Today I Learned: Coke Can Be Used to Clean Toilets

cokecleaner

Here’s the thing: I’m a hardcore Coke girl. So the fact that someone decided to dump a bottle down a toilet to demonstrate how it could be used as a lime and stain cleaner does nothing to convert me to the dark side. I just take it as further proof of Coke’s perfection.

The next time you try to clean the bathroom and don’t happen to have a regular chemical toilet cleaner on hand, a good ol’ can of Coke will do just as well. Apparently the phosphoric acid in the carbonated caramel concoction is strong enough to break down all the lime scum and buildup leftover from all your recent visits to the porcelain throne, according to wikiHow.

Of course, there’s the tiny issue of all the sugar and stickiness forming an optimal bacteria breeding ground, but as long as you don’t let the Coke sit there forever, these instructions should still be perfectly applicable, especially when your mom has threatened to kick you out for the hundredth and last time and you’re just too lazy or broke to pick up some Lysol from the store.

(Or just because you’re still so confused over that whole soda ban thing.)

Plus, there’s this little beauty under the “Warnings” section, which by itself almost makes the whole post worth reading:

If you have roommates or a spouse, be sure to inform them about what you are doing. Otherwise, they may think you had some sort of ‘black thunder’ diarrhea and failed to flush, and will flush it for you, thwarting your altruistic cleaning efforts.”

Lololol, black thunder diarrhea.

H/T  Buzzfeed + Picthx wikiHow



Dominique would be a foodie if she had money to pay for food. For now, she gets by just looking at food photography, which results in at least one more starving journalism student every time Instagram breaks down.


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  • Steven Urich

    My wife did this and didn’t tell me about it. I was wondering what happened too. :) But, when she finished with it, the toilet stayed clean for a very long time after that. It kinda put me off Coke. Not that I drank that much anyway but I drink even less now.

  • http://www.facebook.com/cun.dup Cun Dup

    what you are using is just a bunch of new coke chemicals anyways.
    water, corn syrup, artificial flavors, and acid.
    Not like real coca-cola, water, sugar, cola, coca, acid. still sold in Mexico, and your international aisle.

  • Leigh

    The same phosphorus that cleans your toilet also leaches calcium from your bones. That’s why all sorts of people are getting osteoporosis.

  • Chris Driskell

    This is nothing new…Airline flight attendants have been using Diet Coke to flush lavatory sink drains for years now, because stuff like Drano is considered dangerous for use on airplanes(duh!) The trick is to use *Diet* Coke (rather than sugared) since it doesn’t provide any nutrients microbes can feed on, and has the same acidity.

  • Page 7

    Coke also works fantastic on cleaning the connectors on your car battery that can become caked with residue. Just pour some coke on the connectors (make sure car is turned off!) and watch it all fizzle away…

  • Exen

    Oh my god, this is terrible!
    No, not the Coke thing, I just found out that toilets commonly dispense what’s known as a ‘universal solvent’!

    AKA, water.

    Chemistry scaremongering is great, huh? BTW, orange juice can clean a toilet just as well, but you typically don’t see anyone in a panic over that.

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