Can you be kind to the planet AND have a squeaky clean loo?
This month we’re looking for the best toilet cleaner, to persuade our team to swap their usual brand for a more eco-friendly option.
A clean toilet is vital to keep you and your family healthy. The surfaces of your loo can harbour bacteria and viruses that spread tummy bugs as well as colds and flu. And of course, we all want our bathroom to be fresh and pleasant for us and our guests.
Our toilet cleaner test
In our quest to find the best toilet cleaner, we scored each product in 4 areas:
- how effectively does it clean?
- Do we like the smell?
- Is the packaging sustainable?
- How fast does it work?
We scored each area out of 5, to give a total score out of 20. We also looked at cost and value for money, because that’s important too.
Harpic Power Plus
Helpers Nina and Maria are fans of this product, and gave it full marks for speed and effectiveness. However, it has a strong, chemical smell – not surprising when the safety information warns of risk of severe skin burns, eye damage, and long-lasting harm to aquatic life. Add in the single-use plastic bottle and it’s easy to see why this was one of our lowest scoring products. Surely we can do better?
Cost per 100ml: £0.22
Total score: 16/20
Astonish Cream with Bleach
Astonish promote their products as vegan and cruelty-free. They do not use animal testing, and the plastic bottle is recyclable. Helper-Trainer Elvire like this product, with top marks for a fast and effective clean. However, the bleach in this toilet cleaner makes it harmful to our waterways and the wildlife which lives there.
Cost per 100ml: £0.25
Total score: 17/20
Domestos Bleach
We’ve all done it. A squirt of bleach round the bowl, and the loo looks clean.
But we have bad news. That strong bleach isn’t actually removing the dirt. The chemicals simply bleach it white, so it’s less visible.
As well as masking the dirt in the toilet, bleach is bad for us, and harmful to the environment. One to avoid.
Cost per 100ml: £0.20
Total score: 14/20
Domestos Zero Limescale
Operations Assistant Rumi says this product works brilliantly, doesn’t smell too strong and is great for deep cleans. So, it scores highly for speed and effectiveness. And if you live in an area where limescale is a problem, that can sound very tempting.
However, this toilet cleaner contains hydrochloric acid which causes skin and eye irritation, as well as being harmful to aquatic life “with long lasting effects.” It also comes in a single-use plastic bottle.
Cost per 100ml: £0.73
Total score: 17/20
Lidl W5 Anti Bac Toilet Gel
Our Chief Operations Officer Jo says this is her second-best toilet cleaner (see below for Jo’s favourite). It comes in a recycled plastic bottle, has a nice smell and cleans effectively. And it uses biocides safely and sustainably.
Cost per 100ml: £0.17
Total score: 18/20
Steamer
Jo is a big fan of her steamer for cleaning the loo. This method is chemical-free, and the only cost is the electricity to heat the water and create the steam (around 5 minutes of electricity).
The steamer cleans hard limescale and removes built-up grime. The different attachments make it easier to gets to those hard to reach places. Watch this video to see how to clean your toilet with a steamer.
Steam can cause nasty burns, so protective clothing is essential, especially when working in a confined space. It’s a good idea to ventilate in case the steam releases toxic fumes and smells as it does its work.
Cost per use: £2.09
Total score: 18/20
Home-made: Nancy’s Toilet Magic
This is certainly the most expensive of the toilet cleaners we tested, but a little spray goes a long way. It has quite a strong smell, but I’ve been testing this one myself and it is slowly undoing the ruin of years of bleach being used in my toilet bowl. Bleach just masks the stains instead of removing the limescale – this product actually shifts it.
It takes some time to break down embedded stains and it’s best to leave it for a few hours on calcified brown limescale stains. Overnight is ideal.
A bonus with this recipe is that it tackles other stubborn limescale jobs such as the inside of your washing machine drawer and drum.
Cost per 100ml: £1.00
Total score: 18/20
Final Thoughts
The uncomfortable truth is that most of the toilet cleaners on the supermarket shelves – and in our cleaning cupboards – are harmful to the natural world and hazardous to our own health. But there is an alternative. It takes a little extra effort, but the best toilet cleaners we tested used no nasty chemicals at all.
Why not give them a try and make #JustOneSwap this month? Visit our blog for more swap inspiration.
