In this article, we tell you how to clean a toilet with coke.
As far as home cleaning hacks go, one of the most bizarre is the use of coca-cola. That being said, the majority of us will have used it to clean pennies and old coins, but the truth is, it can work wonders on most areas, especially in your bathroom.
Why does coke work for cleaning toilets?
Do you struggle to clean the stains at the bottom of your toilet bowl. You wouldn’t be the first. It doesn’t matter how much pressure you put on your toilet brush, it’s bound to snap before you manage to clear them. However, that doesn’t mean there is no solution.
Not only is coke sufficient at doing the job, but it’s also far cheaper and less harmful than most of the chemicals on offer. Ultimately, anything that goes into our drains needs to be filtered so that it is safe to return to the ocean. That being said, it’s not possible to remove everything and the ingredients in coke are far less harmful for the ocean than bleach and other chemicals.
So, why does coke work? It’s a mixture of the phosphoric and carbonic acid and their gentle power that help to lift stains without damaging the toilet It’s these ingredients that make a difference, not necessarily those that make up the flavour of coke. Ultimately, you can use whatever is cheapest, but the majority of the time, this tends to be some sort of coke.
How does coke clean toilet stains?
The carbonic acid that is in coke is what helps to clean toilet stains. Picture the acidity slowly working its way through the stains, melting them away. It can take a while depending on how stubborn the stain is which is why it’s vital to have a suitable cleaning method depending on how bad the toilet condition is.
How to use coke to clean your toilet bowl
Although you only need one ingredient when it comes to cleaning toilet bowls with coke, there is a method. It’s not just a case of pour and flush. Depending on how bad the stains are, this may take a while, so don’t rely on this being a quick hack.
Method - Hours or overnight?
The first thing you’ll want to do is empty the toilet bowl as much as you can. There are a few ways to do this depending on what toilet you have, but for the majority of people it’s a case of flushing and then preventing the toilet from filling up through access in the cistern.
If you’re unsure on how to prevent your toilet from filling up, again for most, it’s a case of holding up the ball valve. This is usually a bright blue rubber ball. It will float on water, and creates the ‘fill’ and ‘stop filling’ mechanism that controls your toilets water levels. As soon as you’ve flushed your toilet, tie this ball up so that it is at the top of your cistern. This will signal to the mechanism that it no longer needs to pour water into the toilet.
Once your ball valve is secure, and your toilet bowl has minimum water in it you’re ready to grab your coke. Pour it in, depending on how much water is in the bowl dictates how much you should use. The water will dilute the power of the carbonic acid, so the more water in the bowl, the more coke you’ll need. It’s a judgement call but the minimum amount we’d recommend is 1 litre of coke.
Then the decision comes. Depending on how bad the stain is, you’ll either wait between 2 hours or overnight.
Once your waiting time is up, unhook your ball valve and allow it to float - slowly filling up your cistern. When the toilet is ready, flush it.
Now that you’ve flushed the coke you can grab your toilet brush and start scrubbing. Some people prefer to do this before they allow the toilet to fill but this isn’t necessary. Over time the power of the coke fades, by the time it’s been 8 hours or so, there won’t be much more ‘fizz’ to help lift stains.
If you find that after intense scrubbing there are a few stains still left over, heat a small amount of coke in the microwave, using a microwave-safe container, to get the chemicals bubbling. This reaction will make the coke slightly more powerful in the first instance, helping you remove the final stains.
When you’re done, make sure you flush the toilet again to remove all the coke from the bowl. Leaving it in there for too long might do more harm than good.
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