Quick Answer: Put toilet cleaner under the rim and leave it for the time on the label. While it works, wipe the outside with warm soapy water on a cloth kept only for the toilet, from the cistern and flush button down to the seat, hinges and base. Brush the bowl and under the rim, flush, and let the brush drip dry. Keep abrasives off the seat and never mix toilet cleaner with bleach.
What you'll need
- A toilet brush (and its holder), used for nothing else.
- A cloth or sponge kept only for the toilet, and a bucket of warm water with a little dishwashing liquid.
- A toilet cleaner, gel or liquid, made for the bowl.
- Rubber gloves.
Caroma, which makes many Australian toilets, says to clean vitreous china “with a mild household detergent or warm soapy water” and a soft cloth. The toilet cleaner is only for the inside of the bowl.
How to clean a toilet, step by step
Step 1: Put the cleaner under the rim
Lift the seat and squeeze the cleaner under the rim so it runs down the bowl. Leave it for the time on its label: Harpic's Power Plus label, for example, says to leave it 10 minutes. If someone else used the toilet cleaner a moment ago, or there is a bleach block in the cistern, don't add a second product (see Safety below).
Step 2: Clean the outside, top to bottom
While the cleaner works, wipe the outside with your toilet cloth and warm soapy water: the cistern lid and flush button first, then the cistern, the lid, the top and underside of the seat, the hinges, the rim, and down the pedestal to the base and the floor around it. Working downwards means the dirtiest parts come last. Rinse the cloth often.
Most seats are plastic or thermoset. Caroma says no abrasive cleaners should be used on seats, “as these will remove the surface gloss”, and that bleaches can discolour the surface if not removed immediately. Use soapy water and wipe the seat dry.
Step 3: Brush the bowl and under the rim
Scrub the whole bowl with the brush, pushing the bristles up under the rim, where the cleaner can't reach on its own, and down into the outlet. Flush, and brush once more as the clean water runs down.
Step 4: Finish and put the tools away
Rest the brush over the bowl, wedged under the seat, so it drips dry before it goes back in its holder. Put the cloth in the wash, rinse and dry the bucket, and wash your hands.
Done looks like: no ring at the waterline, nothing under the rim when you look with a torch, and a dry, streak-free seat and base.
How to remove a toilet ring and stains
A ring at the waterline, or brown or grey streaks where the water runs, is usually hard-water scale that has trapped stains. To shift it:
- Leave the toilet cleaner on longer than a routine clean, within its label: Harpic's guidance for limescale with its toilet tablets is to leave them 30 to 45 minutes, in the bowl and never in the cistern.
- Brush firmly at the ring, then flush.
- Repeat over a few cleans for an old ring rather than reaching for something harsher.
Some websites suggest a wet pumice stone. Retailer Tradelink says pumice is “not too harsh for the toilet surface”, but Caroma and Johnson Suisse exclude damage from abrasive or scouring products from their warranties, so treat pumice as your own risk, especially on an easy-clean glaze. A ring that never shifts may be worn glaze, which cleaning can't fix.
How hard your water is decides how fast scale comes back: see Hard Water in Australia: Signs and Limescale.
Should you put a cleaning block in the cistern?
Check your toilet's care sheet first. Caroma's warranty does not cover products used with cleaning or deodorising additives in the cistern, and Johnson Suisse's instructions say not to use chlorine or chemical sanitisers in the cistern because they may damage tank components and void the warranty. A clip-on rim block that hangs in the bowl keeps chemicals out of the cistern, but still means bleach-based products and acidic cleaners can meet in the bowl.
Safety Never mix cleaning products. Victoria’s Better Health Channel: “Do not mix bleach with ammonia, acids or other cleaners – this can release hazardous chlorine or chloramine fumes.” Ventilate the room during and after use. Wear gloves and eye protection. Follow the label's dilution and contact time. In an emergency call 000. For poisoning advice call the Poisons Information Centre on 13 11 26 — 24 hours, anywhere in Australia.
Many toilet cleaners are acidic, and vinegar is an acid: SA Health warns not to mix chlorine-based disinfectant “with acids, e.g. hydrochloric acid”, and NT Health warns that vinegar “should not be used with bleach or other chemical products as it can create a toxic gas”. Flush between products, and keep toilet cleaner off stone floors: the Natural Stone Institute warns that some toilet bowl cleaners contain traces of hydrofluoric acid, which attacks all stone.
How often to clean a toilet
No health authority sets a household interval. In our bathroom cleaning checklist the toilet is part of the weekly clean, with the seat, flush button and handle wiped more often in a busy household or when someone is unwell. When someone has had gastro, clean and then disinfect the toilet: see How to Sanitise and Disinfect Your Home.
When cleaning isn't enough
- A toilet that runs on, leaks at the base or rocks needs a plumber.
- A seat with loose hinges: Caroma advises checking the hinge bolts are tight at regular intervals.
- Cracks in the bowl or cistern can't be cleaned or sealed safely: replace the part.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the most hygienic way to clean a toilet?
Use tools kept only for the toilet, clean the outside from the top down so the dirtiest parts come last, and do the toilet last in the bathroom so its cloth and brush never touch another surface. Disinfect as well when someone in the house is unwell.
Q: Does vinegar and bicarb soda clean a toilet?
They fizz, but the fizz is the two cancelling each other out. Warm soapy water cleans the outside, and a toilet cleaner made for the bowl does the inside. Never use vinegar in a toilet that has a bleach block in the cistern.
Q: Why does my toilet get a ring so quickly?
Usually hard water: minerals left as the water sits in the bowl build up at the waterline and trap stains. Cleaning more often stops a ring setting.
Sources & References
- Caroma, Warranty and care (v14, October 2023): mild detergent on vitreous china; no abrasives or bleach on seats; cistern additives and abrasive damage excluded from warranty; check hinge bolts.
- Caroma, Bathroom cleaning tips: vitreous china and seats.
- Johnson Suisse, Venezia instructions: no chlorine or chemical sanitisers in the cistern.
- Harpic Australia, Power Plus and How to clean your toilet: contact times; do not mix; no tablets in the cistern.
- Tradelink, Best ways to clean your toilet: pumice.
- SA Health, Guideline to dilution for chlorine-based disinfectant solutions: do not mix with acids.
- NT Health, Toilet cleaning: vinegar and bleach.
- Natural Stone Institute, Stone care: hydrofluoric acid in some toilet cleaners.
- Better Health Channel (Victoria), Mould removal at home: never mix bleach with acids or ammonia.
