Disposable Toilet Brushes Aren't Giving You The Best Clean Possible

Your toilet needs to be cleaned often — that's just a fact of life. But while you're trying out the 12 best toilet cleaning hacks to make your bathroom sparkle, you might reach for a disposable toilet brush to scrub that porcelain until it's sparkling, tossing it after a few uses. Disposable is often the first choice for many — especially when it comes to cleaning supplies and household essentials. In fact, for toilet brushes and other bathroom supplies, you can even use online subscription models to replace disposables at regular intervals without ever going to the store. 

However, that disposable brush isn't the best option for toilet cleaning if you want to get it as clean as possible. And while the convenience factor may be high, disposable brushes also have other drawbacks. The issue of sustainability looms large — the more disposable toilet brushes get thrown out, the more end up in a landfill. And just looking at cost-effectiveness, a solid reusable brush will undoubtedly save you in the long run versus constantly buying new brushes or attachments. But the main reason cleaning professionals often recommend reusable toilet brushes over their disposable counterparts is simple: Reusable toilet brushes clean better.

From a few different angles, reusable toilet brushes are designed to provide a more intensive clean than a disposable one. More often than not, a reusable brush will be constructed with more robust materials, featuring sturdy bristles that can effectively tackle stubborn stains and left-behind grime. Compared to disposable toilet scrubbers, which often lack the rigidity for deep cleaning, reusable brushes are simply the superior choice.

On top of that, many reusable brushes incorporate ergonomic designs that allow for better reach under the toilet rim and into crevices, ensuring a more comprehensive clean. Disposable options, on the other hand, often struggle to reach hidden grime, leaving behind bacteria and buildup you might not even notice.

So if you're serious about keeping your toilet as clean as possible, you need the right tool for the job — a reusable brush. After all, identifying the eight different types of mystery toilet stains and knowing how to clean them won't do much good unless you have something effective to scrub with.

In addition to getting your toilet sparkling clean, there's another major benefit of reusable brushes: the price factor. In a Real Simple review of reusable and disposable toilet brushes, the Clorox Disinfecting ToiletWand was considered the best disposable option, and it costs around $12 for a starter kit. A refill pack with 30 cleaning pad attachments goes for roughly $18. Meanwhile, the $18 OXO Compact Toilet Brush has permanently affixed stiff plastic bristles that enable a much better, more thorough clean. The trade-off? A reusable toilet brush needs to be cleaned regularly to prevent bacteria buildup and extend its lifespan.

So get yourself a reusable toilet brush and commit to cleanliness, efficiency, and sustainability. Just keep in mind, while a reusable brush lasts longer and cleans deeper, it won't last forever. If you clean it properly after each use, it can last beyond six months, but replacing it twice a year is a good rule of thumb. One way to help sanitize it is to spray the brush with disinfectant after giving your bathroom a deep clean.