to ask how to clean limescale of toilet?!

[JollyGiraffe]

I live in an area with very hard water and the toilet is full of lovely limescale, despite cleaning it regularly.

I've tried scrubbing it with a bit of bleach but no luck.

I hear vinegar is supposed to be good? If so, what type of vinegar? I'm guessing not balsamic

Or does anyone have any other helpful tips or products?

Limescale is calcium carbonate. You need acid to get rid of it.

Bleach is not an acid. Vinegar, lemon juice or commercial descalers are.

Watching this with interest. The only problem I have is I can’t leave anything down overnight as we only have one loo

Are you last out the door in the morning? You could leave it for a few hours that way.

As others have said, harpic, but specifically the black one. Totally hardcore, works under the water.

Kilrock is the business!

Another vote for kilrock!

Mine comes back after 3 days

You're going to have to empty the toilet bowl then tip in a whole bottle of viakal / vinegar and leave it overnight / longer

I have bitter experience

Harpic power plus tablets in the black box, absolutely brilliant! Completely cleared the limescale from a toilet that I don't think had ever been cleaned properly. Then Harpic power plus liquid every other day.
Nothing works better!

Limescale is basically calcium carbonate, the same stuff that gives you stalactites in caves. You need an acid to react with it and convert it into a soluble compound that can be washed away, therefore vinegar (acetic acid) or coca cola, which apparently contains phosphoric acid. Bleach isn't acid, which is why people are saying it doesn't work on limescale.

Not sure how the baking soda and vinegar mixture that someone mentioned would work, because they would react together (baking powder is a mixture of bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar=acid, reacting to release CO2 bubbles which is what raises the cake). But bicarb of soda is used a scrubbing/whitening agent for teeth, so maybe they'd work one after the other?

Bottle of coke down the loo.

Another one here saying remove the water first - small plastic beaker works. Pop the vinegar down, leave for an hour and rubber gloves and a green scrubber for a couple of mins. All done !

Harpic power left overnight

Yes to removing the water first. When DS1 went to University I had to use a bent kilt pin to ping the limescale off his loo. It came off like lots of little pebbles, the manky sod

I found Harpic toilet cleaner did the trick on my old toilet.Failing that,try white vinegar. I've never actually used white vinegar on my 'new' toilet (I say 'new',I've had it 13 years!) as,despite living in a very hard water area,it doesn't tend to get much lime scale. But I did use it on my bathroom sink taps and surrounding area,and it did get rid of 95% of it.

The only way I get the last stubborn bits of is by scraping it with an old plastic chopstick!

Domestos zero. You don’t have to empty water from the bowl. Just pour it down, leave as long as poss and it makes the brown marks under the water vanish. I have to buy every few months as the stains in ours keep coming back due to limescale.

It’s also on offer for £1 in home bargains at the mo too!

If it needs acid to clean it why are posters suggesting vinegar and bicarb together? Bicarb is alkali and would surely neutralise the acid in vinegar?

I used Spirit of Salt. I didn't have to remove the water, and it worked in about half an hour.

It is very powerful though (hydrochloric acid) and does give off fumes, so you need good ventilation like an open window. You also can't let it mix with any other cleaner at all.

It was in a tenanted property that we own. The toilet had started failing to flush and the tenant didn't tell us for three weeks!!! DH fixed the flush as soon as we were told of the problem, but by then the pan was in such a state that we were both thinking that we might actually have to buy a new toilet. I don't normally use such harsh chemicals, but every other solution already mentioned here didn't make any headway, so as a last roll of the dice I bought Spirit of Salt and it brought it up like new.

Chisel.

Or is that just my loo?

I used to have to empty the toilets and leave vinegar in overnight and then scrub with a pumice stone.

We got some method toilet cleaner and it got rid of it all.

Another vote for Spirit of Salts, amazing stuff. When opening take a deep breath before doing so, throw down toilet, close lid, shut door and then exhale again. I coughed once when doing and inhaled a bit and really knew about it so be careful.

Domestic is excellent too, I use between SofS applications and does keep the limescale at bay.

A professional plumber of my acquaintance uses acid on really badly neglected toilets. I’ve often contemplated it as we also live in a hard water area and Viakal doesn’t remove every trace. However, I am concerned that I might get funny looks when I ask for it in our local hardware shop, given the use to which acid is being put in disfiguring people at the moment.

Oooh lots of good recommendations!

A stronger acid sounds ideal, but unfortunately I live in an area where there's been quite a few acid attacks so wouldn't want anyone to get suspicious! My bathroom also doesn't have a window so would be a bit risky with no good ventilation.

Think I will try vinegar first, and then have a look at all the Harpics/Viacom/Domestos options and see what's on offer!

Thanks all

*Viakal!