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Toilet Flappers Can Be Destroyed By Chlorine
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Toilet Cleaning Products!
The flapper in my toilet seems to need replacement more than once a year? Is there something that can be done to prolong its life?
Tell her to keep doing the Charleston... always works, and she'll definitely last longer... OK, back to the serious stuff!
Flappers can last for many years, but their biggest enemy is chlorine.
Heavily chlorinated water can lessen the life of all your toilet's rubber parts dramatically, including rubber seals and rubber washers. Adding chlorine to the toilet tank is one of the worst things you can do to your toilet.
Don't use toilet cleaning products in your toilet's tank!
I have always warned my customers against using tablets, packets or chemical bottles that are put in the toilet tank to clean the water and/or make the water blue. (Who was it that decided that blue water in the toilet is cool?) The additional chlorine in these products is like putting a gun to the head of your flapper. The photos below are of a few "victims" of automatic toilet bowl cleaners... buyer beware!!
These products also damage other rubber parts in your toilet!
Your flapper is just one part that can be damaged. Other seals, such as the large one between the toilet tank and the toilet bowl, and the small ones that keep water from leaking around the toilet tank/bowl bolts, become hard and brittle when exposed to years of concentrated chlorine. Once they become hard, even the slightest movement between the tank and bowl can cause sudden breakage and a sudden flood!!
Chuckle...
Needless to say, I always chuckle when I hear the ads for these products, which claim that the do not damage your plumbing. I suppose the toilet is no longer considered part of your plumbing. Go figure!