The Effects Of Using Coke To Clean A Dirty Toilet

[Renew Deal]

[In_The_Wind]

1. That looks so gross!

[Renew Deal]

2. It's the best use of Coke I've seen.

[In_The_Wind]

3. I must agree with you about that.

[Kali]

4. bleach works better and is cheaper

now using coke in an emergency to clean car battery terminals, I can get behind!

[Major Nikon]

5. Coke has about the same ph as household vinegar

So it works OK at removing hard water stains in the toilet. Vinegar costs about the same and works as good or better.

[panader0]

6. Think of your septic!

I won't use antibiotic soap either. Gotta keep your septic bacteria thriving. I try to use Rid-X a few times a year too.

[Kali]

7. we have solar composting (sshhhh)

but my parents house is on septic, and my mother was a worse bleach addict than me - it actually breaks down pretty quickly - never saw any problems at that house. (other than the requisite overflow on big family holidays)

[ProfessorGAC]

11. If You Have Rust, Coke Is Better

Rust and hard water deposits do not dissolve at high pH. And, bleach always has residual caustic or lime pushing the pH high. (It's made by bubbling chlorine gas into a caustic solution or a lime/water suspension, then diluted to household use.)

Coke has phosphoric acid in it and that does a better job on rust.

The best rust remover, because it's safe, non-toxic, and food grade is oxalic acid which can be found in Barkeeper's Friend.

I'd be nervous about Coke in a toilet though, because the lower pH and the sugars, for any length of time would be a great breeding ground for bacteria. And, lots of pathogens are acidophilic. Probably ok if you flushed a few times right after and made sure the lip under the rim are really clean.

I wouldn't use it.

[Kali]

12. good point about rust

as for disinfecting, nothing beats bleach for cheap and effective

[eppur_se_muova]

13. Oxalic Acid ? Non-Toxic ? Hardly ...

Toxicity and safety

Oxalic acid has toxic effects through contact and if ingested; manufacturers provide details in Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS). It is not identified as mutagenic or carcinogenic; there is a possible risk of congenital malformation in the fetus; may be harmful if inhaled, and is extremely destructive to tissue of mucous membranes and upper respiratory tract; harmful if swallowed; harmful to and destructive of tissue and causes burns if absorbed through the skin or is in contact with the eyes. Symptoms and effects include a burning sensation, cough, wheezing, laryngitis, shortness of breath, spasm, inflammation and edema of the larynx, inflammation and edema of the bronchi, pneumonitis, pulmonary edema.[21]

In humans, ingested oxalic acid has an oral LDLo (lowest published lethal dose) of 600 mg/kg.[22] It has been reported that the lethal oral dose is 15 to 30 grams.[23]

The toxicity of oxalic acid is due to kidney failure caused by precipitation of solid calcium oxalate,[24] the main component of kidney stones. Oxalic acid can also cause joint pain due to the formation of similar precipitates in the joints. Ingestion of ethylene glycol results in oxalic acid as a metabolite which can also cause acute kidney failure.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxalic_acid#Toxicity_and_safety

Admittedly, that's a high lethal dose, but keep it away from eyes, nose, and mouth. Oh, also skin. I suspect that in any commercial product it's actually partially neutralized to form a salt.

Like several other oxalates, sodium oxalate is toxic to humans. It can cause burning pain in the mouth, throat and stomach, bloody vomiting, headache, muscle cramps, cramps and convulsions, drop in blood pressure, heart failure, shock, coma, and possible death. Mean lethal dose by ingestion of oxalates is 10-15 grams (per MSDS).

Sodium oxalate, like citrates, can also be used to remove calcium ions (Ca2+) from blood plasma. It also prevents blood from clotting. Note that by removing calcium ions from the blood, sodium oxalate can impair brain function, and deposit calcium oxalate in the kidneys.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_oxalate#Biological_activity

[ProfessorGAC]

15. With That LD50. . .

. . .that's effectively non-toxic even at far above normal usage.

[olddots]

8. do not use cocaine to clean tour toilet bowl

Another public service message .......

[Xipe Totec]

9. Don't do drugs! Stay in Stool! nt

[mockmonkey]

10. When...

do they add the Mentos?

[UglyGreed]

14. So coke must be good to clean out

your digestive system too!!!