfectant ingredients, like ethanol or bleach, that make them a good fit for really cleaning something as dirty as a toilet. If you are worried about generating waste, reach for Clorox Free & Clear Compostable Cleaning Wipes, which use ethanol to disinfect, but break down better in the compost or trash than a traditional wipe.

You might have seen the viral videos of people making what look to be potions in their toilet bowls, claiming that mixing all different sorts of products — in different colors  and textures — gets the bowl the cleanest it's ever been! While these can be kind of fun to watch (after all, who didn't love making potions with bath products as a kid?), making them out of cleaning products doesn't really work, wastes money and product, and can actually be pretty dangerous.

Mixing chemicals is very dangerous because you could create noxious fumes that can really hurt you. For example, if you mix bleach with rubbing alcohol, you get a form of chloroform. Breathing it in can cause unconsciousness, plus longer-term issues like liver and heart problems. If you mix bleach and ammonia you get chloramine, which can be highly toxic to breathe in and is responsible for many accidental deaths from people who didn't know any better. While seemingly lighthearted to make a pretty potion, using more than one cleaner at the same time is a big deal and can have very serious, sometimes fatal, consequences. Instead, just use one cleaner at a time when cleaning your toilet. Always read the labels, so you know exactly what is in each one, and how it might interact with other chemicals, too.

Sometimes, toilet cleaning hacks might come across your "For You Page" that are just plain WEIRD. This is one of those hacks. We did have to wonder if the creator here was actually being serious, or if this was just carefully produced rage bait. Either way, don't follow this hack. In it, the creator douses a sanitary pad in Fabuloso, then uses the adhesive on the back of the pad to stick it to her toilet's tank. She alleges this keeps constant bad smells from the toilet at bay and makes the bathroom fresher overall. Yet, because the pad is covered in liquid, it's unlikely it'll stay stuck for long and will probably just end up on the floor. 

Instead, the best way to keep your bathroom smelling fresh is to simply keep your toilet disinfected with traditional cleaners. If you want a scent in the space, instead of the neutral smell of clean, a Glade PlugIn, wax melt, or even a candle can do the trick. The best candle scents for bathrooms include lavender and citrus, both of which can help to promote relaxation. Finally, using scented items like Scott ComfortPlus Toilet Paper or Hefty Small Trash Bags Fabuloso Scent are low-effort tricks that add a fresh scent without risking plumbing issues.

Clogging a toilet can be panic-inducing. We've all been there! Yet, there is a hack on TikTok that says if you have hot water and some dish soap, it's a great way to quickly unclog things and avoid the potential disaster. You're supposed to put at least ½ cup of the soap into the clogged bowl, then take hot water from the tap (not boiling!) and pour at least a gallon of it down the toilet. If you let it sit, it's supposed to break down the waste and toilet paper that's got the toilet backed up after about 15 minutes or so.

Yet, there are a few reasons this might not be the best idea. The first is that if your toilet is really, really full already, there isn't room for another gallon of water to be poured in on the top of it. So, the yucky water might just start to overflow anyway. Plus, when you put dish soap in your toilet, you also run the risk of introducing heaps of bubbles into an already tense situation. Not only are you dealing with wastewater, but now there is the potential for a mountain of foam coming out of it. Plus, soap is very slippery, which can make transitional plunging or snaking much harder. 

There are a lot of TikToks that say you can use Drano to unclog your toilet. After all, shouldn't it work like a charm because unclogging is exactly what this product is supposed to do? If it's flushing slowly, the videos say you should pour the gel in the bowl, mix dish soap in the tank, then pour hot water in the bowl and let things sit for a few minutes before flushing them down. 

However, this is one of the worst hacks, because using Drano in your toilet is explicitly discouraged by the manufacturer. It even says so right there on the bottle! Plus, Drano has a lot of chemicals in it. Inside your toilet's pipes, the reaction can put off a lot of heat, which can damage them. Not only that, but since the clog isn't undone, these chemicals are now just sitting there in your toilet bowl with nowhere to go, since you still can't flush it. Instead, stick with tried and true methods like a snake or a plunger if you want to undo the clog without calling a plumber. The BACEYIOU Drain Auger Clog Remover with Drill Adapter even comes with gloves!

This TikTok hack encourages viewers to mix baking soda with lemon juice and dish soap in a bowl and then pour into an ice cube tray. Once frozen, viewers can then drop them into the toilet bowl and let them dissolve, then scrub. However, there isn't much worth repeating from this hack at all. Sure, it's a fun idea, but it's worth knowing what each ingredient is really doing. The lemon juice and baking soda react with each other, which means their individual cleaning powers may cancel out (lemon juice is acidic and baking soda is basic). The dishwashing liquid adds a bit of degreasing action, but it's not designed to disinfect or tackle toilet-specific grime. Plus, we already know dish soap isn't the best solution for your toilet. So, in the end, these cubes offer a little cleaning boost, mainly just from the mild abrasiveness of the baking soda, before it dissolves. Most of the actual cleaning will still come from your toilet brush. It's a creative project, but the cleaning power may not be as strong as you'd hope for the effort involved.

If you're looking for an eco-friendly option, consider using a natural, purpose-made toilet cleaner instead. Many of them are just as affordable per ounce as common dish soaps like Dawn, and they're formulated specifically for the job — offering better results with less guesswork. For example, ATTITUDE Bathroom Cleaner is great for the exterior of the toilet, while MRS. MEYER'S CLEAN DAY Liquid Toilet Bowl Cleaner will make the bowl shine.