# Purpose of Clorox toilet bowl cleaner tablets **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 6, 2013, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purpose-of-clorox-toilet-bowl-cleaner-tablets/665460 "2013-08-06T01:35:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purpose-of-clorox-toilet-bowl-cleaner-tablets/665460/1 "2013-08-06T01:35:41Z")
These are tablets you drop in the tank which slowly dissolve and keep the bowl clean. I’ve got a few of them. According to their website, they contain: [ol] [li]Bromochloro Dimethylhydantoins[/li][li]Dichlorodimethyl Hydantoin[/li][li]Dichloroethylmethyl Hydantoin[/li][li]Boric acid[/li][/ol] When redoing my toilet guts a little while back, I passed on a dual-flush system because the box said not to use it with these tablets. I opted for a standard float-and-flapper design, and then I notice in the fine print that these tablets aren’t “allowed” either. Going online it seems they can dissolve the rubber. Considering that these types are most domestic toilets, **what can these tablets be used for?** Is the danger overblown? I had used it in my previous toilet for years, and the reason it needed replacing didn’t seem to be related to rubber erosion. Should I toss them, or ignore the warnings? And if they are really bad… why are they made? I see info about a class-action a few years back, but are there any types of toilets where this might be okay? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purpose-of-clorox-toilet-bowl-cleaner-tablets/665460/2 "2013-08-06T02:00:43Z")
WAG: It’s just a ‘Cover Your Ass’ blanket statement so John Doe can’t take them to small claims court and cry “Clorox broke my toilet!” Kind of like the microwave packages that tell you “Caution! Contents will be hot whe you take it out of the MW” ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purpose-of-clorox-toilet-bowl-cleaner-tablets/665460/3 "2013-08-06T03:28:37Z")
I was using these heavily, and my toilet did break. Could have been just coincidental with the natural wearing out of the parts, but I haven’t used them since. I was about a $5 repair, but not something I look forward to messing with. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purpose-of-clorox-toilet-bowl-cleaner-tablets/665460/4 "2013-08-06T03:36:20Z")
If it’s a toilet that gets flushed several times a day, then the solution in the tank stays diluted enough not to erode the rubber in there. If it gets flushed infrequently, the tablet continues to dissolve and make too concentrated a solution inside the tank that is detrimental to the equipment. I haven’t had any issues in the current apartment where I’ve been using them for over three years, and my toilet gets flushed 3-6 times a day. I think at whatever point I paid attention to the small writing, it said something about the toilet needing to be flushed daily. So if it’s in a house that is frequently empty, like a second home or the residents go out of town a lot, then the tablets shouldn’t be used. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_York](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f6c823/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_York](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_York)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purpose-of-clorox-toilet-bowl-cleaner-tablets/665460/5 "2013-08-06T11:24:03Z")
The whole bit about clean toilets seem a bit over the top. It’s not that you eat your meals off the seat, and even if you did, I read that there are more germs on the kitchen sponge than on the toilet seat. We clean the toilets once per week and they always smell and look clean. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purpose-of-clorox-toilet-bowl-cleaner-tablets/665460/6 "2013-08-06T16:03:19Z")
> [@Duke\_of\_York](#): > > The whole bit about clean toilets seem a bit over the top. It’s not that you eat your meals off the seat, and even if you did, I read that there are more germs on the kitchen sponge than on the toilet seat. > We clean the toilets once per week and they always smell and look clean. [For this reason](http://cleanreport.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Toilet-Before-After.jpg)\*, not so I can eat off of it! I _can_ do that, but laziness sounds better! And also I already have a bunch of these and hesitant to just toss them. Still deciding whether it’s worth it. The last toilet redo was a major multiple-day pain in the ass. Rusted bolt + location too close to the wall to use a hacksaw = argh! \*It is amazingly hard to find GIS images of a toilet ring. They want to show either the wax seal, or toilets gross in different and more appalling ways. ---
**Author:** ![TheFaerie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@TheFaerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheFaerie)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purpose-of-clorox-toilet-bowl-cleaner-tablets/665460/7 "2013-08-06T16:38:05Z")
Most plumbers would tell you not to use them because of the corrosive nature. The last plumber I had this conversation with (he instigated it) essentially said that the newer replacement parts were less durable and will wear out even faster. A quick swipe with a toilet brush and a bit of inexpensive cleanser every couple of days will prevent any sort of ‘ring’ issues you may have and it only takes a minute out of a busy day. ETA: I was sitting in a coffee shop a couple weeks ago, minding my own business when I met this interesting handy-man guy. We talked for a couple of hours about basic home maintenance. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purpose-of-clorox-toilet-bowl-cleaner-tablets/665460/8 "2013-08-06T17:01:41Z")
Maybe you could rig it up so that the stream that goes down the tube washed over the tablet. Then it would only get dissolved as needed with each flush, and wouldn’t go into the tank itself, preserving the rubber parts. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purpose-of-clorox-toilet-bowl-cleaner-tablets/665460/9 "2013-08-06T17:19:01Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > Maybe you could rig it up so that the stream that goes down the tube washed over the tablet. Then it would only get dissolved as needed with each flush, and wouldn’t go into the tank itself, preserving the rubber parts. Good point. They make cleanser holders, although I don’t know if they’d work with these, and likely they have some proprietary tablets that are oddly shaped. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purpose-of-clorox-toilet-bowl-cleaner-tablets/665460/10 "2013-08-06T18:03:55Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > WAG: It’s just a ‘Cover Your Ass’ blanket statement so John Doe can’t take them to small claims court and cry “Clorox broke my toilet!” I don’t know about small claims court, but there was a [class action suit](http://www.topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/lawsuit-news/806-clorox-automatic-toilet-bowl-cleaner-settlement). IIRC, I got a check for $8. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purpose-of-clorox-toilet-bowl-cleaner-tablets/665460/11 "2013-08-07T23:15:08Z")
Is there such a product that does NOT damage the toilet? ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purpose-of-clorox-toilet-bowl-cleaner-tablets/665460/12 "2013-08-07T23:21:02Z")
Not anything that can just be dropped into the tank, but there are products that can be hung/stuck to the inside of the bowl that serve a similar purpose and may or may not work as well depending on how the water enters the bowl from the tank.