Fabuloso in the Toilet Tank: Does It Work?

Who doesn’t love a time-saving cleaning hack? The internet is full of tips and tricks that promise to save time and energy. One that became popular a few years ago was using the cleaning product Fabuloso in the toilet tank.

With the help of two experts, Justin Carpenter from Modern Maids and Alexander Siv from Amherst Plumbing and Heating, I’ll explain what Fabuloso is, why people are putting it in their toilet tanks and whether that’s a good idea or not.

What Is Fabuloso?

Fabuloso is a well-loved all-purpose cleaner for hard surfaces like toilets, showers, counters, floors and windows. It comes in original, antibacterial and professional formulas. It can be diluted with water or applied directly to a sponge.

Especially revered in the Latino community, Fabuloso is probably best known for its pleasant scent. Fans of the product say it leaves rooms smelling fresh long after you’re done cleaning. Its colorful labeling and creative scent names helped it stand out among other cleaning brands.

“It comes concentrated in a variety of fragrances, so the user can choose a scent they find appealing,” Carpenter says.

Since its modest beginnings in Venezuela in the 1980s, Fabuloso has become a staple of American cleaning products. It was the most popular all-purpose cleaner of 2019, and regularly competes for the top spot with industry heavyweights like Pine-Sol and Lysol.

Why Put Fabuloso in the Toilet?

Fabuloso can clean and disinfect toilets. “You can use it to clean all areas of your toilet from inside the toilet bowl to the seat and outer surfaces,” Carpenter says.

Carpenter recommends a higher concentrated strength of the antibacterial formula for the toilet bowl to kill germs and bacteria. The Fabuloso product site recommends diluting one-quarter cup Fabuloso with a gallon of water for milder cleaning, but it can also be used at full strength.

Fabuloso can also be used inside the toilet tank to remove mineral buildup. Pour some Fabuloso in the toilet tank and scrub the sides with a toilet brush to remove any residue.

Some people take this process one step further and keep a bottle of Fabuloso in their toilet tank all the time.

In 2021, TikTok user Sheiksd_ posted a video where she placed a full bottle of Fabuloso in the corner of her toilet tank. She cut a small hole cut in the bottom so Fabuloso slowly flowed into the tank and mixed with the water. After every flush, the bowl refilled with Fabuloso-infused water, a practice she claimed kept her toilet clean and fresh smelling.

The video went viral and quickly racked up millions of views and more than 30,000 comments, many expressing an intention to try it. That’s a lot of people putting Fabuloso in their toilet tank.

Does Fabuloso in the Toilet Tank Work?

It depends.

Several video commenters complained their bottle of Fabuloso emptied in a few days and abandoned the idea, citing the expense and constant upkeep. Others claimed their bottle floated and never dispensed Fabuloso like the original poster’s did, or disrupted their toilet’s flushing mechanism.

Other commenters wrote this could cause plumbing issues. Siv agrees. “Having an all-purpose cleaner in your toilet tank all the time will wear out the flush valve hardware,” Siv says. “Rubber gaskets and plastic parts are not manufactured to withstand that type of environment.”

Adding the bottle of Fabuloso also displaces normal water amounts used for flushing. “If your toilet is designed to use 1.28 gallons of water, and it’s now using less than that because the bottle volume has displaced some of it, this will weaken your flushing power,” Siv says.

So your toilet may smell like tropical fruit, but there could be some visible remnants of the last user left behind. You’ll have to decide if it’s worth it.

“The best use for Fabuloso is cleaning inside your toilet bowl,” Carpenter says. He suggests adding an extra dash of Fabuloso to the bowl after cleaning for a longer lasting smell. “We advise this over adding any products inside the toilet tank,” he says.

Also, skip this trend if you own cats or dogs who could drink from the bowl. They can get sick from drinking Fabuloso.

About the Experts

Alexander Siv is the owner of Amherst Plumbing and Heating in Amherst, Massachusetts. He holds a master plumber’s license in Massachusetts and has more than 10 years of experience.

Justin Carpenter is the CEO of Modern Maids, a leading national house cleaning provider since 2017.

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