oh god the toilet -the toilet!!

[msbunbury]

Please help me -we've just moved and the downstairs loo is hideous! I've just been at the bowl with a piece of wood and a knife (knife has scratched the white bits-argh!) but there's still loads of crap at the bottom of the bowl-it's like its become some sort of rock like substance. What can I do?? -help!!!

white vinegar or cheap coke, try and empty it of water first and the pour a whole bottle down, leave it over night. you might need to do this a couple of times

Harpic power plus tablets. The clean-up job they did on one of our toilets was nothing short of a miracle. We put two down there overnight, flushed in 'the morning, gave it a light (I do mean light) scrub with a brush, flushed again and hey presto! Clean loo!

these are good, lakeland again! Try throwing 2 down, if there are still marks have another go with a tea spoon (slightly less of a sharpe edge and a bit of a curve to it).

Tis grim though, who could leave a loo in such a state! (the worst loo that I found was in a rented place that had be professionally cleaned..eeeeewww)

Grim, but sortable. Don't prat about with tablets, coke, vingar etc. they all have their place but it isn't in your loo ATM. Empty out the water from the 'pit' bit, get the lat bits out with a sponge. Pour in a couple of bottles of neat, liquid limescale remover and leave as long as possible. Apply to the bowl several ties while it's soaking. Flush and you'll be sorted you'll have to use a bucket in the meantime.

lats = last
ties = times

denture tablets. a whole container. leave over night. flush. done.

Mmmm, but this sounds like there may well be urine stone as well as limescale (like kidney stones, but in the loo). Denture tabs are fab but I don't think they'll cut it.

I second the limescale remover.
leave it overnight if possible.
do exactly as Knofje says.

Thanks everyone-will try the limescale remover -shudders-

I did once try coke down my own loo and it stained the bowl!!

Diet coke always stains, proper coke only stains any limescale it hasn't managed to eat away, IME.

Good luck, not a take I envy you for.

Spirit of Salts. Very dangerous toxic stuff - make sure room is WELL ventilated and wear a mask. It's the only thing that does the trick first time.

We have just had the same problem. The way I got rid of it was to remove the water from the toilet bowl and then pour an entire bottle of Harpic 100% Limescale Remover down the the toilet. I left it about 36 hours (v disgusting toilet) then used a brush to brush all around the pit, flushed the toilet and it all disappeared! One gleaming toilet left!

Second the Harpic limescale remover, you need to get in there with rubber gloves and scourer though and actually do some work. A morning flush just won't be enough.
My ex H used a mixture of spirits of salts and bleach to clean the loo once. Only just made it out of the loo before the fumes got him. Silly bugger.

If all else fails, get down to b&q and buy a new loo!

How do you remove the water from a toilet?

I keep an old pint-size milk-bottle with top cut down almost to handle as a baler for these occasions.

use your loo brush and basically pump it up and down in the bowl and it will force most of the water round the u bend.

How old is the toilet? If the limescale has been there a long time then there is probably no glaze left on the toilet, so even if you get the limescale off the bit under the water line will always look disgusting and be unhygeinic. You will need a new toilet if that is the case.

how did it go? Do you have a lovely clean loo or have you had to buy a new one?

i vouch for harpic too. I normally just use thick domestos bleach for the toilet but keep a bottle of harpic to attack the limescale every now and then too.

I had same problem, thought we were going to have to get a new toilet. I poured LOTS of citric acid down it and left overnight....Never seen a cleaner loo in my life, looked amazing like a brand new bog!

You need spirit of salts - caustic soda - which you get from the diy shop. Be very careful with it, its dangerous.

Well-I tried the limescale remover and it loosed up a tiny bit.I also went at it with a knife - shudder- and it now looks clean except for a section at the bottom of the toilet-in a shape that at first glance looks like someone has left a massive poo sitting in the bottom of the toilet. Looks like I'm going to have to go down the spirit of salts caustic soda route-which I am a scaredy cat about!