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Whether you are a housewife, a professional cleaning lady, a helpful husband or a working mother (or any other person in the world, really), you have to get your hands dirty and (help) clean your household.
The household chores are often a nuisance, they take long, you get tired and dirty, and sometimes frustrated because your traditional cleaning techniques sometimes just won't work.
People are constantly looking for new ways of completing a chore that will be cheaper, faster, and easier.
They compare ways to do something, they are re-purposing cleaning materials and trying to, essentially, find ways to use something that they already have lying around the house for something else.
The ideas get really creative. Some of them are fairly obvious; however, some are almost crazy at a first glance.
Take using denture tablets for cleaning toilets as an example. If you do not have dentures yourself or do not live in a house with someone who has them, this idea probably never crossed your mind.
What are denture tablets?
Denture tablets are a form of denture cleaners (they can be found in the shape of a tablet, powder, and others), and are used to clean the dentures once they are out of your mouth.
The active substances in the denture cleansers dissolve a biofilm (a layer of microorganisms that forms over the dentures, similar to dental plaque) and kill the microorganisms keeping the dentures clean, odorless, and white.
The tablets are a mix of some sort of diluted bleach - sodium hypochlorite, sodium bicarbonate, citric acid, sodium perborate, sodium polyphosphate, potassium monopersulfate, and EDTA.
Combined, all these ingredients work together to clean, bleach and disinfect the dentures. The tablets are often effervescent, which means that there is a mechanical component added to the chemical ones.
Why do the denture tablets work on toilets as well?
The biofilm formed on the dentures is organic, and so are the stains on your toilet. The dentures are made of ceramics, and, chances are that your toilet is, as well.
Based on material and substance similarities, it should work. Even limescale rings can be removed if they are not really stubborn.
The chemicals, as well as the mechanical power of bubbles forming when the tablet dissolves will work on the organic residue and the stains.
The alkaline (e.g. sodium bicarbonate) and acid (e.g. citric acid) substances create a fizzing chemical reaction that cleans the stains. On the other hand, the acids and bleaches whiten the ceramic.
What is it that you need?
To clean your toilet bowl in this way, you will need to get the tablets.
Either purchase them online or in a store (they are very cheap comparing to other, traditional cleaning solutions and methods) or take one from the box if you already have denture tablets for their original purpose.
Yes, this is pretty much it.
However, for more stubborn stains, you may need gloves and a toilet brush as well so that you can help perfect the process.
Hopefully, using the denture tablets will soften the stains so scrubbing can be less vigorous.
How to Clean Toilet with Denture Tablets
The method is pretty straightforward. What you need to do is throw in one denture tablet (or two, if it is your first time cleaning like this, if you do this weekly, you can just add one to keep the toilet bowl fresh and clean at all times) and watch it dissolve with fun bubbles.
You should leave the dissolved tablet to do its magic for at least 20 to 30 minutes.
However, maybe it is best to leave it overnight so it would have time to kill all the bacteria.
In the morning (or after the allocated time) just flush your toilet and the stains should be gone.
With more persistent stains you will have to aid the process with using the toilet brush, however, no additional chemicals or cleaners are needed, and you should be able to scrub for a shorter than usual since the stains are already softened.
Benefits of using denture tablets for cleaning toilets:
- Cheap and gentle- In addition to being the cheapest way out there to do that, it is pretty gentle on the bowl itself, as it will not damage it in the cleaning process.
- Stain-free- You are probably familiar with the fact that many other, chemical cleaners leave stains on their own. They do a good job of cleaning the toilet bowl, but you are left with blue or green stains all over, and they are even harder to get out.
- Non-toxic- Since they are originally meant to be used on something that goes into your mouth the tablets should not be and are not toxic.
Additional tip: Use denture tablets to clean bathtubs and sinks as well.
Use a stopper to keep water in and put tablets in. You can also bleach dingy white sneakers, stained furniture, and clean other household items.
Final Word: Cleaning Toilet with Denture Tablets
When you do not want to brush the toilet, you can resort to this creative and unusual repurpose method.
It bleaches, removes stains, and kills the odor-causing microorganisms, literally while you sleep.
This could be one of the easiest ways of cleaning anything, and it is safe and cheap.