Gone back to pure thick bleach

[Melywatchthestars]

There was a thread on here a few weeks back where some people were quite vocal about their hate of bleach so I thought I'd try and swap over from bleach.

I lasted three or four weeks but I've gone back to pure thick bleach. Sorry, but toilet duck etc are just not strong enough for my liking (+ the streaky colours dripping down from under the toilet rims even a day or so after use and flushed multiple times were just an eyesore).

I use a harpic toilet cleaner that contains bleach

Is the gel coloured or clear? Could be a middle way I suppose. If it's clear bleach then it's bleach though I suppose.

It's clear. I also don't like the way the other toilet cleaners stain the toilet bowl

It's this. I get it in morrisons too and maybe home bargains

I love a thick bleach….much better than toilet duck. What’s wrong with bleach?

Is that why I get black streaks running down the pan? If so back to bleach for me

this. me too, what is wrong with bleach? I've always used it.

Environmentally, quite a bit. But I expect Harpic’s pretty environmentally crap too.

I don’t understand what’s so wrong with bleach? I tried toilet cleaners but judging by the streaks running down the toilet there’s no way it cleaned properly! I only ever use bleach and won’t be convinced otherwise

I mean, I'm with you on the bleach, but not using product because it creates an eyesore? In your toilet bowl? 😁

The Tesco own brand bleach has changed. It used to smell lovely after being squirted under the toilet rim. Now it has no smell 😞

Bleach just whitens any stains, the limescale which holds onto the matter which is where you can see the staining is still there.
Bleach is also very harmful to aquatic life. If you can use a non bleach cleaner then it really is better.
I use citric acid in boiled water and then closed so it doesn't crack the bowl and use that to clean under the rim and then leave in the bowl for several hours, or for as long as you can.
You can also use green bleach which is harmless to aquatic life and does clean the loo. I use this the same way as the citric acid mix. I do have a silicone loo brush but I also use an old scourer or use some kitchen roll for under the rim. Once the loo is clean, it's really not that bad to keep it that way and less of an ick factor.

Off topic, but I had to comment on the cheapness of the harpic shown above for just over 1 pound. I don't live in the UK and it's €3.50 here. Occasionally you'd get it around the €2.50-€2.75 mark if on offer, but it's currently €3.50 in my closest 2 supermarkets.

As for bleach, I'm very sensitive to the stuff so rarely use it. My sister loves it and I have had to leave her house on occasion as it catches my breath and makes my eyes sting. She uses it to clean everything.

Those of you who like bleach, do you just use it for the toilet, or do you use diluted bleach for worktops, sinks, flooring etc?

I use Ecover toilet cleaner which is citric acid based.

Yeah I have seen and tried that one before actually. It's definitely a bleach though so I would still be going back to bleach anyway if you get my drift.

Not sure. If it's black streaks that would perhaps indicate something else as most toilet cleaners are blue or green.

I use this too - does an excellent job and far better for the environment.

😆 just realised what I wrote now. Bad choice of wording 😆 you know what I mean though. But yeah I just prefer bleach like you.

Bleach doesn’t “just whiten stains” though. When we had our bathroom done, we inadvertently ended up with a loo bowl that ends up pretty grim after certain trips to the bathroom, due to the angle of the bowl. Toilet cleaners like Ecover simply don’t clean it. Bleach does and no, I don’t have bleached poo still attached to the bowl - it actually removes it properly.

So I only use bleach these days, having not used it for years.

Oh that Tesco bleach is the one I got the other day. I could definitely smell it when I put it down. It certainly doesn't smell of citrus or whatever the blue one is I also got but they both definitely smelt of bleach yesterday.

The health warnings on bleach are enough to put me off, I woud rather germs be near my child than bleach

Don't all cleaning products come with health warnings though? i.e. keep out of reach of children, use in well ventilated spaces etc.

Bleach is probably ok to use occasionally but it can damage the glaze on the porcelain and degrade the plastic in the pipe work over time

Bleach can release CFCs into the atmosphere, poison water for all the helpful microorganisms, make chlorine gas if mixed with other cleaning agents, trigger asthma and eat away at the finish on the porcelain.

So all things considered, a citric acid based cleaner is less damaging choice.

Hmmm, is this quite right? Can people share their sources to help me understand this better? 🙏

So far as I understand it, bleach is sodium hypochlorite, and you're flushing it into the wastewater treatment system. The drinking water system is going to treat that water with the same thing, before dechlorination.

https://www.dwi.gov.uk/chlorine-disinfection/
https://www.water.org.uk/waste-water/sewage-treatment-works

What am I missing?