The main thing you can do for your plumbing system is to clean drains once a week. This can be done easily with a little baking soda and apple cider vinegar. Simply pour the two substances down the drain and let it foam up before flushing the toilet. This will clear out any small clogs forming in your system.
Caustic Soda
Caustic soda is a nasty chemical that can burn, but it's very effective for unclogging toilets.
Vinegar prevents limescale deposits and water rings from appearing. Pour about 3 cups (0.7 L) of vinegar into the bowl, making sure to cover all sides of the bowl as you pour it in. Let it sit for a while, then scrub the bowl thoroughly with a toilet brush and flush the toilet.
Urine scale and limescale leave visible deposits in the toilet. Whereas limescale is a mineral, urine scale contains several mineral salts. The waste in urine contains phosphorus, potassium, sodium, calcium and magnesium. These substances produce brown or yellow stains in the toilet bowl.
Urine scale and lime: The cause of staining
Urine scale is a mineral compound created by chemical processes: The lime contained in the water used to flush the toilet reacts with substances in urine.
For extra-stubborn clogs, you can let the fizz mixture sit overnight or combine this method with plunging. If your toilet remains clogged or continues to get clogged, this may be an indication of plumbing problems such as mineral buildup or pressure issues.
Baking Soda Mixture
As an alternative to using dish soap for those situations where you're without a plunger, try this all-natural solution. Pour one cup baking soda and two cups vinegar into the toilet. Allow it fizz for a half hour. If clog doesn't dissipate, try the hot water trick.
Who it isn't for: People who are dealing with toilet clogs or those who would rather use a natural drain cleaner. Experts agree: Drano Max Gel is the best overall drain cleaner because it works quickly to get rid of tough clogs.
Bleach is an effective way to deal with blocked toilet drains as it is a dilute solution of sodium hypochlorite and also contains a high chlorine concentration. Using bleach by itself or mixing it with boiling water are effective ways to unclog a toilet.
You want to avoid any issues which can become quite costly, so knowing when and how often to have your sewer cleaned out is knowledge you'll want to retain. A good general rule is to have your home's sewer lines cleaned out every 18 to 22 months.
How to prevent limescale build-up in your loo. To maintain your sparkling toilet, it is recommended that you regularly do a white vinegar wash – once a week should be enough. You can do this by adding 4 cups of white vinegar to the toilet bowl and then letting it sit overnight before flushing it in the morning.
Drain Augers or Snakes
The standard drain cleaner tool plumbers use to demolish obstructions in pipes is a motorized drain auger, also known as a drain snake. An auger consists of a long, flexible coil of metal that works similar to a corkscrew. The end of the auger goes down the drain until it reaches the clog.
For preventive drain cleaning, you can use Drano® Max Build-Up Remover in drains, toilets and even septic systems. Apply Drano® Max Build-Up Remover overnight or before you go to work, then wait 6 to 8 hours before running warm (not hot) water down treated drains or flushing treated toilets.
Cola Drain Cleaner Trick
Allow a two-liter bottle of soda to come to room temperature. Pour the entire bottle down the clogged drain. Allow it to sit in the drain for at least an hour or two (or even up to 24 hours for stubborn clogs). Flush drain with boiling water.
If the clog is minor, pour all of the baking soda measured into the toilet bowl. If the clog is severe, pour up to one-half a cup of baking soda in the toilet. Remember to use equal parts of vinegar and baking soda. So, for every one cup of baking soda you use, use one cup of vinegar.
Baking soda and vinegar is a marvelous cleaning agent, and when dumped into a clogged toilet, often will break up the clog without you having to do a thing. This is what you want to do: combine two cups hot water with two cups white vinegar.
Vinegar and baking soda: Add 1 or 2 cups of vinegar to the toilet bowl along with a few sprinkles of baking soda. Swish the solution around the bowl with your brush for a few minutes and then let it sit for about 15 minutes. Scrub the stains with your brush (or pumice stone).
Citric acid
Simply pour a kettle of almost boiling water into the bowl, follow up with 250ml of citric acid, and leave it for some hours – preferably overnight. The next day, scrub and flush.
Cleaning your toilet tank is pretty quick and easy with vinegar and baking soda. You only need to do it once or twice a year, and it can help get rid of bacteria, mold, and mineral deposits to keep you and your family healthy.
"Urine is normally sterile as a body fluid. Even if you have a urinary tract infection with bacteria in your urine it would be inactivated with the chlorine levels in the public water supply," he said. "So there's really no known disease transmission with urine left un-flushed in the toilet."
This coloring is primarily caused by the pigment urochrome, also known as urobilin. Whether your urine is diluted by water or in a more concentrated form determines the appearance of the pigment. The more water you drink, and the more hydrated you become, the lighter the pigment in your urine.
It gunks up your toilet bowl faster
Urine and hard water deposits leave hardened mineral deposits around your toilet bowl over time.
Baking soda, vinegar and boiling water can help clean drains naturally, but you may need something stronger, like Liquid-Plumr, to fully unclog those really tough drain clogs.
While the baking soda and vinegar solution is effective in breaking down a clog, it will also cause your drain to become more damaged. The baking soda's abrasive nature will wear down your drain over time. This is why you should avoid using baking soda and vinegar solution for cleaning out your drain.