how do i clean a badly stained toilet bowl?

Question

Although we have used bleach and stiff brushes a brown stain persists below the water line

Answer 1

Try Harpic 100% lime scale remover. It is in a royal blue plastic bottle with a red screw on cap. The cleaner it self is a dark blue thick liquid. Leave it over night, or all day as well if no one will be using the toilet. In a couple of weeks of use,it will look like you have had a new toilet installed. It is fantastic stuff.

Answer 2

Seriously - forget all the other answers and take it from me. Go to a builders merchant and ask them for brick cleaning acid. It costs about £15 for a 5 litre bottle. Flush the toilet a few times to be certain there is no bleach residue as the acid will cause the bleach to break down and give off ammonia gas which is nasty. Push the water past the bend using a brush or plunger and then carefully pour neat acid around the bowl. The acid will literally eat away the limescale almost immediately because it is highly concentrated unlike the proprietry brands you can buy. If the reaction slows down but you suspect there may still be some staining left, do not flush the toilet, but add a kettle of boiling water (but stand well back). Trust me. I was a relief pub landlord doing the circuit around London and I came across some of the worst toilets imagineable in that time and this worked EVERY time without fail

Answer 3

Try to push most of the water round the bend and coat with limescale remover. There are various brand names but Harpic is the best, it's a gel, leave it on for as long as possible - say 30 mins and scrape the stain with a stiff plastic tool (not metal it will scratch the porcilain) like an old toothbrush. If the stain remains repeat.Try leaving the gel on overnight. Good luck

Answer 4

Some DIY shops and many hardware shops sell 'Spirits of Salt'.
If the other methods listed above don't work - THIS WILL but should be a 'last resort' Wear rubber gloves when handling the stuff. If a cup full of the 'spirits of salt' is added to the water in the bowl it will shift the stained limescale which is causing the problem. Take care as it gives off a choking mist and is corrosive (which is why it works!). Don't let it come into contact with 'stainless steel' as it will stain it. If you accidentally spill any rinse it off with plenty of water.

Answer 5

Look for something called a pumice stick. They're usually sold near the toilet cleaning supplies at the store. Chances are you have hard water deposits that are holding the stains. You will have to scrub the hard water minerals off. The pumice stick is harder than the hard water minerals but softer than the porcelain of the toilet bowl. Get on your gloves, unwrap the pumice and start scrubbing with it. The pumice stick will start to wear off as you use it, that's normal. Keep working it until you've scrubbed off all the stains. Flush the toilet a few times to rinse away all the pumice residue and you should have a sparkling clean toilet bowl.

Answer 6

Generally what you describe is lime deposits, and that's alkali, so you need an acidic preparation to dissolve it.

The first thing to do it pour enough water into the bowl from a bucket to cause the siphon action so that there is very little water left in the bowl. I would use lime-away, but there are stronger acids. I once use muriatic acid on a rental property, but that stuff is dangerous.

If you get the water out so that the product you use is not hoplessly diluted, and can remain on the surface for a while, nearly any will work.

Answer 7

Ordinary household cleaner is good for cleaning the toilet. If badly stained add bleach to the bowl. Let sit for at least an hour,
then wipe gently with a brush. Then flush away.

Answer 8

i use Bathroom Power. you can get it from most supermarkets. its about a fiver but it really works. The lime scale is stained so u gotta get rid of that. get the water out of the bowl, you can do this by forcing it out using a toilet brush, or use a jug to empty it. then spray the stuff on and leave for half hour. you will need to do this a few times but it does eventually work

Answer 9

I would first flush the toilet, then hurry up and turn it's water off so that you can reach the water line. Then take Clorox powder and sprinkle it on thick so that your wet scrub brush will make a bleach paste. Put some elbow grease into it. It works for my fireplace bricks, so it should work for the toilet.
Don't forget to wear gloves!

Answer 10

I had This problem and this is a good one you need to drain the water out of the toilet i used an old turkey baster then pour in a large bottle of coke and leave it over night or as long as possible then rubber gloves on and hands in and get a scour pad and it will all come away flush an add some bleach to keep it clean