A few quick steps help clean and deodorize your toilet tank. Although the toilet is designed to eliminate wastes, it might occasionally accumulate some waste of its own -- which often results in an unpleasant odor. Toilet tanks can take on musty odors. Rather than reaching for harsh chemicals to clean and deodorize your toilet tank, natural ingredients can do the job effectively without damaging the inside of your tank. Find the toilet’s water supply pipe. Typically, this pipe sits behind the toilet and runs through the wall or the floor. Inspect the length of the pipe for the supply valve. Typically, toilet water supply valves feature a small handle or knob that can be twisted to start or stop the flow of water to the tank. Twist the supply valve to the right or clockwise. Do not force the valve if it feels stiff or brittle -- this might cause damage to the valve. Twist until the valve is closed. Locate the toilet’s float if your toilet does not have a shutoff valve. To find the float, remove the tank lid.

Typically, the float is shaped like a sphere or canister. It sits on the end of a rod and slides up and down in the tank. The height of the float within the tank triggers the flow of water into the tank. To stop water from flowing into the toilet while you deodorize the tank, lift the float out of the water and tie the float arm to the flush handle with some string. Flush the toilet once to eliminate some of the water from the tank. There should still be a small amount of water remaining at the bottom. Mix a half cup of baking soda or white vinegar into the water at the bottom of the toilet tank. These natural ingredients provide cleansing and deodorizing benefits without the use of harsh chemicals. Drop two or three denture tablets or effervescent aspirin tablets tablets into the tank if you’re in a pinch and don’t have any other cleansers nearby. These types of tablets help break up some of the grime that builds up on the tank walls. Allow the tablets to remain in the water until they dissolve -- this might take 15 to 20 minutes.

Scrub the sides of the tank gently with a bristle brush. Restore water supply to the tank. Depending on how you stopped the water flow originally, you will either turn the supply valve counter-clockwise or place the float back into position in the tank. Narrow Window Ac UnitFlush the toilet three or four times. Carpet Cleaning Gone WrongThe flushing action helps remove the cleansers from the tank. Air Duct Cleaning Brushes For SaleLight a match or a candle in the bathroom if you need a quick fix to your toilet odor problem. The sulfur smell that’s released as the fire is lit covers the unpleasant odor. Although it’s only a superficial solution, it will mask odors temporarily -- which might be all you need if you’re having a party or inviting guests over for the holidays.

For a longer-lasting solution, light a scented candle and place it in a secure location near the toilet. How to Clean a Toilet Tank It's pretty obvious when you need to clean your toilet bowl, but it's easy to neglect your tank. A bottle of white vinegar A bottle of all-purpose cleaner And a scrub brush with plastic bristles Step 1 Wear gloves Put your gloves on. Seriously, you don’t want to skip this step. Step 2 Pour vinegar Open your toilet tank and pour as much vinegar into the tank as you can, making sure that the water level doesn’t go higher than an inch below the edge of the tank. Step 3 Let it sit Let the vinegar sit for at least five minutes to eat away at the mineral deposits that build up over time. Step 4 Flush twice Flush the toilet two times to make sure you remove all of the vinegar. Step 5 Turn off the water Turn off the water supply to your toilet tank. The valve should be under or behind the toilet on the pipe that attaches it to the floor or wall.

Step 6 Flush again Flush the toilet again, which will empty the tank. Step 7 Scrub the tank Apply some all-purpose cleaner to the brush and scrub away at the inside of the tank. Be sure to clean your toilet tank at least twice a year. Step 8 Turn on the water Turn the water back on. Step 9 Flush again Flush the toilet again so the water is clear in both the tank and the bowl. Speaking of that toilet bowl… Between 1930 and 1932, toilet innovations were coming fast and furious — 350 applications for new designs were received by the U.S. Patent Office.Have you ever taken a good look inside your toilet tank? Probably not, unless the water in your toilet is running, become discolored, smelly, the chain or lever has broken or you decide to put in one of those tablet cleaners. Especially if you live in an area with hard water, bacteria can grow in the dark water tank. Minerals and iron will feed bacteria which will grow into slimy blobs attached to the sides of the tank.

The bacteria can be yellow, orange, red, brown, rusty colored, black or green. Dirt, grime and bacteria can cause odors, corrode the gaskets, and even plug up the toilet, so it is important to keep the inside of your toilet and the water in it clean. If your toilet tank is grungy and dirty, get your heavy duty cleaning gloves on. We're going to take care of that dirt, grime, odors and bacteria! Don't stick your hands into a full tank to clean it. You need to drain the tank before you begin. First, shut off the water by turning the valve located on the bottom of the toilet near the back wall, and flush the toilet until all the water in the tank drains out. You may need to flush twice, just make sure to drain the tank completely. Disinfect the tank to remove germs and bacteria. Spray the inside of the tank with a disinfectant like Lysol or chlorine bleach. Let the disinfectant sit for about a half an hour before continuing with your cleaning job. If you have a large amount of slimy yuck left after the water has drained from the tank, you can spray (or pour) straight chlorine bleach on it.

Be careful and don't get the bleach on you or anything other than the inside of the toilet tank. The chlorine bleach will not just sterilize the tank, it will break up and liquefy bacteria too. Then run a gallon or two of plain cold water through the tank and toilet and flush until all of the bleach has been flushed through the toilet and it's gone from the tank. Put your gloves on and grab your toilet brush, or other plastic soft bristle brush to remove dirt and grime from the corners, crevices and along the walls of the toilet tank. All water has dissolved mineral solids in it at various percentages. Lime, calcium, magnesium are a few common minerals in our water that come to mind. Hard water mineral deposits will form on the inside of your toilet tank (and toilet bowl) given enough time and a high enough mineral level in the water. If you have mineral deposits in the tank, you can use plain white vinegar inside the tank (pour it into the empty tank up to the top of the overflow tube).

Replace the lid and let the vinegar sit unused for 12 hours or longer if the deposits are heavy. You can also pour some straight vinegar in the toilet bowl if it has hard water build up too. Vinegar is a mild acid and will dissolve those deposits and make them easier to brush away. When the time is up, scrub the tank with a toilet brush and flush. Most of the mold and mildew should have been removed with normal cleaning. You can keep it from coming back by keeping to a regular cleaning schedule or by using a chlorine bleach tablet at regular intervals. Regular use of cleaning product "tablets" that are dropped into the tank contain chemicals that can degrade your seals, gaskets and fixtures at a faster rate than normal. Once a rubber seal gets brittle and cracks the water will run continuously in the toilet until the assembly is replaced. Cleaning inside toilet tanks only takes a few minutes and really only needs to be tackled once or twice a year, but it can go a long way to keeping your toilet in good working order, clean and odor free.