The Best Way to Clean Under the Toilet Rim

Cleaning under the toilet rim is hard when you can’t see where you’re cleaning! Well-designed toilet bowl cleaner bottles and formulas, and even the design of the cleaning tool, make this job easier.

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When it’s hard to see a surface you’re cleaning, it can be easy to miss an area. That’s why cleaning under the toilet rim is so difficult! Fortunately, things like toilet bowl cleaner bottle design, special formulations, and even the design of the cleaning tool can make this chore easier. 

Starting with the bottle design, all Clorox® Toilet Bowl Cleaners have a specially designed neck that allows you to angle the nozzle toward the area directly under the rim of the toilet. This makes it easy to get the toilet bowl cleaner exactly where you need it, where the toilet bowl stains are hiding. Our bleach-based toilet bowl cleaning products are thickened, and cling to the sides of the toilet bowl as you squirt the cleaner under the rim, giving you plenty of time to grab your toilet brush and start scrubbing, so you can get rid of black stuff under the toilet rim.

And the brush or cleaning tool design matters, too. Angled brushes make it easier to reach under the rim for a thorough scrubbing. If you’d rather skip the brush, the Clorox® ToiletWand® Cleaning System contains powerful Clorox® cleaner, and has a specially designed 360° Swivel head to clean hard to reach places, including under the rim, putting better cleaning within easy reach.

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What you need to clean under the rim

Steps to clean under the rim with toilet bowl cleaner

  1. Flush toilet

    Flush the toilet so that only water remains in the bowl before cleaning.

  2. Open the cap

    Squeeze sides of the child-proof cap where symbols indicate and twist counterclockwise ¼ turn. Cap does not come off.

  3. Apply cleaner

    Aim the nozzle toward the bowl directly under the rim, and then squirt the product to coat the area under the rim. Continue squirting a total of 6 oz. of product to coat the inside of the bowl; close the cap.

    Tip

    Surfaces must be pre-cleaned before sanitizing or disinfecting.

  4. Brush bowl surfaces

    Brush the cleaner under the rim and around the bowl with a stiff brush, and then wait 5 minutes for sanitizing or 10 minutes for disinfecting before flushing the toilet.

    Tip

    Do not let children or pets access the toilet during this time.

  5. Flush the toilet

    When the sanitizing or disinfecting time is complete, flush the toilet.

    Tip

    When you flush the toilet, rinse the toilet brush in the toilet bowl at the same time before storing it.

Steps to clean under the rim with the ToiletWand® Cleaning System

  1. Attach cleaning head

    Open pouch or box of cleaning heads and push handle straight down onto cleaning head unit until it clicks into place.

  2. Flush toilet

    Flush the toilet so that only water remains in the bowl before cleaning.

  3. Wet cleaning head

    Dip cleaning head in toilet bowl water for 1–2 seconds to activate cleaner.

    Tip

    Surfaces must be pre-cleaned before sanitizing or disinfecting.

  4. Brush bowl surface

    Scrub under the rim, and then the entire bowl above the water line, and then wait 5 minutes for sanitizing or 10 minutes for disinfecting before flushing the toilet.

    Tip

    Do not let children or pets access the toilet during this time.

  5. Flush the toilet

    When the sanitizing or disinfecting time is complete, flush the toilet.

  6. Discard cleaning head

    Slide the blue or grey button forward to release head into trash bin.

    Tip

    Do not flush cleaning head.