How to clean a toilet

[Durumdurumer]

So rubbish at cleaning- break it down for me.
Skanky old toilet, discoloured inside, so much pipe work, looks discoloured where the toilet meets the (cheapo) flooring.
Dust everywhere, soap, dirty drain and something grim in the overflow.

How do I actually go about getting this into a decent state? 🤢

I’d start with the outside, bucket of hot water and flash and wash down all the dusty pipework etc.

For the toilet get a bottle of harpic black and a good toilet brush. Displace as much water as you can and then put the toilet cleaner in. Leave for a good hour or so and scrub and flush. If it’s still bad you might need something more industrial like spirits or salt. Don’t mix products.

if the toilet smells bad on the outside then use some shaving foam, squirt it over the outside and the floor (if not carpet) and then wipe it off after ten minutes.

For the sink a glass scraper might be the best bet for the ceramics (test it to make sure it doesn’t scratch) or a non scratch green scourer with astonish paste or a cream cleaner.

A small amount of hydrochloric acid will restore the white of the toilet.

Limescale remover tablets
use pet wee cleaner ( or vanish in warm water) to get rid of old urine outside toilet.
repair any leaks and replace flooring around pipes if it looks skanky.
you can get toilet brushes you can connect to a drill to clean hard core
spray vinegar around rim for limescale deposits

Buy a good quality limescale remover , don some rubber gloves .
Push as much water as you can over the U bend using a toilet brush
Squirt the limescale remover on the inside of the toilet and over flow and leave for as long as possible ( at least 30 mins )
While that's doing its thing using hot soapy water and a micro fibre cloth to clean up all the dust .

Using the brush scrub the toilet as much as you can , if it's still stained use the green scrubby part of a washing up sponge with more descaler.
Then if needed a powder cleaner something like Vim
If that still fails use a dry dishwasher tablet on stubborn marks.
You may have to repeat this .
Do not use anything to abrasive , I have seen some people recommend a pumice stone but this will scratch the glaze and let more dirt and stains get directly to the porcine.

Thank you for these suggestions.
So like the dirt and grime all around the outside - whenever I wipe I just seem to smear it all around. Do I just need more buckets switching out the water?
Pet wee products is a great idea - thank you!

If you use a duster first it might help; one of those fluffy disposable ones. But yes, change water and cloths regularly or use kitchen towel and bin it if it’s that bad.

Oh actually I have some old towels kicking about too, they can be binned afterwards

Does it rival the worst toilet in Scotland?!

You've been given great advice, the only things to add, if you've got an old hoover, give the outside a go over with that first, that'll get all the dust up which is half of the problem.
Also when the black harpic has been in the loo for a while (as long as you can leave it!) Use the brush to give a bit of a scrub around the inside of the toilet. If it appears stubbornimescale hasn't moved around the bottom of the pan, see if it'll move with a gloved hand. Once I cleaned a toilet and I was like...its not budging, and I literally put a marigold on, and ran a hand over it and it all flaked off within seconds.

Oh this makes me feel so much better!

Thanks @Idontknownowwhat ill give that a go too.
Half the trouble is that it’s such a poky awkward space so it’s so difficult to get in properly. And it’s old

When you put the limescale remover down the loo, put product around bowl then stick loo roll to all the insides, then reapply the product. The loo roll helps the product stick to the sides without running down into the water and gives it chance to work

Harpic toilet tablets in black box. Put down 2 and they will clean below the water line. Leave overnight without flushing. Use Harpic black bottle. Squirt around bowl included under the rim again leave overnight without flushing. Next morning use brush to clean including under rim. Flush should clean it up well. Repeat if necessary. Hot water and bleach for outside of toilet and any the floor around the toilet. Put some blue loo block into the cistern.

It only cost about £50 to replace a toilet.