Many people are always on the hunt for “hacks” that will make certain processes easier, but these kinds of things can be risky in certain areas as well. A great example is when cleaning or unclogging your toilet – while certain hacks you’ve heard of might indeed be effective and assist you with this process, others don’t actually work and may even create further issues.
At Green Line Plumbing, Heating & Air, we’re happy to provide a wide range of plumbing services, including solutions for any toilet issues you may be dealing with. In this two-part blog series, we’ll discuss some common toilet cleaning or unclogging methods that some claim will be effective, but that in reality either don’t work or come with some significant risks.
Using Coca-Cola
Many people have heard about the fact that Coca-Cola is also sometimes used as a cleaning agent in industries like aerospace, where it’s known for removing rust and limescale. The idea is that it can do the same in your toilet, but this isn’t actually true – while it may be an effective rust remover, it won’t actually do much to break down stubborn clogs.
In addition, the acidity of Coke makes it a risk when poured down any drain or toilet. This can eat away at the metal of your pipes, leading to corrosion and other issues. If you’re looking for toilet stain removal, rather, the proper route is to use toilet bowl tablets that are specifically made to remove limescale and discoloration.
Baby Oil for Shiny Fixtures
Whether it’s your bowl itself, your flushing fixture or any other element, you’ve probably heard about the possibility of using baby oil for a shiny fixture. The problem is that this won’t actually work – baby oil will not add shine to your fixtures and can actually create more problems than solutions by gumming up the works.
Rather, use a cleaner specifically designed for plumbing fixtures – many are available and will help you get the shine back without any potential risks.
Salt in the Toilet
For some reason, some believe that pouring salt down the toilet can help unclog it, but this isn’t actually true. Salt is not a strong enough abrasive to break through tough clogs, and can instead eventually damage your pipes by creating corrosion.
And while some believe that hot water and salt may do the trick if you’re dealing with a minor issue, we still suggest against this – it’s far better to contact professionals who have the right tools and experience.
These are just a few of the common “hacks” you may hear about when dealing with toilet issues, but in reality many of them don’t actually work or come with their own set of risks, and we’ll go over more in part two of our series. At Green Line Plumbing, Heating & Air, we have the expertise and experience to help you with all of your plumbing needs. Contact us today for more information or to get started on any project!
