gross toilet ! How to get rid of limescale

rubytuesday

I finally managed to get rid of thick thick lime scale that I had inherited and never been able to shift by emptying out the water, started with coke, then a washing machine lime scale remover sachet, then soda crystals and then the harpic black bottle and some hacking with a knife! (Not all at the same time of course!)

matty17r

You are all talking about the black bottle harpic to remove limescale. I couldn't find this in the supermarkets today or on my supermarket. I could see domestos zero limescale in a black bottle is it this perhaps? Thanks for your help - got a bit of thick limescale just under the rim!

abwsco

matty17r wrote: »

You are all talking about the black bottle harpic to remove limescale. I couldn't find this in the supermarkets today or on my supermarket. I could see domestos zero limescale in a black bottle is it this perhaps? Thanks for your help - got a bit of thick limescale just under the rim!

There is this one Harpic 100% Duraguard Limescale Remover.

masha

This is the one you need, Harpic Power Plus.

http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/groceries/index.jsp?bmUID=1330725845458

Zimm190

Just wanted to say thanks for this thread and all the tips! We had the grimiest toilet ever in our rented flat; for the past 18 months it's had all kinds of bleach and Cilit Bang down there and hours of scrubbing and nothing would even improve the horrid rusty brown stains in the bottom of the bowl. Even my mum, who is the master, couldn't shift it.

After reading this thread I went to Poundland on Friday night and bought the black Harpic. (I also have denture tablets for keeping my retainers nice and clean so was going to try those if the Harpic no good).

I poked most of the water out of the bottom of the loo using the loo brush and applied the Hapric - left it on for a good few hours and when I came back to it the vast majority of the stains had gone - hurrah! Next day I did the same and went out; when I came home I had a clean, sparkly loo I no longer need to be ashamed of!

I couldn't stop looking at it, how sad is that. My husband had been away for the weekend and I proudly showed him my handiwork when he got home last night - he was very impressed. I've asked him to reaquaint himself with the concept of the bog brush.

minuettoallegretto

Totally agree with the citric acid route! Got mine from Wilkin$on - by the home brewing stuff. The advantage being you can put more down there until the water won't absorb any more, so it's at max strength. If that still doesn't work, try again along with a couple of kettles of boiling water - the heat means the water will take in more of the citric acid, so it's a stronger solution. Plus it's only a stronger version of oranges and lemons, so relatively harmless after it's flushed.

Mike_Newcomb

Herewith some related tips, repeating some of the above information.
a) Harpic power cleaner in the black bottle is perfect for the job.
Available from the 99p or £1 stores.
b) squirt around *ABOVE* (loosens limescale on lip itself) and *BELOW* lip.
Also good measure into water so it mixes, and leave overnight.
Brush well in morning.
Bad limescale may need further application(s).
c) to clean toilet brush, leave in bowl at same time.
d) spirit (or spirits) of salt is (dangerously) strong, perhaps too much for this task.
good for unblocking scaled waste pie in urinals
best place to buy - independant hardware stores (go for larger (500cc?) bottle)
e) if using denture cleaning tablets,
save money by leaving your dentures in the bowl at the same time. :-)

Good Luck - Mike.

dogstarheaven

minuettoallegretto wrote: »

Totally agree with the citric acid route! Got mine from Wilkin$on - by the home brewing stuff. The advantage being you can put more down there until the water won't absorb any more, so it's at max strength. If that still doesn't work, try again along with a couple of kettles of boiling water - the heat means the water will take in more of the citric acid, so it's a stronger solution. Plus it's only a stronger version of oranges and lemons, so relatively harmless after it's flushed.

how much do you use. is it in powder form and how much does it cost? i would like to follow the eco route if possible.

Icey77

I followed other posters advice and went with the Black Harpic.

I forced the water past the Ubend with a toilet brush, squirted a generous amount of the black harpic down the loo and then with rubber gloves and a green dish scourer gave it a good scrub ... it was SO easy and the loo came up bright white almost straight away!

10 minutes of work never looked so good!

Good luck!

daska

minuettoallegretto wrote: »

Totally agree with the citric acid route! Got mine from Wilkin$on - by the home brewing stuff. The advantage being you can put more down there until the water won't absorb any more, so it's at max strength. If that still doesn't work, try again along with a couple of kettles of boiling water - the heat means the water will take in more of the citric acid, so it's a stronger solution. Plus it's only a stronger version of oranges and lemons, so relatively harmless after it's flushed.

at the concentrations you're recommending it's still hazardous. Please wear gloves, as you would with any strong cleaner