Home repair and cleaning YouTube channel Home Fix sells it so well: they start with a filthy-looking loo, chuck some salt in it for 30 minutes, and seemingly scrub away months of grime.
“Say goodbye to a dirty toilet bowl forever with just salt,” their viral video’s caption reads.
It’s a hack I’ve seen reported across multiple media outlets and on social media sites like TikTok and Reddit. But as a former cleaner, I’d never heard of the hack ― something about it seemed a little off to me, to be honest.
After all, some publications claim regular-degular table salt helps to deodorise, declog, deep-clean, and prevent limescale in one 5p scoop. Surely that’s a little too good to be true?
So, I reached out to James Marino, senior general manager at Pinnacle Home Improvements, about the trick.
It may be able to help in small amounts, the expert said.
“Salt does have some cleaning and deodorising properties, but it’s not exactly a miracle worker for your toilet or drains,” he explained.
“If you’re using table salt, it might help scrub away some grime if combined with a bit of elbow grease, but it’s not going to magically clear clogs or deep-clean your plumbing,” he added, sharing that course salt is a better choice for deeper stains.
“That said, this is more of a surface-level fix, not a full solution for clogged or smelly drains.”
Then, there’s the fact that salt can be pretty bad for your loo in large amounts.
“The main concern with salt is overuse,” Marino told HuffPost UK.
“If you’re dumping excessive amounts down your loo regularly, it could build up in your pipes, especially if you have hard water or older plumbing” (AKA, pretty much every loo in the UK).
Loads of salt can react poorly to other cleaning agents too, Merino shared, “which could cause more harm than good.“
There is a type of “salt” called “spirit of salts” ― an old-timey name for hydrochloric acid ― that really can deep-clean your loo, cleaner Ann Russell shared on TikTok.
However, this is usually only used by professionals because it can be very dangerous if mishandled.
Marino says you might not need to go to such extremes for a sparkling loo, however.
“A good flush with hot water and a mixture of baking soda and vinegar is often more effective and safer for your plumbing,” he said.
“But if you’re just experimenting with a pinch of salt now and then for a little extra shine, it’s not going to hurt — just don’t expect it to fix a serious drain problem.’’
If you’ve got some strange or lingering smells or have other concerns about your toilet, consider reaching out to a plumber, he adds.
