Toilet cleaners

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Green shopping guide to toilet cleaners, from Ethical Consumer

This is a buyers' guide from Ethical Consumer, the UK's leading alternative consumer organisation. Since 1989 we've been researching and recording the social and environmental records of companies, and making the results available to you in a simple format.

This buyers' guide is part of a Special Report on Cleaning Products. See what's in the rest of the report.

This buyers' guide to Toilet Cleaners includes:

Ethical and environmental ratings for 16 toilet cleaning brands
Best Buy recommendations
What's in these cleaners

Brand

Bio-D toilet cleaner [S]

Earth Friendly Products Toilet Cleaner [A,S]

ecoleaf toilet cleaner [S,A]

Sodasan toilet cleaner

Ecozone toilet cleaner

Lilly's Eco Clean toilet cleaner

Dri Pak cleaning ingredients

Ecover toilet cleaner

Planet Clean toilet cleaner

Bloo toilet cleaner

Frish toilet cleaner

Parazone bleach toilet cleaner

Duck toilet cleaner

Harpic toilet cleaner

Cif toilet cleaner

Domestos cleaners

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May/June 2012

Clean round the bend?

Toxic ingredients

Most people think that the toilet bowl must be one of the dirtiest places in a house, which is not helped by the number of adverts which play on this belief. In fact, it’s probably not the case because of the constant flush of running water. Toilet cleaners usually contain strong acids, bleach and detergents.

Chlorine bleach (aka sodium hypochlorite) – disinfectant or whitener in cleaners and fabric bleaches. It is a corrosive chemical; toxic if ingested; eye and respiratory irritant, can irritate the lungs and eyes and in waterways can become toxic organochlorines. If mixed with acids such as ammonia it can release chloramine gas which can result in death.(6)

Disinfectants and antibacterials - See 'The danger of antimicrobials'.

Surfactants and perfumes - see the Laundry Detergents buyers' guide.