How to clean discoloured (brown!) toilet u-bend?

[teacher1984]

We've just moved to a house with fairly new toilets that just happen to be completely discoloured brown below the water line. Any tips on best way to get this lovely and white again? Is it limescale? Bit intrigued why this would happen to new toilets?

Thank you!

[NameAgeLocation]

I tried absolutely everything on mine. Scrubbed it by hand, the lot. In the end bleach was the only thing that worked. YMMV.

[lucy101101]

I had the same problem and bleach didn't work... but putting some citric acid crystals down and leaving overnight got everything off. You can get them from the chemist.

[lighteningirl]

We use an overnight acid stuff you can buy in hardware stores in our rental property. At home I use bleach regularly to keep it clean. Coca cola is great for low level staining.

[Dinosaursdontgrowontrees]

I get this.. I scrub my loo twice a day and it still has patchy brown limescale below the water line.. Watching this tread with great interest!!

[DaleTremont]

It's limescale. Pour a load of

[DaleTremont]

Sorry - Viakal down it. Get a small enough brush that can get right down the u bend - I got a washing up brush from the pound shop. Scrub, scrub, scrub. Do weekly to avoid build up.

[Lweji]

Do you live in a hard water region?
Put coke or vinegar overnight and scrub under the water line in the morning. A toilet brush might be handy.
It might be worth using one of those things that hang on the side of the toilet to descale the water everytime you flush.

[MsAdorabelleDearheartVonLipwig]

Did anyone see that episode of Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners where the woman said her toilet was so clean that she could drink the water? Which she did.

I can't believe the silly cow honesty thought there were no germs or bacteria in there just because it looked clean.

[Normandy144]

We get lots of limescale build up in our loos at home, and the best method with 100% success rate it is this: Don your rubber gloves and scoop out the water that sits in the bottom of the toilet bowl so it's basically empty. Tip 2-3 pint bottles of distilled vinegar (clear in colour) to cover the limescale marks. Sainsbury's sell it for 50p a bottle. Leave it overnight if you can or a few hours if you can't. Then take a loo brush to it in the morning and the limescale slips away you barely need to scrub and its chemical free. One flush and it will be back to white again.

[KP86]

Denture tablet in the evening before bed and clean the next morning.

[ggirl]

smug new owner of a water softener and no longer have to look at limescale

sorry op but pushing out all the water then applying viable or 100%limescale remover toilet cleaner and letting sit then scrubbing is how i did it before when we moved in here

[Headmelt]

I poured a bottle of black harpic (I got it in the discount shop) and some vinegar down the toilet and left it for the day. Gave a light brushing before flushing. It came up sparkling.

[ouryve]

That's £1.50 a go, Normandy!

Loo cleaner with limescale remover. Leave, scrub with brush (or kitchen paper, wearing rubber gloves), reapply. Job done.

A limescale removing cistern block might help to get rid of any accumulated limey gunk elsewhere in the workings.

[ouryve]

The discount shop black harpic is the way to go - rumour has it the latest version in the supermarkets has changed and doesn't work on the limescale as well.

[lljkk]

35p (?) for a bottle of malt vinegar at Lidl.

Sadly looks awful again within a week, though :(

[Headmelt]

I saw 4 in the bed when a guy had a toilet fetish and he used to wash his face in it. It was gross 😱

[Thisismyfirsttime]

DH gets acid from work but I suspect that's frowned upon on here!

[teacher1984]

Wow, thanks for all the responses. Really can't be arsed to scoop the water out (even though I can imagine the best result would be with it empty) so please can you ladies clarify which methods work amazingly without having to remove the water? It wasn't clear from some of the responses.

[lapsedorienteerer]

Bleach......

[TheBestChocolateIsFree]

The Harpic limescale tablets are good - put two in, leave overnight and then scrub. But the hardcore solution for really entrenched limescale is to flush several times (to make you feel better about what comes next), then scoop all the water out with a disposable plastic cup and throw it down the sink to expose as much of the brown deposits to the air as possible. Then apply Limelite gel or Viakal spray, leave to work, scrub, repeat.

[TheBestChocolateIsFree]

Bleach won't get rid of limescale, it will just make it white temporarily. Harpic tablets are well worth a try if you really can't face scooping the water out (X posted above with you saying you couldn't face it - but honestly it's worth it for a one off solution to the problem - as long as you keep on top of it you'll never have to do it again).

[teacher1984]

It makes sense BestChocolate. What's the best method for keeping on top of it afterwards? And how often?

Thank you!

[justaweeone]

You don't need to scoop the water out
Get a plunger and plunge the water out the loo
Put in a bottle of cheap cola or two
Leave overnight
Brush
Flush
Brush again
Bit of bleach
Then flush!!

[TheBestChocolateIsFree]

Yes that's true you could plunger the water out rather than scooping.

I reckon a Harpic tab once a month and scrub in the morning is the best maintenance solution (not in their pay honest, Lidl do a cheaper variant).

[colleysmill]

I've found the only thing that really worked was Mr muscle limescale remover toilet cleaner - the one which changes colour as it works. We live in a hard water area and this foes the trick very time