Best toilet cleaner: the top buys for a sparkling loo

The best toilet cleaner will take (most of) the work out of the task that – let's be honest – no one likes. Yet cleaning the toilet regularly is essential to keeping your bathroom smelling fresh and your loo hygienic. 

We bring you the best toilet cleaners – all easy to use and effective at leaving your toilet sparkling. Some toilet cleaners come in the form of liquid in a bottle, some as powder, tablets and rim blocks which sit inside your toilet bowl and work when you flush. Others, like our second pick, are cleaning blocks which go in the cistern. It's all down to personal preference. We've tried and tested all sorts of toilet cleaners here at Real Homes, and this is our pick of the very best.

Check out our guide to the best bathroom cleaners for more products to keep your loo, sink, bath and shower squeaky clean.

• If you want to know how to clean a toilet be sure to read our advice page once you've picked the top cleaning products.

The best toilet cleaner

To be used as often or as infrequently as you like, the Astonish Toilet Bowl Cleaner Tablets will blast any limescale, rust or calcium in your toilet bowl so it looks (almost) brand new. They're cruelty-free and vegan, and no scrubbing is required to get good results. Simply remove the tablet from its packet, pop it in your toilet and leave for 20 minutes. Then, brush and flush. For a deeper clean, leave overnight or use two tablets together. It should be noted that you shouldn't allow the tablets to come into contact with any form of chlorine bleach.

• Buy Astonish Toilet Bowl Cleaner Tablets

The best toilet cleaner for stains? It's the Harpic Power Plus Toilet Cleaner Gel. It can give your loo a powerful clean above and below the waterline due to the fact the liquid gel formula clings to the bowl, attacking germs and removing limescale.
It's also very simple to use, removing dirt and limescale with ease and it smells lovely too. With this toilet cleaner, buyers say there’s no need for elbow grease as it does the job simply by being swilled around the loo. Also, it doesn’t leave any marks after use, so you know it’s got right into the dirt.

• Buy Harpic Power Plus Toilet Cleaner Gel

The Domestos Zero Limescale Ocean Toilet Cleaner is great at killing germs and leaving the bowl clean and limescale-free with a fresh scent afterwards. For maximum effect, squirt the toilet cleaner evenly under the rim, leave for 30 minutes then brush if needed. This fresh-smelling bleach works below the waterline for an all-over hygienic clean that kills bacteria while leaving your loo with a lovely fragrance.

• Buy Domestos Zero Limescale Ocean Toilet Cleaner

Lasting for up to 2,000 flushes, the eco-friendly and Allergy UK approved Ecozone Forever Flush 2000 Toilet Cleaner works wonders. Not only does it ensure your toilet bowl is sanitary, deodorised and protected against limescale and nasty stains, but it's cruelty-free and vegan, too. Pop one of the jars directly into your toilet cistern and your toilet water will turn blue, indicating it's clean. Once the colour has gone, it's time for a new one. It's that simple.

• Buy Ecozone Forever Flush 2000 Toilet Cleaner

Filling your bathroom with fragrance from the first use, the Bloo Foam Aroma Ocean Mist Fragranced Powder is ideal if you have tough limescale on your toilet. A Mrs Hinch fave, simply pour a capful into your basin and watch it fizz and foam. Either flush after a few minutes or leave overnight for a deep clean. Be sure not to use it along with any products that contain bleach, though.

• Buy Bloo Foam Aroma Ocean Mist Fragranced Powder

Plant-based, cruelty-free and completely biodegradable, this Ecover Toilet Cleaner is our top pick of the best eco toilet cleaner. Not only does it clean your toilet, but it makes sure it's also fresh, limescale-free and great-smelling. All you need to do is squirt some into your toilet bowl and flush. Why not swap your current liquid toilet cleaner for this one to be kinder to the environment?

• Buy Ecover Toilet Cleaner

The best rim block toilet cleaner you can buy, the Bloo Fragrance Switch comes in a mixture of two different fragrances: water lily when you flushing and a fresh apple scent when it's dry. This rim block cleans the toilet with every single flush, preventing limescale and dirt build-up. To use, simply pop it on the rim of your toilet so it's facing into your loo. The only downside? In our opinion, it doesn't smell as fragrant as the others on our list.

• Buy Bloo Fragrance Switch

Buy the best toilet cleaner in bulk

What is the best toilet cleaner?

We rate the Astonish Toilet Bowl Cleaner Tablets so much so, that we consider them the best toilet cleaner you can buy. They're cruelty-free and vegan, easy to use and they work wonders on any limescale, rust or calcium that may be in your bowl.

How to buy the best toilet cleaner

When it comes to buying the best toilet cleaner, the most important thing is that it kills germs and bacteria, so look for products that promise this at the very least. Some stamp out germs as well as tackling limescale and if you live in a hard water area, limescale is definitely your enemy so it’s worth looking for a loo cleaner that can help with this.

Decide if you want something eco-friendly that uses plant extracts rather than chemicals – a good idea if you have a septic tank or to do your bit for the planet – and whether the smell is important to you. Most toilet cleaners have a nice fresh fragrance such as marine or floral notes, while others have a bleachy odour.

Check the thickness of the toilet cleaner and whether the bottle has an angled head so you can get right under the rim for a really hygienic clean.

More bathroom cleaning tips:

• Visit our cleaning hub
• How to clean your sink
• How to clean your bath
• How to clean your shower