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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

Original poster

How do I descale a toilet bowl?

32 replies

sethstarkaddersmackerel · 01/03/2011 16:57

can I buy stuff to put down it?

or is there something I might have around the house already that will do it?

thanks

OP posts:
TrillianAstra · 01/03/2011 16:57

Bleach. Marigolds. Scrubbing.

Original poster
sethstarkaddersmackerel · 01/03/2011 16:59

blinking flip Trillian that was quick - 21 seconds must be a record!

it is all hard, I have had a bash with a brush, maybe I need a stiffer one.

OP posts:
Fimbo · 01/03/2011 17:00

Lidl do a fabulous product. It is part of their W5 range and is for dealing with limescale. You still need to scrub but it does really really work and is fantastic on things like shower screens, you actually see the limescale disolve.

Butterbur · 01/03/2011 17:03

Tesco's toilet limescale remover, or Viakal, or citric acid (good because you can just empty loads into the toilet). Do it when you can leave it in there for a couple of hours, then scrub out with toilet brush.

The acid dissolves the limescale.

detachandtrustyourself · 01/03/2011 17:10

Have you got any vinegar around the house? I've heard that works. You have to leave it a long time though. Or what Fimbo and Butterbur said. Bleach bleaches it but doesn't disolve it if it's hard and there is lots of it.

TrillianAstra · 01/03/2011 17:12

So the consensus is: acid. Lots of acid. :)

IngridBergmann · 01/03/2011 17:13

I am bad and use harpic 100%.

We have dreadful water and it scales up all the time.

wandawings · 01/03/2011 17:26

coca cola apparently works [shocked]

wandawings · 01/03/2011 17:30

Shock even!

TrillianAstra · 01/03/2011 17:31

Coca cola = acid :)

TheSkiingGardener · 01/03/2011 17:37

At uni we sneaked weak sulphuric acid out of the labs. Worked a treat but probably not helpful! Acid will do it though.

I thought coke was alkali?

Original poster
sethstarkaddersmackerel · 01/03/2011 17:41

maybe it depends what sort of coke you are talking about....

OP posts:
AlmaMartyr · 01/03/2011 17:47

I've used Borax before - emptied the toilet bowl of water as far as possible and then stuffed loads of kitchen towels saturated with borax and possibly lemon juice (can't quite remember). Left it for the day, threw the kitchen towels away and flushed. Worked very well.

GregorSamsa · 01/03/2011 17:53

If it is really really bad, as in the loo looks as if it belongs in the kind of house that features on Kim and Aggie or Life of Grime, then get Spirits of Salts from a hardware shop. It is essentially hydrochloric acid.

Pour it very carefully down the loo (wear rubber gloves), shut the lid and leave the room (the stuff will smoke in quite a disturbing way). Venture in half an hour later, and flush the loo a few times. It will be all sparkling and beautiful.

It is very vicious stuff though, and may be overkill unless the the problem is truly dreadful.

McDreamy · 01/03/2011 17:54

A whole tube of sterident - brings it up lovely!

Seona1973 · 01/03/2011 18:36

I use harpic and a toilet brush

oopslateagain · 01/03/2011 18:42

Coke does work. Cheapo value cola, the whole 2L bottle at once, and leave it overnight. I think it's about 20p a bottle, much cheaper than all the chemical loo cleaners. If the loo is really bad do it several nights in a row.

We've moved 12 times, used this in at least 6 of the houses and it's nice to know if dd or the cats decides to dip a finger or paw in it's going to be (reasonably) safe.

onessa · 01/03/2011 19:02

Lakeland do tablets for descaling toilets......lovely Lakeland do 'something' for 'everything'!! I love Lakeland......sorry thats really sad!!!!(But I do!)

krisskross · 01/03/2011 21:34

if its really bad, get the water out, pour in loads of white vinegar, leave it a while and scrub. its amazing, better than anthing actually designed for the job!

shazzadoodle · 05/08/2017 00:25

What can I use to descale a Saniflow toilet?

GreenTulips · 05/08/2017 00:28

Hadpic limescale remover - every night - works wonders as I found out after 7 bloody years

ReinettePompadour · 05/08/2017 00:34

For cost effectiveness coke, the entire bottle down the loo and leave as long as possible. Flush and descale again if necessary. As pp said steradent or alternative denture cleaners will also do the job.

Ive used harpic descaler before but it doesn't remove everything and leaves a funky smell behind.

Dont use bleach it doesn't work it just bleaches everything rather than removing it.

RONO · 30/03/2018 17:35

Doe's anyone know of a descaler for the toilet bowl that will be OK for a septic tank system please.

HerdofAntilop · 02/04/2018 14:42

I chuck about a third to a half a box of citric acid down it. Leave for at least an hour, even better overnight. Scrub with the brush and flush. Easy peasy.

www.wilko.com/traditional-cleaning-/wilko-original-citric-acid-250g/invt/0332009

hmmwhatatodo · 03/04/2018 00:46

I’ve got some harpic tablets that you drop in and leave as long as possible. Previously I had tried a number of things that didn’t work, scrubbing just seemed to scratch the bowl. Bleach just bleached the limescale, doesn’t remove it. I still have a patch that I can’t seem to get rid of but the tablets (come in a black box with orange writing) have worked the best so far. We get quite bad limescale here.