The toilet is perhaps one of the hardest areas in the home to clean in an environmentally friendly fashion. Commodes are prone to all sorts of nasties - stains, germs, odors - ick!

There are two basic areas of a toilet that must be cleaned: inside the bowl, and everywhere else.

To clean inside the bowl, I recommend that you mix equal amounts of borax and baking soda in a large-holed shaker bottle (the sort you’d put grated parmesan in works well). You can add a few drops of tea tree oil if you like, just mix well. Use a mop-style toilet scrubber. These can be hard to find - check janitorial supply houses or Fuller Brush. This type of scrubber looks like a big, full pompom on a stick. Use this mop to force the water out of the commode (simply insert it into the hole at the bottom and work it in and out a few times - the toilet will “flush” with no water. Use the wet mop to coat all inside surfaces, then sprinkle the borax/baking soda all over. Use the mop to scrub all areas, then flush. If necessary, use the mop again to get any remaining powder off into the water.

To clean outside the bowl, use either All-Purpose Cleaner #1 or Citrasolv solution. Spray, leave for a few minutes, then wipe.

As far as I know, from knowledge of the chemicals and using them myself for nearly 5 years on a septic system, these chemicals are all safe for use with septic systems.

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