How to get rid of brown limescale under waterline

[WetBandits]

We have very hard water so the limescale builds up pretty quickly. Our other toilet is spotless, but the one in our en-suite has the worst buildup that we can’t shift! We put a descaling block in the bowl overnight once a week, scrub the bowl and put descaling gel around the rim every night, but we can’t get rid of this buildup and it just looks horrible!

This morning we’ve tried plunging all the water out and attacking the stains with Viakal and Pink Stuff with a motorised scrubbing brush but it still looks like we haven’t touched it in years! Any wisdom to help us get rid of it would be much appreciated please 🙏🏼

You need a new pan unfortunately.

Use a pumice stone

I also live in a very hard water area so I feel your pain! Which descaler are you using? I've found that Harpic is the best for getting rid of limescale and then keeping on top of it. I also put a Bloo tablet in the cistern and use the Harpic tablets once a week too.

You need to remove all the water, apply something like vinegar, then chip away at it with something that won't scratch the pan. At least that's how I did it. Took bloody ages, but was quite satisfying.

Amazon do pumice stones for this exact purpose, they have little handles on them

Harpic gel and tablets! We put two tablets down last night with a kettle full of boiling water and shut the lid, opened it this morning to zero improvement.

We’ve tried Bloo tablets before but the back of the bowl turned purple where the limescale grabbed it, so we just had a nasty purple mess instead of a brown one

I bought something called toilet rescue on amazon (you leave it overnight and it comes with a scrubber) after a friend recommended it. You still need ti scrub quite a lot but it's done the trick

Oooh, I’ll order a pumice stone! I will try anything as I’m not overly keen on the idea of replacing the entire toilet before I’ve exhausted all avenues 😂

I made a paste of white vinegar and baking powder and scrubbed. Hard work but effective and satisfying.

I've used Harpic Toilet Tablets in very stained toilets before and it's worked well. It sometimes needs a couple of overnight treatments which I'm not sure the packet recommends but it worked.

I was typing too slowly to see your update

Bottle or two of cheap coke. Pump/bail some of the water out first. Leave it overnight. It completely clears it. (It'll make you think twice about fizzy drinks.)

To stop it coming back, drop a denture tablet dropped in the water last thing at night, twice a week.

You need to get the water out and then pour white vinegar in and leave overnight. Then scrape the limescale off the next day. You can soak kitchen towel to wodge against bits that the vinegar doesn't sit against naturally. It won't work with water in there.

I used citric acid powder in ours, just a couple of tablespoons, leave for a few hours, quick scrub with toilet brush and hey presto.

I used citric acid powder in ours, just a couple of tablespoons, leave for a few hours, quick scrub with toilet brush and hey presto.

I’ve just ordered pumice stones from Amazon, so will give those a try tomorrow! In the meantime I’ll try the coke trick (I remember a science experiment at school when we used coke to clean pennies!)

This toilet is truly the bane of our lives 😂 you know you’ve been together too long when you have a mutual hatred of a toilet and can talk about it on a daily basis…!

Would getting a water softener be an option? Game changer for us.

If not, I used to use a plunger, to push as much water down the pipe, so the bowl was as empty as possibly and all the brown/limescale was exposed. Make a paste of vinegar and baking soda, or citric acid. Line the sides with the paste. Sometimes I'd layer toilet paper over the paste- which seemed to keep it stuck to the sides.

Remove all the water and then fill the bowl with any acid - fizzy drinks (carbonic acid), pickling vinegar (citric acid), kettle descaler etc.

If you have another loo, use that for a week and leave the dirty one to soak.

For up under the rim, I used paint-on stuff for cleaning paving stones, but that's hard to get now because it's so strong.

We’ve been considering a water softener! I think once we’ve got rid of this mess, we’ll have to invest.

I feel your pain. I eventually used a pumice stone on mine.
I tried the coke trick but it just darkened the brown stain!

We also have very hard water and the loos are only a year old and were horribly brown. Thanks coke, did nothing but stain. I use absorbic acid now, no need to empty the water out either, a couple of tablespoons overnight. The second treatment got the two side wedges gone.
Less polluting in the water system too.

When I had this problem, I also kept pouring hydrogen peroxide (6%) around the rim where the brown limescale deposits had settled in for life. Then I added a couple of scoops of sodium bicarbonate and closed the lid, let the magic happen overnight.

Citric acid.

Push the majority of water out of the bottom of the toilet, then pour in some citric acid and leave overnight. Only thing that ever worked for us in our previous house. Limescale just falls off.

Spirits of salts works wonders on limescale.

Yeh this. Get all the water out pour in vinegar leave at least overnight, then scrape away using something thin with a sharp edge that can get between the scale and the porcelain, ideally made of a hard plastic it should come off in large flakes.

Yes, don’t use a scourer or abrasive. You’ll damage the enamel. Use spirits of salt. You can get it from hardware and DIY shops.

Any acid strong enough will do, but spirits of salt - which is just concentrated hydrochloric acid - will do the job better and faster than anything else.

Bail out the water from the toilet and pour in enough spirits of salt to cover the limescale. Leave over night. In the morning flush (with lid down) and see what’s left, if anything. Repeat if necessary. There’s at least one vid on YouTube showing the process.

Spirits of salt is very strong stuff. Follow the instructions carefully. Cover up, inc. eye protection. Open the windows wide and don’t breathe in in the toilet/bathroom when you’re using it. It will work.