Is there anything better than walking into a totally fresh and clean bathroom? We love it when our bathroom is glistening, clean, and fresh-smelling, so we try to deep clean our bathrooms a few times per year. And we're not just talking sink, shower, and toilet bowl. We mean really getting in there and cleaning inside your toilet tank, too.
Sure, only water passes through your toilet tank, but this moist environment can get pretty gunky with mold, rust, calcium, and other build-up, so it's something you'll want to clean a few times a year. We have all the tips you need to clean out your toilet tank naturally using vinegar and get your bathroom truly spotless.
Before cleaning your toilet tank, you need to empty it. Shut off the water valve at the base of the tank. Then, give the toilet a few good flushes to empty it and get to work.
How to Clean Inside the Toilet Tank With a Vinegar Soak
How much vinegar do you put in the toilet to clean it? The answer is gallons. The vinegar soak is one of the easiest methods that you can use to clean your toilet tank. It's best if you have another bathroom available if you use this method since your toilet will be out of commission for a while.
You'll Need
- 3 to 7 gallons of white vinegar (depending on the size of your toilet tank)
- Scrub brush
Instructions
- Empty the water from the tank.
- Fill the tank with vinegar to the overflow tube, making sure to cover any rust, mold, or algae that might be inside the tank.
- Allow the vinegar to sit in the tank for 12 - 13 hours.
- Drain the vinegar by flushing.
- Use the scrub brush to remove any leftover debris.
- Turn the water back on.
- Rinse the toilet tank a few times by filling and flushing.
Use a Vinegar and Baking Soda Scrub to Clean Your Toilet Tank
If you don't have 12 hours to wait for your throne to be back in commission, then you can give this quicker method a try.
You'll Need
- 2 tablespoons Dawn dishwashing liquid
- 1 cup vinegar
- ½ cup baking soda
- Toilet brush
Instructions
- Drain the water out of the tank.
- Add the Dawn, vinegar, and baking soda to the tank.
- Use the toilet brush to swish it around.
- Scrub down the sides and bottom.
- Let it sit for about an hour.
- Give it another good scrub to get out any new stuck-on sediment, algae, rust, and mold.
- Turn on the water and flush out the tank.
Related: House Cleaning Schedules to Get Spotless Without the Stress
How to Use Vinegar and Borax to Clean Inside Your Toilet Tank
Baking soda isn't the only thing that you can mix with vinegar to get your tank fresh. Borax works, too.
You Will Need
- 1 cup borax
- 4 cups white vinegar
- Toilet brush
Instructions
- Drain the tank, leaving a couple of inches of water.
- Mix the borax and the vinegar.
- Add the mixture to the water in the tank.
- Take your toilet brush and scrub the inside of the tank.
- Let it sit for an hour or two.
- Give it another good scrub down, focusing on water-stained areas.
- Turn on the water.
- Flush out the tank a few times.
When it comes to using vinegar to clean your toilet tank, it's a natural antifungal and antibacterial. It also creates a toxic vapor if mixed with bleach. If you use vinegar to clean your tank, do not use any bleach.
Commercial Tank Cleaners
If you have extremely hard water or a really dirty tank, you might want to bust out some commercial cleaners. However, you do have to be careful of the different parts of the toilet. So, you'll want to stick to cleaners made for the toilet tank, like Instant Power Toilet Tank Cleaner. This can work great if vinegar, baking soda, and borax just aren't cutting through the stains.
White Vinegar in the Toilet Tank
It's not hard to clean inside your toilet tank using vinegar. And doing so will keep your toilet super clean so your bathroom can truly sparkle.
