Is this toilet salvageable? Bleach won't cut it...

[BaconLettuceTomato]

I've just bought a BTL that hasn't been looked after very well by the previous occupants. I'm just in the process of cleaning it up, redecorating etc before I look for tenants. The bathroom is actually quite nice and new so I don't want to replace anything, but nothing I've put down the toilet has got rid of the stains! I don't think it has ever been cleaned
What can I try??

Citric acid or scrubbing the limescale with a pumice stone. It dislodges the limescale but doesn't scratch the toilet

I was at the point where I was ready to replace a toilet in my house, which I had also bought as an ex-rental. I read about spirit of salts and got some from Homebase.

The fumes are not to be underestimated, but by god did it shift inches of stained, grim limescale. Left the loo sparkling like new. https://www.homebase.co.uk/max-strength-spirits-of-salt-500ml/12807209.html

Came here to say this. Not sure what's in it but it's amazing.

I’ve just read spirit of salts removes excess cement from new brick work, is it actually ok for me to pour down my drain, rather than the sewer? It smells awful so I’m keen to de sludge it but don’t want to cause issues.
I’ve never heard of this stuff before, it sounds amazing.

@TwitTwont Spirit of salts is actually just Hydrochloric acid.
https://charlietheplumber.com.au/what-acid-do-plumbers-use-to-unclog-drains/#:~:text=Hydrochloric%20acid%2C%20also%20known%20as,in%20pipes%20and%20cause%20blockages.

You definitely need the marigolds on for this, and eye protection ( sunglasses will do).

It arrived today and I’ve poured it in. It fizzed like mad on the stuff that’s stuck to the grate. Here’s hoping it works.

Did you use the Spirit of Salts @TwitTwont ?

I did. The grate is now amazingly clean. There is still a bit of an odour from the actual drain, sort of dirty wet mop smell, but it is better than it was. I will have to get some more and do it again, or do drains smell in general? It’s only the shower & sink water from the bathroom & it’s not actually blocked or anything. It’s only noticeable if I bed down and peer down the drain though.

Oh, I’m glad it worked. I’m going to get some for our toilet.

I would probably give the drain another go. Ours get mini fat brrgs in them and I have to get a glove and break them off. It’s disgusting but quite satisfying in a sporner way. Although I’d have thought acid would have done a good job of clearing any bergs.

If it’s still a bit soft I’d probably shove a bath bomb down!

@Hippopotaperson bath bombs cause blockages too, they can silt up the pipe work under the bath as my sister found out to her cost!

No! @Zippedydodah thanks for telling me!

Came on to say HG Toilet Cleaner gel (the pink stuff), left for a day/overnight, worked wonders in the rented house we moved into where the toilets were very stained, but am intrigued about this Spirit of Salts stuff, had never heard of it before.

I second the black Harpic, or the tablets they do.

Second black harpic.
I also lower the water level by “pumping” with the toilet brush first and leave the harpic overnight.

Adding to the chorus of the black Harpic. The more warnings it has on it, the more effective it is.

It was the only thing that worked to get rid of the limescale build up that the tenants before us in this house left behind... it was about half a centimetre thick, so still took a few applications to wear down. I didn't know about pumice stones, but hear they're effective in shifting it. Probably not at the same time.

We do NOT live in a hard water area. I don't know how it got so bad.

i had this in a house and I alternated bleach and vingegar over night for several nights - so a whole bottle of cheap vinegar in all night then flush in the morning and the next night about half bottle of bleach over night.

after about 5 nights it was good as new!

Will that work for limescale ring around the water level?

Yes. Use the toilet brush to push the water down below the level and then pour it in and put the lid down.

Bleach does nothing for limescale in toilets. It just hides the problem but doesn't get rid of it.

Whatever product you use put down a thin layer then stick loo roll to the pan where you’ve wet it, then add another layer of the product. The loo roll keeps it in position rather than running down the pan into the water/where the water was. Obviously use gloves

i genuinely bought that our downstairs toilet was behind saving but I read about Spirit of salt (ordered it off of amazon) and within one use it was fixed. I can’t recommend it highly enough!

.

Coca cola, it’s so effective!

It's sold in Homebase.

I helped my friend clean an awful toilet when she moved in to a room in shared house. We removed the water and then tipped in a gallon of distilled vinegar and left it over night.

Worked like a charm.