Here on Apartment Therapy we are typically all about natural oe eco friendly cleansers. We stick out our tongues at harsh chemicals and try to implement a healthier home with safer cleaning products. Breaking down traditional household cleaners can be a scary sight. See what's in many people's beloved 2000 Flushes after the jump.
What's Inside: 2000 Flushes
Wired Magazine
Our friends over at Wired Magazine are all about stating facts. The article written for this months magazine isn't about preaching what's right or what's wrong, they are merely stating what's REALLY in America's Favorite toilet tank drop in. See for yourself and we'll let you make your own decision on if they are a product you allow in your home (or educate your friends on using).
Chlorinated hydantoins
Ironically, you can clean a toilet with urine. No, not by aiming at the stains, but by using hydantoins — organic compounds sometimes employed as anticonvulsants and that can be made from a mixture of amino acids and urea. Chlorinate the hydantoins and they become a magical ingredient — bleach. But watch for "vacation drip": If you don't flush for a while (say, while off camping or when you give in to those comfy adult diapers), the chlorine can eat away older rubber valve flappers. And then your toilet might end up running constantly.
Hydrated alumina
Also known as aluminum hydroxide, this is a solid formed when alumina reacts with water. Here it's one of the salts that helps control the rate at which the puck dissolves, so the bleaching action can last for up to four months — giving you 16 2/3 flushes per day.
Sodium chloride
Table salt also helps control how fast the tablet dissolves. As a side benefit it may reduce germs by turning the water slightly briny. Unless, that is, you've got a salt-loving extremophile in your bowl, in which case you're gonna need a stronger toilet sanitizer.
Sodium lauryl sulfate
Found in hundreds of bathroom products, SLS is a great foam and lather producer. It is made by combining sulfonic acid with lauryl alcohol and sodium carbonate; the resulting soap-like compound traps greasy particles, which can then be rinsed away.
Cocamide MEA
Cocamide is derived from the acids in coconut oil. MEA stands for monoethanolamine, which is in everything from hair dye to oven cleaner. Together they work as a powerful detergent and another dissolution retardant. Most of the stains in your toilet are going to be from, well, natural organic residues, and MEA is a master at cutting through caked-on organics. It loosens the material so it can be easily washed off with the next flush.
Sodium citrate
The nonorganic stains in your toilet likely come from hard water deposits. These can grow there like rock candy, eventually needing to be acid-washed or chiseled away. Sodium citrate softens the water by locking up (chelating!) calcium, magnesium, iron, and other metals that might be found in your water supply.
Acid blue 9
The full name of this colorant: N-Ethyl-N-(4[(4-(ethyl[(3-sulfophenyl)methyl]amino) phenyl)-(2-sulfophenyl)methylene]-2, 5-cyclohexadien-1-ylidene)3-sulfobenzenemethanaminium hydroxide inner salt, disodium salt. Whew! So why add blue to a cleaning agent? It's actually just a marker — when it's gone, your 2000 Flushes are up.
Photo by: Tim Morris via Wired Magazine
Comments (24)
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So... can I eat it or not?
view miyagisan's profile
A toilet brush costs $5 and lasts for decades...
view bepsf's profile
its great to know what all those ingredients do and all, but none of the information takes me any farther toward figuring out what their environmental impact would be. that i thought was the point of the post in the first place...
view littlemouse's profile
I think toilet brushes are kinda icky. I don't use a drop in now, but the toilet in my new house is oddly prone to a ring at the waterline. Are there any drop-in's that aren't horrid for the environment?
view cmu's profile
Now with BLUE!
view Nesagwa's profile
CMW -
So which is icky-er - a re-usable/cleanable toilet brush or the chemical crap that's in that blue tablet?
Not to mention the amount of money you're spending every year to pay for the tablets that you're flushing down the toilet?
view bepsf's profile
CMU: not to jump on you, but try this little chemistry experiment: equal parts baking soda and white vinegar. It gets all fizzy in the bowl and makes your ring around the toilet a cinch to clean with the toilet brush. Give 'er a try!
view darcidoodle's profile
ive also heard flat soda-pop is a good cleaner, though i've never seen any results.. but i usually dont let it sit very long becasue brackish water in the camode is grosse.
view antimatt's profile
Toilet brushes aren't the least bit icky if you use them daily.
Just get the kind that has a vase-like holder, fill it with water and any kind of soap (I add a few drops of dish soap) and give it a 2-second swipe once a day or so.
I used to be sooooo grossed out by cleaning the toilet because I only did it when it looked like it needed it. Now it pretty much stays clean all the time.
To me when I see a blue bowl or any kind of plastic stick-on thing in a toilet it is a clue that the person just isn't willign to actually clean. Ick.
view asinner's profile
miyagisan, I just laughed out loud.
view BlahDeBlah's profile
Not an issue - I long ago gave in to those "comfy adult diapers."
view home body's profile
Never understood the compelling need for artificially blue wate in a toilet bowl. King of goes with those fuzzy toilet lid covers I suppose.
view hdtex's profile
LOL home body
People are a little obsessed about their toilets. They're not even the germiest orifices in the bathroom (that would be the drain in the sink). Straight vinegar will remove water deposits, neutralize odors, and it does kill germs too. I've never seen the point of mixing vinegar with baking soda - it seems to me that they would neutralize each other and you'd end up with salt - but I know lots of people find it works, maybe you'd have to try.
And yeah, I was kind of expecting this article to explain the environmental impacts of the listed chemicals.
view whytephoenix's profile
Three things that as a kid, I thought only rich people had:
⢠in-ground pools
⢠stairs to the bedrooms
⢠blue toilet water
view Oven Mitzie's profile
I am definitely not a germ-o-phobe. But, there are few things more icky than a toilet brush. It is used to scrape fecal-laced oils and scums from the sides of a porcelain bowl. Swishing it around afterwards in germ-laced water doesn't change much either. But that is about as much cleaning any most people's toilet brushes ever get. To be safe, rinse it in a 20% bleach solution, then pour the remaining solution down the walls of the bowl.
Sorry to burst your scrubbing bubble. You probably didn't want to know this, did you?.
view quiltmaster's profile
I'm with littlemouse.
Also, I've recently quit using 3M Scotch-Brite's disposable Toilet Scrubbers because they seem so wasteful. I've switched to using Ikea's Viren toilet brush (99 cents each and they actually look pretty cute and come in multiple colors even though only white seems to be on the website) and Method's Lil' Bowl Blu toilet cleanser. It smells great and is made with lactic acid instead of harsh cleansers like bleach so it is safer for the environment and the ocean.
http://www.methodhome.com/Product.aspx?id=007310
view chin's profile
Baking soda, scrubby, gloves. Rinse scrubby, store in plastic bag, or toss.
view jkonopka's profile
ew to icky toliet brushes. they're just gross.. anyone else watch "how clean is your house?" on bbc america? yeah, no more toliet brushes in my house..
view animalhouze's profile
Miyagisan, best laugh I've had all day!
view Mookie's profile
Why would rich people have blue toilet water? Don't their maids and butlers clean the toilet everyday? ;)
view discomonkey's profile
OK, what's so bad about having a germy toilet brush? It's not like you're going to eat off it. Keep it in its little holder so it doesn't touch anything else. I like using it to clean the toilet. You don't need a sterile toilet, either. I don't like using disposable paper towels - it feels wasteful. I repeat, What's the big deal with a dirty toilet brush?
view trishket's profile
drop ins are acctually really bad for your toilet. the additives in them corrode the seal on the valve inside the tank and cause your toilet to leak. not very eco friendly.
view itsabecky's profile
My plumber says not to use anything like this in the tank of a toilet---bad for the works---good for his business!
view poptart's profile
Yeah, just because they have funny, chemically-sounding names doesn't necessarily mean its environmentally unfriendly- I believe sodium laureth sulfate is found in the biodegradable shampoos I had to use back at camp. It would be cool to get more insight into these chemicals outside of just their stated purpose.
That said, I always love this Wired feature. The time they did a twinkie was eye-opening for sure . . .
view MCNicole's profile