Best stuff for limescale in a toilet

[MrsWembley]

Please! Bleach just ain't doing it

Spirit of salts, I won't use anything else. Bloody powerful stuff!

Aldi do toilet tabs they're about the size of a dishwasher tab, i think under £2 for a box and you just pop one in the bowl, leave for a few hours then flush.

It fizzes up in a rather satisfying way my life is obviously rather sad.

Took two nights the first time i did it then i just put one in about every other month and use a powerflush block in the cystern to keep the loo clean.

Some more excellent suggestions!

This is one of the busiest threads I've ever started... I fucking love MN

I was literally coming on here to ask this question!
Thank you MrsWembley you've saved me the trouble

I have this problem too - I think I'm just not liberal enough with the bleach

Cheapest seems to be citric acid crystals, easy to buy online or from Wilkinsons.

First time I'd throw the whole packet in and leave it overnight. A quick scrub will get rid of any left clinging, I'd work it into anything above the water line too, finishing it off with a paste of bicarb.

Once the worst is gone I push water down the pipe, throw 1/3 of the small packet in and leave it overnight.

I did once have to resort to a pumice stone, in a rental. It worked really well.

Bleach is useless as a cleaner. It's a very good distinfectant but doesn't clean well at all. It's also really easilly desensitised. For example, if there are any organic substances on the surface that you're trying to bleach, this will completely desensitise the heat. Cold and hot temperatures also kill off any kind of disinfecting qualities that bleach has. So if you do use bleach on the toilet, you need to use a toilet cleaner first, then flush and then bleach.

Any kind of toilet cleaner should shift limescale, but you might need to put a bit of elbow grease into it if you haven't used it for a long time. Toilet Duck, Harpic or even the supermarket ownbrand will do. We used to use Asda's own and it was great.

Forgot to mention, the reason bleach isn't that good at cleaning is because it has absolutely zero cleaning agents in it. It's just a chlorine solution.

I do know that bleach does nothing for limescale

But I scrub with a toilet brush shock] and hope the bleach will take away the discolouration. Which it does, for a while...

What happened to my ?

yy to Spirits of Salts (kilrock sell it, but other brands also).

Limescale is mainly calcium carbonate, so bleach won't do anything for it because it's alkaline too.

The things that will get rid of limescale are varying types of acid, hence the suggestions of citric acid, vinegar, coca cola etc etc. All of which will work to some extent - basically the thicker the limescale the stronger the acid you need to get rid of it.

Spirits of salts is hydrochloric acid, so it will burn through anything chalky, while not damaging the glaze of the toilet. It is a strong acid though, so read the warnings on the labels and take them seriously - rubber gloves, possibly goggles, open the windows. Make sure there are no children around, obv. Pour the stuff down the loo and leave for an hour or two (put the seat and lid down to keep the fumes in). Then flush the loo and it should be all sparkly and clean when you lift the lid again.

We were taught this by the plumber when we moved into a house that had been empty and quasi-derelict. The loo was somewhere beyond revolting, but he emptied out the standing water with a sponge, poured down the whole bottle of spirits of salts, and an hour later it was clean.

I do know my chemistry, but thanks for the suggestion. I can't do that stuff though - indoor toilet, small flat.