Flush 'n Sparkle™
Q: By using Flush ‘n Sparkle toilet bowl cleaner instead of drop-in bleach tablet, how many years can one extend the average life of a flapper or any other toilet part?
A: Most of Fluidmaster’s fill valves, flappers and flush valves have 5-7 year warranty and typically last beyond these years when not exposed to the harmful effects of drop-in bleach tablets. Drop-in bleach tablets can degrade these toilet parts so they do not function properly (e.g., seal leaks) within a year or two. In a worst case scenario, drop-in bleach tablets can cause a fill valve failure with the ensuing water leak damage requiring high cost repairs.
Q: How long would it take for the bleach to dissipate from the toilet bowl so that the toilet bowl water would be safe for kids and pets?
A: Chlorine will kill bacteria such as E. coli in less than a minute, but takes around 16 minutes to kill the hepatitis A virus. It needs 45 minutes to kill Giardia, and up to 10 days to kill Cryptosporidium. So the question becomes, is the potential presence of bacteria, germs, and viruses in the toilet bowl water safe for kids and pets? Conceivably, an acceptable level of chlorine concentration is perhaps desired to be around for as long as possible to keep the toilet bowl water free of harmful microorganisms. Well, this is why swimming pools require a constant level of chlorine in the water at all times.
Q: How much is the bleach concentration in Flush ‘n Sparkle compared to a drop-in bleach tablet?
A: Drop-in bleach tablets are basically the same chemical product as Flush ‘n Sparkle but comes in a larger amount and are placed directly in the toilet tank water. The toilet tank water may build up high chlorine concentration levels with infrequent flushing. When flushed, most of the chlorinated toilet tank water goes down the drain with the waste. The small amount of chlorinated water remaining in the toilet bowl trap immediately after the flush is diluted with supplied refill water from the fill valve for the toilet bowl water level reset. The resulting toilet bowl water may have about the same amount of chlorine concentration as compared to the same toilet equipped with the Flush ‘n Sparkle system.
Q: Does the bleach in Flush ‘n Sparkle affect sewer systems and is it environmentally as safe as a drop-in bleach tablet?
A: If drop-in bleach tablet use can be accepted as being environmentally safe, then the amount of chlorine dispensed from the Flush ‘n Sparkle system is just as safe, if not more so. People with a septic tank sewage system are the ones most concerned about using chlorine with toilet flushing. The Flush ‘n Sparkle system releases an acceptable amount of chlorine concentration that resides in the toilet bowl to keep the bowl water germ free. By the time the Flush ‘n Sparkle bowl water is flushed with waste down the drain, much if not all of the chlorine concentration has dissipated. In contrast, most of the drop-in bleach tablet toilet tank chlorinated water goes down the drain with the waste at the time the toilet is flushed. As such, a toilet with the drop-in tablet would expose the septic tank sewage system with a much higher dosage of chlorine concentration per flush as compared to the same toilet using the Flush ‘n Sparkle chlorine dispensing system.
Q: Can I use Flush ‘n Sparkle if I have a Septic Tank?
A: Fluidmaster recommends that you use either Flush ‘n Sparkle 8100 or Flush ‘n Sparkle 8202 that are completely safe for septic tanks.
