There are some things that everyone should know how to do, to live a good life. Cooking, for instance, gives you the ability to nourish yourself on a budget, no matter where life takes you. Driving gives you autonomy and safety. Knowing self-defence gives you confidence to make your way in the world. Other items include knowing how to organise your home, how to operate computers, how to navigate online shopping discounts… The list goes on and on.
And yet, there’s one item that almost no one thinks of: knowing how to clean and maintain your own toilet. That’s a product of our culture. In India, we see sanitation work as work that is ‘beneath us’, and so we aren’t taught how to maintain our own toilets, in our own homes. It’s no surprise then that our common toilets look the way they do.
Dirty Toilets Can Make You Sick
Dirty or damaged toilets can become breeding grounds for diseases, with standing water attracting disease-carrying vectors, and untreated waste contaminating our land and water. This pollution threatens all of us – not just the person whose toilet is dirty or damaged. We all share our air, water and land with the larger community after all.
The monsoons can be particularly challenging – especially for those of us who live on the ground floor. Heavy rain can cause a number of problems for toilets. Floodwaters can enter regular toilets and foul them with debris, sewage, and other pollutants. The excess water can cause toilets to overflow and get clogged, making them unusable. Additionally, the stagnant water left behind can become a breeding ground for mosquitoes that carry diseases.
Common diseases caused by poor sanitation and unclean toilets
- Waterborne diseases: Diarrhoea, Cholera, Typhoid, Amoebic Dysentery, Hepatitis A, Shigellosis, Giardiasis and many other diseases are caused by ingestion of contaminated food or water, which then causes bacterial infections inside the body.
- Neglected Tropical Diseases are a set of infectious conditions that are poverty-related and particularly abundant among people with limited access to safe water, clean toilets or adequate health facilities.
- Vector borne diseases like Malaria, Dengue Fever, Yellow fever, Chikungunya, are commonly seen in areas where good toilet sanitation practices are not followed, and where clean toilets either don’t exist, or are poorly maintained. Each of these diseases is caused by vectors who flourish in dirty standing water.
Keeping Your Toilet Clean and Safe
Since no one taught us how to clean and maintain our toilets, there are a number of things that we do wrong. Here are some tips to consider:
Wear gloves while cleaning
Many people forget to wear gloves while cleaning the toilet, exposing themselves to harmful bacteria and germs. Always wear gloves when cleaning the toilet to protect your hands and prevent the spread of bacteria.
Don’t use harsh chemicals
Harsh chemicals like acid and other non-standard cleaning products may seem like they can clean your toilet, but they can actually damage the surface (making it porous, and therefore harder to clean next time) and even harm your health. Instead, use proven toilet cleaning products like Harpic, which are specially formulated for use in home toilets.
Remember to clean the toilet brush
If you don’t, you’re leaving it filled with germs and bacteria. After cleaning the toilet, rinse the brush thoroughly and store it in a clean, dry place.
Clean the base and surrounding area
Many people focus only on cleaning the inside of the toilet bowl, but neglect the base and surrounding area. Don’t forget to clean these areas too, as they can harbour bacteria and germs.
Let the cleaner sit for a while
If you’re using a cleaning solution, make sure to let it sit for the recommended amount of time before scrubbing. This allows the solution to work effectively and clean the toilet thoroughly.
Never flush the toilet with the lid open
This can cause a toilet plume. This creates a spray of germs and bacteria to spread throughout the bathroom, and on your clothing (and your phone, if you took it inside with you). Always close the lid before flushing to prevent the spread of germs.
Never use the same cleaning cloth for multiple surfaces
Using the same cloth to clean the toilet and other surfaces in the bathroom can spread germs and bacteria. Use separate cleaning cloths for each surface, and wash them regularly.
The Education Gap
Were you doing everything right? Probably not, and that’s okay. There is a crucial gap in this area of knowledge, one that even the Sub-Group of Chief Ministers on Swachh Bharat Mission have acknowledged. There is a need to build this knowledge, and the behaviour change that goes with it, to ensure that we are able to use and maintain our toilets (including our public toilets) properly.
This is exactly why Harpic, a leader in the lavatory care segment, has been toiling away all these years, to build a knowledge base around this neglected area of home care. Think about it: the last time you cleaned your toilet bowl, you know how to position the nozzle and wait 20 minutes because you’ve been watching Harpic ads over the years. That’s the essence of good communication. Over the years, Harpic has built strong communication strategies around the need for good toilet hygiene habits in particular, and sanitation overall, through thought provoking campaigns and outreach programs.
Harpic also joined hands with News18 to create Mission Swachhta aur Paani, a movement that upholds the cause of inclusive sanitation where everyone has access to clean toilets. For 3 years now, this initiative has advocated equality for all genders, abilities, castes and classes and championed the cause that clean toilets are a shared responsibility. Clean and safe toilets for all means that our communities are healthier, our children spend more days in school and less days out sick, girls don’t drop out of school, our workplaces are more diverse places, and that our cities and towns are cleaner, safer, and more welcoming.
Mission Swachhta aur Paani is creating repositories of information on every conceivable topic around toilet use, and how it impacts us individually, as well as the larger society. Learn how you can keep your toilet clean, and how you can contribute to a larger effort to move the needle towards a Swachh and Swasth Bharat here.
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