Cleaning the toilet is definitely one of the worst chores in the house. You don’t want to spend a lot of time doing it, and you certainly don’t want to have to get up close and personal to give it a proper clean. Unfortunately, when you apply cleaning products, whether they’re liquid or powder, they sink to the bottom of the toilet making it harder to clean the whole bowl. That’s just the way gravity works and unfortunately the shape of a toilet invites these products to pool together. But, what if there was a way around it?
While there’s bathroom cleaning hacks that will save you time and effort, there’s also a cleaning trend we saw on TikTok that stopped us in our tracks. Instead of just applying the products directly to the toilet, the advice is to fill your toilet with ice cubes first. Sounds odd, right? Well, it is. But, it’s also weirdly satisfying to watch. Here’s the ice cube toilet cleaning hack in action:
@julia_asmr_sounds ♬ original sound - ASMR by JULIA
How to use ice in your toilet
As user @julia_asmr_sounds demonstrates, it’s really as simple as pouring ice cubes into the toilet bowl, adding your cleaning powder and/or liquid, and then scrubbing the ice around the bowl with a toilet brush.
But, what’s the difference made by using ice? In a toilet, when the water exceeds capacity, the toilet will automatically drain. If you just filled it up with more water, it would drain away. With ice, the ice stays as a solid. Use enough and it stays above the water line meaning it will trap the cleaning products and keep them where you want them.
As Julia writes: “Ice helps cleaners to stay longer on your toilet bowl, which allows for more effective cleaning and it also removes any unpleasant odors that may remain after a few seconds scrubbing a toilet with a brush.” As an ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response), there’s also an alternative reason for Julia’s post. The sounds of the ice scrubbing in the bowl can trigger a tingling sensation in watchers. While we found it incredibly calming, when it came to flushing the toilet, we were immediately anxious that the toilet would overflow.
Is it safe to clean your toilet with ice?
Luckily, my husband’s a plumber, so I thought I’d ask him what the risk is of flushing ice in the toilet. Especially, when it looked like the toilet in Julia’s video was about to flood. He said that the ice, much like the solid waste the toilet usually encounters, is of similar size, so would flush just the same.
The important thing to avoid is flushing any large pieces of ice, or slabs of ice, that could block the pipe. Plus, avoid using too many products by combining cleaning products, like Julia's video, as they can create toxic fumes. Instead, use just one cleaning solution. Other than that, there’s no safety concern with flushing ice as the ice would eventually melt back into its liquid form anyway. Phew.
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