The Best Toilet Bowl Cleaners of 2023

Lysol Clean & Fresh smells very soapy and clean, not unlike Palmolive dish detergent. It claims to kill 99.9% of viruses, including COVID-19, thanks to its active ingredient quaternary ammonia, or quats, which can break down the cellular walls and membranes of bacteria and viruses to kill them or render them inactive. This means it’s not an ideal match for septic systems.

The product was an efficient disinfecting cleaner that clung well to the sides of the bowl, though it did leave a bit of green residue behind after flushing it away.

Lysol Power did an excellent job cleaning my toilet bowl, and its active ingredient, hydrochloric acid, kills 99.9% of bacteria. The blue “Thick Gel” formula clings to the bowl the duration of the recommended 15 minutes needed to properly kill germs.

I loved the smell of Lysol Power. Similar to other cleaners we tried, it has a faint wintergreen scent that smells fresh and not harsh at all. This is a pleasant surprise, considering its active ingredient.

While the packaging does claim that Lysol Power is septic-safe, hydrochloric acid is generally not advised for use in homes with septic systems, according to the EPA, as the chemical can kill off helpful bacteria found in septic tanks.

Method straddles a unique line on our list, as one of the only cleaners that provides disinfecting power while also being completely biodegradable and septic-safe. A certified B-Corp, Method calls itself a “pioneer of premium planet-friendly and design-driven home, fabric and personal care products,” which are “formulated with naturally derived, biodegradable ingredients.”

Method Antibac Toilet Cleaner uses citric acid as its main ingredient to kill 99.9% of germs, including COVID-19, offering a solid, disinfecting clean without harsh scents or chemicals.

The blue liquid requires a couple of passes around the bowl to really cover the whole surface, and—as with other disinfectants—it needs at least 10 minutes of surface contact to effectively kill germs.

It has a pleasant, mild mint scent, and leaves the toilet clean and, if you’re doing it right, germ-free.

Using citric acid as its active ingredient, Mrs. Meyer’s is a natural, biodegradable cleaner that works well for basic cleaning and stain removal. It has a thick, viscous texture that clings well to the bowl, and creates a bubbly, soapy lather while cleaning.

The product comes in an easy-to-open (but still childproof) bottle, and has a mild, floral scent with a whiff of chemicals.

Though the cleaner works well, the Mrs. Meyer’s website adds a caveat that users with hard water “may have to use [the] product more often to prevent the hard-water mineral deposits that develop at the water line from building up.”

Clorox Toilet Bowl Cleaner with Bleach is similar enough to its Clinging Bleach counterpart, but it’s runnier and doesn’t stay put as long, which is a decent knock against it. That said, it still offers excellent cleaning power and visible stain removal.

Much like Clinging Bleach, this cleaner left my bowl clean and white. Thanks to the applicator nozzle, it was a cinch to squirt a wide spray of cleaner over the surface of the bowl.

As with all bleach products, we took care to avoid splashes and drips, as this formula discolored our test swatch.

Scrubbing Bubbles Bubbly Bleach Gel is the only Scrubbing Bubbles formula we tested that was dye-free, which means that it’s not quite as easy to see how uniformly you’ve applied the product. However, the fact that there was one less artificial chemical additive made me feel better about the product.

For a product that touts itself as being bubbly, I didn’t find that it created more sudsy lather than any other products we tested, but the bleach-based gel did cling to the bowl and left it spotless.

As with all Scrubbing Bubbles cleansers, this one has a patented curved neck that fills with cleaner and reaches under the rim to ensure optimal stain coverage.

Scrubbing Bubbles Non-Bleach Power Stain Destroyer has a deep green color that lingered in my toilet even after flushing. While it claims to change from green to blue as it powers through harsh stains, all I found was that it left temporary turquoise-colored streaks where the water dripped down and refilled my bowl.

This oversaturation may be caused by using more product: Instructions call for a full 10 ounces to properly disinfect, as opposed to other cleaners that call for anywhere from 4 to 8 ounces.

This particular cleaner touts itself as non-bleach, instead using hydrochloric acid as the active ingredient. The acid in this cleaner helps to break down dirt and rust stains, and it also claims to be effective at killing 99.9% of viruses, including COVID-19. While it worked well and does promise to disinfect, the lingering “Rain Water” scent and deep color felt overly artificial.

Seventh Generation is an eco-friendly cleaning supply company that makes a plant-based toilet bowl cleaner that is free of synthetics and dyes.

This means that the biodegradable cleaning formula is gentle enough that it should not disrupt the bacterial balance of your septic system. The Seventh Generation Toilet Bowl Cleaner is also the only product we tested that received an A rating from the Environmental Working Group and a mention on the EPA’s Safer Choice list.

It does a good job helping to clear away visible stains. Unfortunately, it is not able to kill germs and disinfect.

The formula is thick, clinging to the sides of the toilet bowl. It lathered up to provide a nice, scrubby clean, and the “Emerald Cypress and Fir” scent was pine-y, but inoffensive.

My main problem (which is noted by several other users on the company’s website) was the difficulty I had opening and closing the cap. It took some force to pull the cap open, and even after I thought I had closed it, it remained open. It was not just childproof, but also seemingly adult-proof. For this adult, anyway.

I spent most of my time during the Lime-A-Way test trying to place the scent. Nowhere on the packaging does it tell you what it’s supposed to smell like (other than its claim to leave a lingering “fresh scent” behind). Then I placed it: Pepto Bismol. Slightly wintergreen-minty, and honestly, not unappealing.

Lime-A-Way is a thick gel which does a good job adhering to the sides of your bowl, and promises to remove rust, lime, and other hard water stains. To do so, it contains sulfamic acid, which can be extremely harmful upon contact with eyes or skin, and should not be inhaled.

While Lime-A-Way worked well to clean the toilet’s surface and remove lingering stains, it is not a disinfectant and does not claim to kill germs. Sulfamic acid is generally septic-safe in small quantities.

Like many cleaners that promise to clear away lime and rust stains, Zep’s active ingredient is hydrochloric acid, which does a great job at stain removal, but should be used sparingly by those with septic tanks.

Zep has a light, minty scent and gel formula that is slightly runnier than those that cling. But it still proved effective when scrubbing debris off of the bowl.