Slightly OT: HCl for Descaling Toilet

[polygonum]

Very low concentrations over years might have an appreciable effect. My post above was meant as an extreme exaggeration.

[David Lang]

It wasn't. Simply that bleach has no ability to remove or prevent limescale.

[Chris Hogg]

Not IMO, if used occasionally and not left standing in the bowl unflushed for long periods. You shouldn't need much anyway to dissolve lime scale, just a slurp into the water in the bowl, leave for a few minutes and flush away.

[David Lang]

Dreadful. I thought everyone had chrome plated toilets these days.

[David Lang]

I've seen concentrated heat exchanger descaler (32% HCL) damage the glaze on a toilet bowl and acidic toilet cleaner damage a cast iron bath.

I think the point is, that one should use the appropriate product and not try to out guess a qualified experienced chemist.

[damduck-egg]

There are a few people around who would complain of getting sunburn on the bollocks due to the reflection of the Sun that shines out of their Arse.

G.Harman

[The Natural Philosopher]

You would be surprised how lowly thick scale dissolves.

I had to clear a bog U bend once that was down to about half its diameter.

acid, mechanical attack., more acid, more mechanical

Took most of a weekend...

[The Natural Philosopher]

No,. I just polish my turds instead

[gremlin_95]

Yep, I don't use bleach in the toilet. The only thing I find it useful for is drains which occasionally smell.

[gremlin_95]

I probably use it about every 3-4 weeks for a deep clean. For regular cleans I use something a lot milder.

[The Natural Philosopher]

I use bleach and descaler. The descaler gets rid of the limescale, the bleach gets rid of the turd stains..

[Andrew Gabriel]

Hydrogen Chloride gas is :-( It will wreck crome and even damage stainless steel toilet seat hinges when left in the bowl and vapour allowed to concentrate. Leave the seat up and the room ventilated so it doesn't build up any concentration. It won't damage porcelain (unless it's already damaged). It will damage vitreous enamel on metal (takes off the polished surface, leaving a rougher surface which is not shiny and difficult to keep clean), so don't use in metal baths (unless the enamel surface is already wrecked).

It will also dissolve cement in clay soil pipe joints and cast iron pipework, so use plenty of water to flush it well clear of the local pipework into a well running sewer, and don't use it routinely.

[David Lang]

What about the first and second stains?

[michael adams]

All I can say is that it works for me. Apparently you're only supposed to use a cupful at a time, and come to think of it, I'm sure I can remember my chemistry teacher at school saying the same. Also it seems you're supposed to wear rubber gloves, a face mask and make sure all the windows are open. Whereas I just pour in 1/3 to half a bottle*. The reason a lot of people may get a build-up may be because most of these tablets you put in the cistern turn the water blue and so you don't notice the build-up before it's too late. The stuff round the bend at the top you'll never reach but otherwise it keeps all the visible areas at least as white as driven snow. Alhough obviously at 28p a bottle they're not going to be shouting it from the rooftops. They want people to keep on buying the tablets, cleaners, and all the rest.

michael adams

• This should not be understood as encouraging anyone else to do likewise without first equiping themselves with the appropriate safety wear, goggles, breathing apparatus, rubber gloves etc.

...

[tabbypurr]

kinell. A capful or 2's plenty.

disproportionate

NT

[stuart noble]

Why on earth would anyone have this stuff in their home at all? Plenty of alternatives that are less volatile but equally effective e.g. sulphamic acid

[Nightjar]

On 19/12/2015 19:02, Chris Hogg wrote: ...

I use 32% HCl (Spirit of Salts) fairly regularly in my WC and have yet to see any adverse effect on the glaze. Not so sure about the inside of my lungs if I forget to wear a face mask though.

We used to use HCl to strip chrome off plated parts, but it needed to be concentrated HCl and the part had to be quite well heated for it to be effective.

I was a little surprised that I could buy Spirit of Salts in 6 x 500mml packs from Amazon and that they arrived by their normal carrier.

I agree totally.

[David Lang]

Why? Is your diet solely vindaloo curry, prunes & baled beans washed down by Guinness?

[no_spam]

I presume it's HCl acid, but it's a long time since I did A level chemistry and my recollection of concentration, molarity, etc is rather vague - ChrisH seems to be knowledgeable, hence the question.

[Chris French]

We have HCL, and a whole bunch of other chemicals, which we use for science experiments.

But I don't use it for descaling. I use sulphamic or citric acid