Advice please, how to clean stained toilet

[cutteduppear]

I'm sure I saw a thread on this here recently but I can't find it. Anyway our downstairs loo has dark (it's stained limescale) deposit in the bowl, and a yellow stain around the rim - above the place where you squirt the stuff under the rim, it's all along the rim itself.

This toilet is the worst one as my DS uses it before going to school, forgets to flush in his eagerness to save the planet, and the wee sits there all day.

Any hints you could pass on to me?

If it's basically limescale, then limescale remover, leave til limescale as dissolved, rinse and follow up with bleach.

*has.

if you are in a hard water area, look in the cistern. If it is encrusted with scale, I find a Parazone Cistern Bleach Block (no colour or scent) will slowly dissolve the old scale. If you have another look in the cistern a month later I think you will be surprised to see the difference.

As the water flushes down, it slowly clears the waterways round the rim, which is otherwise very difficult to do.

If the pan is very old, the scale might have eroded or penetrated the glaze (odd but it does happen) so it is permanemtly roughened.

The chlorine bleach does cause rubber parts to perish earlier than usual.

Urine stains are usually removed by a magic eraser sponge.

Ok, what is a magic eraser sponge??

You can't just leave me hanging like that, I do not have this magic thing!

Even though I went in Lakeland yesterday and accidentally spent £37 on cleaning stuff . Not my fault, I didn't even know they had real shops!

Rofl @ accidentally spending money there. It is very easily done.

You can get the sponges in most supermarkets, and places like poundland, etc

www.amazon.co.uk/10-Magic-Eraser-Sponges-Chemical/dp/B003QITQC6/ref=dp_cp_ob_diy_title_1

Harpic over night then bleach every day.

Bleach every day?? No way. I'm eco, me. Which might be why I've got limescale in the loo, but I'd rather that than kill the fishes.

You can probably get much the same effect with vinegar & other Kim-and-Aggie tips. Just takes longer.

I think a bottle of cheap cola is supposed to work wonders?? Not sure how long you leave maybe overnight.

Denture cleaning tablets are supposed to do the job especially if you can put a couple in over night so they have a chance to work. I suppose that makes sense as your false teeth would take all night to soak.

I second the Harpic Limescale remover.
Definitely leave it over night and a damn good scrub in the morning. Brilliant.

Bottle of supermarket coca cola - unscrew it and leave to go flat, then empty into the loo, leave overnight - et voila (as we say here in Brussels!)

If it is in the bottom of the loo, scoop out all the water, apply harpic limescale remover or other chemical, and scrub with a pan scrubber till it is all gone. IME you have to scrub the limescale off - it doesn't just disappear

Another voice for Harpic Limescale remover. Use a whole bottle, leave overnight and it will work. It's great stuff.

If you don't want to use Harpic Extra Strong limescale remover (can get fizzy blocks you put in loo overnight or the liquid), you can use white vinegar neat to remove limescale (like descaling kettle!)
But you need to get most of the water out of bottom of loo first, for quicker result. Either scoop out or use a plunger to get most round the u-bend and then soak up the rest with old towels or rags.
Then either spritz vinegar over the limescale, repeating at intervals or pour in loads so that the area is covered. This will dissolve the limescale so can rinse and flush away.
To remove limescale from cistern, you will need to do something similar or use a block in tank. Will need to repeat this periodically as will build up again.

Using bleach will not remove any limescale, it just bleaches any colour away, the scale is still there and will stain again straightaway. The alternative to vinegar is scrubbing but that is also dangerous as can damage the glaze.

Do not use cola as it contains colour and may well end up with brown stains as opposed to yellow ones ...
I use the Harpic fizzing blocks in the loo overnight every so often and bleach in between - loo sparkles!

Good luck!
HTH

I have just bought some rather exciting things from Lakeland that you put in the cistern to keep yourself clear of limescale. They are round hollow ball things with strong magnets in, £14 for 2 but worth it I hope in the long run. You can also put one in the washing machine to keep pipes clear.

I will do all this cleaning stuff tpo to get me started though!

We have cisterns that you operate with a button on top and not a handle so I can't get a block in there. Does Parazone do anything else that will get limescale off from under the rim?

I'd rather have a clean loo than a manky loo

I remember seeing a programme a few years ago where Kim and Aggie were doing their thing - the one with the bun poured coke down the loo and left it for a while and it came up good as new after a quick scrub. My mother tried it when she bought a house a few years ago and swore it worked...

in my sadly considerable experience if its really bad limescale the only way to et rid is to scoop out all the water, sloosh loads of white vinegar on it, leave it for few hours, then scrub off, its quite miraculous and blows away the toilet cleaners.

I think I might have a go at the white vinegar thing tomorrow, am looking forward to it (except trying to get all the water out maybe...)

Yes, white vinegar is the business! But don't put vinegar down straight after commercial/bleach type products as the mix can be a bit noxious.

Well I don't even possess any bleach as I don't believe I have the right to regularly chuck harmful chemicals into the ecosystem, so no worries there.

Citric acid is what you need. You can get it in the chemist for a few pence a box - it is used for jam making and for descaling sterilisers and whatnot. Boil a full kettle. Scoop out as much of the cold water from the pan as possible. Drop in the citric acid powder & top up with hot water from the kettle. Leave overnight - or longer if possible. It will dissolve away the limescale. A quick swish with a brush to dislodge any stubborn bits & flush away.
Citric acid is a component in denture cleaner and an ingredient in cola.