Definitive toilet bowl limescale thread

[Mentalguy2k8]

What is the single most effective (available and legal) solution to getting rid of scale below the water line in a toilet bowl?

[Phil Addison]

Having failed with various stuff poured in left overnight I tackled ours with my largest screwdriver, some 18" long. I was pleasantly surprised that the thick scale chipped off fairly easy and left a nice clean bowl - at least as far as the eye can see :O

Prhaps there is something to be said for those slow disolving thingies that clip under the rim, though I've previously thought them a waste of money?

[Mentalguy2k8]

I did that on the toilet where I used to live and scratched the bowl :( It looked even worse than before I started. That's why I hate scale, anything hard enough to chip it off is guaranteed to damage whatever the scale is stuck to.

Plus, the scale reaches up to the top of the water line so there's no point emptying the water and putting any other scale-remover in, unless I've got tons of the stuff. So whatever I get, needs to be strong stuff even when diluted.

[Nitro®]

Empty out the bowl and fill it with cheep vinegar, leave overnight then flush your sins away.

[Andrew Mawson]

Citric acid. Buy in bulk on ebay - it's very cheap - put in about 100 grams and leave overnight. Safe and effective - also removes rust stains.

AWEM

[The Natural Philosopher]

brick acid/patio cleaner. the water will be so hard it will be neutralised by the time it gets to anywhere it matters. End up with calcium chloride and CO2.

Then fit a water softener.

[meow2222]

NT

[Frank Erskine]

Angle grinder.

[Steve Firth]

Licking it with your tongue.

[Jules Richardson]

Replace the toilet.

[harry]

Brick cleaner from Builder's Merchants. Don't leave in too long.

[stuart noble]

Sulphamic acid crystals are PH 1 but also safe to handle. AKA Fernox descaler. I wouldn't mess with hydrochloric, especially indoors

[Mr Pounder]

Move to the superior north. It must be awful having to exist in the south.

>

[The Natural Philosopher]

They are also fairly ineffective

[Steve Firth]

More or less what he said. Sulphamic acid has limited solubility. It's impossible to prepare a concentrated solution - it crystallises out or reaches its limit of solubility if you add too much. However it's acidic enough to blitz lime scale.

Concentrated acids can also ruin the glaze on the toilet bowl if used often enough or for extended soaking.

[mail-veil]

Kilrock-K (that's in liquid form not the gel) is the stuff I have found most effective. Remove as much water as possible, pour enough Kilrock in to coat the affected surface, brush in lightly and make sure the room is very well ventilated. Leave for 15 minutes, brush it and repeat until sparkling clean

Mike

[The Natural Philosopher]

basically just formic acid. Might be a surfactant in there. drop of teepol

a lot cheaper than kilrock

Remove as much water as possible, pour enough

[F Murtz]

Blimey youse lot have problems,boilers header tanks,ch problems,limescale,here in Australia we have none of that,I have not seen a toilet with limescale in 70 years. There may be an extremely small portion of aus with water probs like yours.

[The Natural Philosopher]

That's cos instead of limestone and chalk, all you have is sand and flies...

[Brian Gaff]

Some of the spray on treatments do soften it and make it easy to remove but you need to sponge out the water first, and keep it dry until you can get the stuff off. The main problem I have not solved yet is the stuff round the bend bit. Its almost impossible to get any tool there and the limescale being rough tends to retain stuff and the stuff pongs, so really needs to go. Its a great pity nobody makes a swing out system for these toilets so you could get at it from the other side!

Brian