As cleaning technologies have progressed, keeping a clean home has gotten easier over the years. Many products exist today that only a few years ago were unthinkable.
One of them is the Clorox Toilet Wand. It replaces the old toilet brush that required a separate cleaning product and was no fun to use.
What’s even better is that once the part that touched the dirty things in the toilet has done its job, you throw it away and don’t have to handle it anymore in your bathroom.
And to get rid of the disposable part, can you flush a Clorox Toilet Wand cleaning head?
The Short Answer Is No
You cannot flush a Clorox toilet wand. To be clear, we’re talking about the disposable cleaning head of the Clorox Toilet Wand. If you plan on flushing the entire wand, you probably shouldn’t be left in a bathroom by yourself.
Your plumbing installation and sewage system in your neighborhood were designed to accommodate certain things. There are (many) other things they were decidedly not designed to handle.
In short, only three things should ever get flushed down the toilet:
- Water
- Toilet paper
- Things that come out of your body
That’s it. Since the Clorox Toilet Wand doesn’t fall under any of those categories, you should not flush it down the toilet.
Can you flush it? Sure. It will probably fit down the hole. But just because you can doesn’t mean you should. And in this case, you shouldn’t.
Why It Matters
The things we flush safely are biodegradable. Toilet paper is made from wood pulp, hemp, and sometimes even bamboo fibers, and gets treated with chemicals to help it maintain its integrity when you need it to, and then break down once it’s, shall we say, left your possession.
But the refill heads for the Clorox Toilet Wand are built to withstand more vigorous scrubbing than toilet paper, and they’re specifically designed not to fall apart while you use them.
The same goes for dental floss, feminine hygiene products, paper towels, and the like. Flushing these things down the toilet creates a risk (and, in many cases, a likelihood) of a clog. These clog types aren’t the kind that will break down if you just wait it out, either.
If you’ve never had a clogged toilet, you’ve lived a charmed life, and good for you. But the rest of us know that dreadful feeling of watching the water rise while praying to whomever that it doesn’t spill over.
Do not flush the toilet wand refills. If you have accidentally done so, you must face the issue immediately. If you’re a person who avoids things, understand that a clogged toilet is not a good thing to ignore.
When Wands Get Flushed
The best thing about the Clorox Toilet Wand might be its design, which allows you to install and remove disposable cleaner heads without touching them.
The wand mounts on the side of a plastic container that sits unobtrusively in your bathroom. Inside that container are the refill heads.
Pick up the wand, open the container, and push the handle down onto the disposable cleaning head sitting on the top of the pile. It locks into place, and you can get your scrub on.
You’ll notice the head has a blue tint because it uses cleaning chemicals. Putting the wand in the toilet water gets those cleaning agents foaming, and you can quickly and easily clean your toilet. And you haven’t touched anything gross!
When you finish, you’ll notice the head isn’t blue anymore. The cleaning agents have come off and now reside in the water, so your cleaner head has finished its work.
Flick the small release switch on the side of the wand, and the disposable head pops off and into the trash. And here’s the potential problem. The switch is so easily manipulated that on occasion, you might accidentally press it without meaning to.
If this happens, you may see your disposable head tumble into the toilet water. If you’ve already flushed the toilet, you may have to watch the water spirit your cleaning tool away.
Or maybe you flushed it on purpose. Either way, something bad has occurred, because you should never flush a Clorox Toilet Wand disposable cleaning head.
If You’ve Already Flushed It
Maybe you’ve sought out this article in a feverish state because you’ve already seen that refill head circle the bowl and disappear into the depths of your home’s plumbing. Fear not. We have solutions.
Method One: Quick and Dirty
If you’re lucky, you can reach the cleaner. Yes, it means putting your hand in the toilet and reaching down into that hole, but on the bright side, you just cleaned the bowl. If you can see any part of the cleaning head, steel yourself and reach for it.
Needing to wash your hands costs a lot less than calling the plumber.
Method Two: Wire Hanger
If you can’t see the offending head, resist the urge to lean on the out-of-sight-out-of-mind philosophy. You might be able to fish it out.
Take a wire hanger and cut it at one shoulder. This will leave the hook intact but will allow you to straighten the rest of the wire to a considerable length, which you may need. Remember that you can’t see the disposable head, so you have no idea how far down the toilet it is.
Your toilet can be about 30 inches deep, measuring from front to back, but the tube inside the toilet that takes the waste away can be nearly twice that length, as it curls back and around, so you may need all the length of the hanger.
Push the hook end of your newly configured clothes hanger down the toilet. Go slow and be methodical. Turn the hanger over and feel around for the head. If you’re lucky, you’ll snag it and be able to pull it back out.
Method Three: Drain Snake
A drain snake is the professional version of the wire hanger method. Many homeowners have one of these on hand. If that’s you, then use it instead. The drain snake is more flexible than a hanger wire and will reach much further.
There are some mechanical ones, but a simple drain auger will do the job and will give you at least 25 feet of flexible line to try to reach that flushed cleaner head.
Method Four: Shop Vacuum
If you have a shop vacuum, it’s a good tool for this job. (Shop-Vac is a brand name; other companies also make shop vacuums.)
The key is that you only use a wet/dry shop vacuum. If your vacuum isn’t rated for liquids, you set yourself up for equipment or property damage and possible injury.
Remove as much water from the toilet as possible, then fit the vacuum hose into the toilet hole. With a flexible hose, you can push it down the hole and hopefully grab onto the wayward cleaner head.
Method Five: The Nuclear Option
The nuclear option involves taking your toilet off its bolts and unseating it completely. If you have experience with this sort of thing, this step might be an option.
If this is your first foray into toilet removal and installation (because you’ll have to put it back together), you should probably call a plumber.
- Remove as much water from the toilet and tank as possible.
- Turn off the water to the toilet at the shutoff valve behind it.
- Disconnect the water supply hose.
- Set out some towels because you’re about to have water draining out of various toilet components.
- Detach the toilet tank by removing the bolts that secure it to the toilet.
- Unscrew the bolts at the toilet base and completely remove them from the bolts.
- Lift the toilet bowl straight up.
- Using an air compressor, a water hose, or your hand, clean out the toilet and remove the wand head you accidentally flushed.
- If there’s not a head in the toilet, that means it’s gotten into the drain pipe, in which case you need a plumber.
- Put it all back together, making sure to carefully set the bowl down evenly on the wax ring (if that ring looks worn, go ahead and replace it while you’ve got everything disassembled).
Method Six: Call a Professional
Not every project is a DIY. Maybe any plumbing work is over your head, or maybe you’ve tried all of the above and still can’t retrieve the cleaning head.
Better to call a plumber now than to need one later after the problem has metastasized. And it will metastasize if you ignore it.
Final Thoughts
Can you flush Clorox Toilet Wands? No. Do not, under any circumstances, flush the disposable cleaning heads. They’re designed for one use and then to go in the trash can, not the toilet.
You’ve probably heard, “If you take care of your things, your things will take care of you.” Your toilet is one of those things that you want to do its job in taking care of you. Don’t flush things your toilet isn’t designed to take.
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