Fluidmaster #8302P8 2PK FlushSpar Cartridge

Amazon's photo with this item (as of November 2008) is of the wrong product. The photo shows the blue refills, which are worthless unless you just like blue water. This product, Fluidmaster 8302, is bleach--not blue--refills for their Flush 'n Sparkle cleaning system. I added my own "customer image" of the correct product; look closely and you can see both "8302" and "bleach" clearly printed on the tab at the top of the box.

The bleach refills are the best toilet-cleaning product you can buy. Even if the Flush 'n Sparkle system you installed in your toilet originally had a blue cartridge in it, you can use bleach refills, which I strongly advise.

Their only disadvantage is that you can't tell just by looking at the water when the cartridge is empty. But removing the cartridge every few months to see if it's empty is a lot easier than scrubbing the toilet bowl every week, which is what you'll be doing if you use the blue cartridges.

My local Menards only had the Blue cartridges but no Bleach cartridges. Using Blue, you can't see if bowl is dirty under the blue water. Had to order Bleach here on Amazon. Be careful when opening the wrapping since there is some bleach powder you'll get on your hands and the bleach scent is very powerful if you breathe too close to it. Keeps bowl clean. Without it, I have to clean the bowl every so often.

The Fluidmaster Flush N Sparkle is the best 'hands-off' way I have found to manage toilet cleaning. As long as the bleach cartridge has bleach remaining in it, the toilet remains spotless. I am only able to find cartridges via Amazon and I will continue to do so.

The concept is great... no chlorine enters the tank. Only problems are:

1.) the packaging is difficult to open. Take scissors into the bathroom with you to change the refill.

2.) shipping/transport leaves a fine dust of chlorine particles inside the packaging. Be careful when you open it lest you spill chlorine dust, or worse, breath it.

I tried this item as an alternative to the products you drop into the toilet water reservoir or hang from the bowl rim. This works well because it is designed to apply the solution directly into the water of the toilet bowl and not into the reservoir where most products would have a gunky build up or stain the inside of the tank. After setting it up (which was really not complicated) it works great.

Replacing the refill cartridge is simple, no-fuss-no-muss. The only thing that keeps me from giving this item a 5 out of 5 stars is that it can require (on rare occasions) a couple of prods with a toothpick to loosen it up if it doesn't get used often. That can also be necessary for the tablets you drop down into the water reservoir. What is better about the Fluidmaster is that the cartridge is right at the top of the tank for easy access.

The refills last a long time about three to four months give or take with average use. I prefer the blue and can appreciate that the color is long lasting.