You may have heard of fish spa’s, who use Garra rufa, also known as doctor fish to eat the dead skin from feet..

But did you know it’s now possible to employ another kind of water dwelling creature, to clean your toilet?

The Malaysian Trumpet Snail or MTS, is being touted by eco-nomists as the next best green alternative to toilet bleaches and cleaners that are currently polluting our waterways and threatening fish populations across Britain. Currently only being tested in medium-soft water areas, the snail, which breaks down limescale into calcium to build its shell, also eats any leftover unwanted streaks left in the bowl, leaving your toilet sparkling like new.

So how does it work? Tests were initially done by leaving the snails in a tank installed in the bathroom during the day and moving them to the toilet bowl each night but concerns about disturbing the snails so regularly led to studies to find a species of snail that could survive, and even thrive, undisturbed in the toilet bowl permanently. The unique streamlined shape of the MTS allows it to stick rigidly to the side of the bowl during flushes and movements whilst managing to catch enough ‘food’ to live on happily without needing any dietary supplements. A recommended maximum of 3 snails per bowl should get your toilet bowl sparkling in under 3 weeks.

So it’s bye-bye to water damaging cleaning products and hello to happy toilet cleaning snails! Who knows what will catch on next – toenail clipping lizards?