Blue bowl cleaner. Should you allow them?

One of the most common things I come across in toilet bowls, even to this day, is the blue puck or or blue bowl cleaners that people out in their tank to "clean" the bowl.

Now I have heard and seen everything when it comes to these little blue gems.

Funniest blue puck story was a local man ( who was drunk) asked an arresting officer if he could please use the restroom before being hauled off. As the man was cooperative the officer chose to let him use the facilities. When the local man had obviously taken to long the officer entered the public bathroom only to find the impaired man sucking on the blue puck from one of the urinals (also known as urinal cakes). It would seem that the young mans buddies had at some point suggested that the blue puck would "throw off" a breathalyzer test, and he figured he couldn't afford to go to jail. Now I'm sure between your dry heaves your wondering what came of the young man.

He was arrested. His buddies were mistaken, and some things just can't be undone.

So in all seriousness. Blue cleaners and/or blue pucks deteriorate the seals and fill valves in the toilet. What does that mean? It will leak.

I had a call where the lady who lived there complained that the toilet wouldn't fill in the guest bath. Now she hadn't used it much, and she had company coming. When I pulled the back of the toilet to look, I was hit in the face with a chemical smell that burned my nose and throat, and caused my eyes to instantly water uncontrollably. I had to open several windows in the adjoining bedroom and in that bathroom. When the air had finally cleared enough I went in to look again.

I found the fill valve and the flapper were in a puddle at the bottom of the tank. Now I don't mean sitting in a puddle. I mean they were a puddle, and sitting right next to them was the blue puck. So at some point there had been a chemical reaction that had melted the two and stopped the water from filling the tank. I had to scrape them out with a paint scraper.

A lot of owners and tenants don't realize that blue cleaners will automatically void the warranty on toilets and any component that you put in to the toilet. 

I'm not sure why people still insist on using them, but they will eventually cost you in a leaking toilet. I have replaced fill valves, flappers, spuds ( the gasket between the bowl and tank), and tank bolts and washers. blue cleaners are very corrosive, and just don't belong in there.

So do yourself a favor. Let your tenants know the only acceptable cleaner for the toilets in their units is a toilet brush and some elbow grease.