The Works Toilet Bowl Cleaner Review

The Good:

Best toilet bowl cleaner

Hey there.

We are two friends living on opposite coasts (Brooklyn, New York and Santa Monica, California) that share a passion for living a minimal, zero waste lifestyle and on a mission to help others do the same.

Harper. Lives in Brooklyn with a +1. Sassy pup. Matcha. Wine. Whiskey. Cheese. Proscuitto.

Charley. Lives in Los Angeles with a +1. Doofy pup. Coffee. Wine. Whiskey. Cheese. Pasta.

Nature Clean Toilet Bowel Strips | Green, Plastic-Free Eco-friendly Toilet Bowl Cleaner

Jul 3 Nature Clean Toilet Bowel Strips | Green, Plastic-Free Eco-friendly Toilet Bowl Cleaner

The Top Line:

We think that Nature Clean Natural Toilet Bowl Cleaner is a buy! We like how it dissolves and foams up nicely, is biodegradable* and comes in slim, recyclable paper packaging and very convenient to not have to deal with a bottle of liquid. However, you are paying a bit of premium for this strips format (versus a bottle) so we’re mainly using this for the powder room and guest bathrooms when we need to quickly clean up before company comes over!

*Note: This product does include Poly Vinyl Alcohol (PVA) — which, while it can biodegrade, it requires very specific conditions in order to do so that most US wastewater treatment facilities in the US are not set up for (study on degradation of PVA in US Wastewater Treatment Plants), which can lead to partially degraded plastic in the environment. TLDR: Biodegradable products that include PVA (which is found in many dishwasher and detergent pods) isn’t quite as clean as it is advertised to be, but still a pretty big step up from traditional bottled cleaners.

The Breakdown:

Cost and Products:$16.99 for 36 strips.
How ‘Clean’ Is This? No liquid means a much smaller carbon footprint for transport. The strips themselves are biodegradable. However, the active ingredients of the strips are on a Poly Vinyl Alcohol (PVA) — which, while it can biodegrade, it requires very specific conditions in order to do so that most US wastewater treatment facilities in the US are not set up for (study on degradation of PVA in US Wastewater Treatment Plants), which can lead to partially degraded plastic in the environment. TLDR: Biodegradable products that include PVA (which is found in many dishwasher and detergent pods) isn’t quite as clean as it is advertised to be, but still a pretty big step up from traditional bottled cleaners.
Packaging: Amazon packaging, so just a bag for safety. Comes in a recyclable cardboard envelope. Very low profile / lightweight – so carbon footprint friendly from a transport perspective.
Purchasing and Shipping: Our purchase was on Amazon
What’s Your Impact? Standard toilet bowl cleaners are highly toxic, full of bad ingredients for the environment. Nature Clean Natural Toilet Bowl Cleaner have much better ingredients that are all biodegradable (with the exception from PVA which we included more detail on above), while also being liquid free and in paper packaging — all in all, pretty good step up!

The Good:

✔ Scented with essential oils only (Lime, Tea Tree and Lemon Peel oils)

✔ No chlorine, bleach, synthetic fragrances!

✔ Dissolves easily and foams up nicely

✔ Ease of use – especially for a powder room or guest bathroom

✔ Cleans the bowl well

✔ Septic and gray water friendly, biodegradable

✔ Compact, lightweight (liquid-free), plastic free packaging

The Bad:

✗ This product does include Poly Vinyl Alcohol (PVA) — which, while it can biodegrade, it requires very specific conditions in order to do so that most US wastewater treatment facilities in the US are not set up for (study on degradation of PVA in US Wastewater Treatment Plants), which can lead to partially degraded plastic in the environment. TLDR: Biodegradable products that include PVA (which is found in many dishwasher and detergent pods) isn’t quite as clean as it is advertised to be, but still a pretty big step up from traditional bottled cleaners.

The Experience

Context: We’ve tried other ‘clean’ toilet bowl liquid and powder cleaners, like Seventh Generation Toilet Bowl Cleaner Powder as well as their liquid versions, and Better Life Natural Toilet Bowl Cleaner :

Dissolves easily and foams up nicely
We like the convenience of the strips — especially for a powder room or guest bathroom
Smells great – lemony and a hint of tea tree oil
Cleans the bowl right up!

The Cost

We compared the cost of Nature Clean Natural Toilet Bowl Cleaner to the likes of Seventh Generation, Method, Clorox, and Mrs. Meyers’s toilet bowl cleaners, as well as Blueland’s toilet bowl cleaner tablets.

*We assumed that each ounce of powder toilet cleaner is equivalent to 2 ounces of liquid toilet bowl cleaner, and that the average household (with two toilets) was cleaning each toilet every 2 weeks.

Best toilet bowl cleaner

Money Nature Clean Natural Toilet Bowl Cleaner is priced higher than liquid and powder toilet bowl cleaning options, but less than a similarly convenience option like Blueland’s toilet bowl cleaner tablets.

Our Recommendation:

We’re on a mission to reduce our personal carbon footprint with small, hopefully easy, changes in our home to fight against climate change. This means we’re looking for products that may be all natural, ideally zero waste, reusable or compostable — while still being affordable!

The Works Toilet Bowl Cleaner Review

Best toilet bowl cleaner

I’ve been using The Works Toilet Bowl Cleaner for a couple of years now, ever since I noticed it in the Walmart one day for the cost of $1.00 for a bottle.

It is one of the lowest costing cleaning products on the market, that I’ve found, that is designed for cleaning your toilet.

I can’t find it for quite that low of a price anymore, normally, but it still costs less that $1.50 typically, and I watch for sales to buy more.

The first time I used it I was thoroughly disappointed when I first squirted it out of the bottle, because it is extremely thin, about the consistency of water, unlike many other types of toilet cleaners which are quite thick and viscous.

I figured I had just bought blue colored water, and it wouldn’t do much good.

However, I was happily surprised to find that it works just fine for lightly soiled toilets, especially if you let it sit for a while first, before scrubbing with your toilet brush.

Now, if you’ve got stains on the side of your bowl, above the water line, it may not work well for you since it will not stay on the sides of the bowl to soak into the stained area, since it is so thin.

However, if you clean your toilet pretty regularly, this stuff will work just fine for your needs, and costs a lot less than the leading brands. Plus, it can be found at most big box stores, so you can just grab some while you’re doing your regular shopping.

If you’re looking to save money on cleaning supplies this is an instance where a cheaper product works well enough, in my opinion, and can be a way to cut costs in your budget.

Because it is so thin you do have to be careful to not apply too much to your commode at once or you’ll waste a bunch of it, which will cut down on the cost savings of using such a bargain cost product.

The other day I noticed they also have a thicker version of this brand’s toilet cleaner, but I haven’t personally tried it yet. I would love to hear from more people who’ve used this, or any of the other The Works cleaning products, sharing how they’ve worked for you, good or bad.

You can share your own toilet cleaner reviews here for this or any other brand, or read other reviews that have already been submitted.