Good Question: Cola to Remove Toilet Ring?

Amy writes:
Hello AT, I was recently discussing with a friend about various products to use to clean the bathroom. My friend suggested one of her best tricks to remove the toilet ring, is to use a can of cola. She first pours it into the bowl, leaves it overnight, then brushes well and it's gone! Supposedly the cola contains small quantities of phosphoric acid that will dissolve mineral deposits on your bowl. Has anyone ever tried this? Any other household product suggestions?

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Hi Amy, we haven't tried cola (but sounds interesting and could be fun!) but we have tried pouring a cup of white vinegar into the bowl, which worked out pretty well. Does anyone have experience using cola to clean? or any other tips to share?

Comments (7)

Coke does work! It also cleans the nasty buildup on car batteries.

If the Coke doesn't do away with the ring - try pumice. Remember, porcelain is very durable. You can't hurt it.

posted by pj on 2006-10-25 14:20:11

Makes you worry about what a coke a day does to your teeth, esophagus, stomach....

posted by D on 2006-10-25 14:45:11

Found this interesting website for more use out of Coca Cola.

http://members.tripod.com/~Barefoot_Lass/cola.html

posted by A on 2006-10-25 15:45:01

it seems that once the ring is gone, you should clean with a regular cleaner soon after. coke's got a lot of sugar, and bacteria love sugar.

posted by erin on 2006-10-25 20:56:39

White vinegar is a miracle cleaner. Cheap and effective on all kinds of things. I mix water and vinegar half-and-half in a spray bottle and use it in the kitchen. I'm sure if you can't stand the vinegary smell, you could probably add your favorite fragrance, but I don't find it any more disagreeable than most cleaners. Click my name for more uses.

posted by Doodle on 2006-10-26 04:52:26

The cola myth was put to the test on Mythbusters in Season 1, episode 5 (I got that off of their website), and they found that the vast majority of proported uses were of no real value.

posted by Devyn on 2006-10-26 12:53:47

There is no significant quantity of phosphoric acid in Coke. A quick googling reveals that are only about 11 grams in a gallon of Coke syrup (or about 0.20% of the mixture). Once you dilute that to can, you're left with with even less. Then you dilute it again in the toilet.

And given that your stomach acids are far stronger than phosphoric acid I don't think we're in danger of melting when we drink a Coke.

posted by Max on 2006-10-27 07:01:14