Why People Are Adding Toothpaste to Their Toilet Tanks

When it comes to the dirtiest location in the home, many people immediately think of their toilet. This area is undeniably the most popular seat in the house, and it sees a lot of action. Of course, that means it requires regular cleaning, which is why so many people are eager to test out new toilet-cleaning hacks whenever they learn about them.

Yes, even if that includes putting a tube of toothpaste into your toilet tanks, which is what some folks are doing to try to get their toilet looking and smelling its best. But, does this cleaning hack actually work? Let's take a look and see what kind of experiences people are having with the unusual cleaning method.

People on social media are taking a tube of toothpaste, puncturing the tube with small holes, and then snipping the sides off the base of their toothpaste before dropping it into the toilet's tank.

TikToker @tiptiktiptok gave a full explainer on the process in a video, saying that one of the reasons why this hack was so popular was because it's less expensive to buy toothpaste than it is to buy the tablets that many people use instead.

Fans of the method claim that the ingredients in the toothpaste can do everything from eliminating odors to fighting bacteria, but some caution against the idea.

Commenters on @damyralynch's post about the hack said they had disastrous results when they tried this at home, with one woman saying that the toothpaste had gotten dislodged in the tank and had flooded her mother-in-law's house.

After an exhaustive search where I tried to find just one comment from a professional cleaner who endorsed this method, I came up empty-handed, which made me wonder just how good this hack could be. 

I'm not alone — it looks like plenty of people think this trick may be a bit bogus, pointing out that as much as we'd like to, we can't just swap products that are meant for one thing and use them for another.

"I use toilet cleaner to clean my teeth," one person quipped on @tiktiktiptok's post. "I have the cleanest teeth on the street." 

Jokes aside, some products are specifically designed to be used in toilet tanks, which is important when it comes to ensuring that you're not using chemicals that'll degrade the inner workings of your toilet tank or running the risk of getting the tube of toothpaste stuck in the tank, potentially causing water to back up. 

Then other commenters called out the "budget-friendly" angle of this option. "Most cleaning products are cheaper than toothpaste," they wrote on @festynice4's post.

Based on the limited evidence posted, this hack seems to offer more risks than rewards. Still, if this seems like something you'd like to try, I'd just caution you to do so with your plumber's phone number on hand, just in case!