According to a recent survey conducted by Wakefield Research, 1/3 of respondents said that they regularly use a digital device in the bathroom. This points to the overall trend of phone obsession, work overload, and multi-tasking that are now daily parts of life. Although I relish any time that I can get away from my phone, I do like using it with one of our bluetooth speakers to blast upbeat music while I’m taking a shower. It seems silly, but when I’m getting ready for a work event at 4AM, having peppy dance music going helps get my energy up. I do have a regular old radio in my shower as well – remember those?! – but our local stations are fairly limited, so it’s nice to be able to switch it up and listen to my custom Pandora stations, too. Using my phone to play tunes is also nice, because I can set alarms and timers to interrupt the music while I’m getting ready – this helps me keep track of time while I’m doing beauty treatments.

Since we’re all so pressed for time, Lysol has introduced the new No Mess Max Automatic Toilet Bowl Cleaner. This is an updated take on the traditional “Blue” tablet cleaners, featuring gel tablets that affix to the rim of your toilet bowl and clean with each flush. They sent me one of these cleaners to try out – along with an iTunes gift card in honor of their bathroom survey!

The No Mess Max is easy to install – you’ll want to look at the directions since it’s not necessarily intuitive just by looking at it, but it’s not at all difficult. The plastic holster affixes to the side of the bowl – it can be done without even touching the bowl if you’re careful! The gel then sits on the side and releases cleaning agents into the water when flushes.

It’s a little different than other cleaners in that it doesn’t turn the water blue, which I actually like, but I can notice suds going into the water. As is the case with all “Automated” cleaners, this doesn’t eliminate all cleaning, since you’ll still need to clean the top of the bowl/seat/etc., but I do feel like having the cleaning solution dumped into the water every day helps avoid build-up and lends to an overall cleaner appearance. The No Mess Max also has a fresh fragrance, which is nice. Now maybe I can use some of that extra time saved cleaning to do another beauty masque!