The Overlooked Part Of Your Toilet That Desperately Needs Cleaning

Quite possibly one of the worst cleaning chores in a home has got to be cleaning the toilet. But it has to be done, or you end up with a smelly, unsanitary bathroom. And after you've finished, doesn't your bathroom feel so much cleaner? When you do clean your toilet, you're most likely scrubbing around the floor, the rim, toilet seat, inside the bowl, top of the tank, and inside the tank. You did clean inside the tank, right? Don't worry — you're not the only one who forgets that the inside of a toilet tank needs to be cleaned as well. The good news is that it's not as difficult to clean your tank as you might think. You'll just empty the tank, spray it down with the right cleaner, and rinse.

Many homeowners tend to have the issue of "out of sight, out of mind" when it comes to smaller maintenance items. Most of the time, we are paying attention to more pressing problems, and cleaning the toilet tank tends to end up on the bottom of our to-do lists. The problem with this is that a dirty toilet tank can cause major issues if neglected for too long. You might not discover telltale signs from toilet stains that you have a hard water issue. Or, even worse, a dirty tank can cause the flushing mechanisms to fail. But with a little effort and a regular routine, you can keep your toilet clean and working for a long time.

There are a lot of parts of your toilet that you can safely clean with bleach, but the toilet tank is not one of them. This may seem counterintuitive because bleach is a great cleaner for sanitizing nasty bathrooms, but bleach is also corrosive and can damage the rubber, metal, and plastic parts of your toilet. There is a simple, budget-friendly way to clean your toilet — use a vinegar-based cleaning solution. A solution of one part white vinegar, one part water in a sprayer will work. You can also opt for a store-bought, non-bleach disinfectant spray.

The first thing you will want to do is grab some gloves, a dedicated tank cleaning brush, and your cleaner. You will then want to turn off your water supply valve at the base of your toilet. Next, remove your tank lid and set it somewhere it won't get knocked over. Flush your toilet a couple of times to empty the tank and spray the insides down with your cleaner. Allow the cleaner to sit for 10 to 15 minutes. Scrub the walls of the tank down well, gently wipe down the inner mechanisms with a paper towel, and once done, turn the water back on. Allow the tank to refill and flush a few times to rinse. If you have a lot of mineral build-up, you can soak your tank with a vinegar solution overnight to clean it. Thankfully, you should only need to do this twice a year.