Getting rid of toilet limescale is one of the most frustrating chores and is often forgotten about. In my house, we regularly clean our toilet with bleach, Pink Stuff and other chemical cleaners, but nothing seems to get rid of the stubborn limescale buildup. We live in a hard water area, which is so bad that we replace our kettles every six months.
Determined to fix it, I tried three different methods, including Coca-Cola, white vinegar, baking soda and Harpic Power Plus (you can also discover how citric acid tackles toilet limescale here). My goal was to find an easy solution that required minimal scrubbing and could show some improvement in under 24 hours — here’s what I discovered in the process.
1. Coca-Cola
Every homeowner who is looking for a chemical-free solution is often told to use Coca-Cola as a quick method to remove toilet limescale. It is said to work in just two hours, so I tested the fizzy drink for my first trial.
According to home experts at Villeroy & Boch, “Coca-Cola contains phosphoric acid, which also removes limescale and urine scale. To dissolve deposits, simply pour the contents of a one-litre bottle into the toilet bowl and leave it to work for a few hours.”
The results
Before my experiment, I thoroughly cleaned and disinfected my toilet and scrubbed it hard. I then flushed the toilet before adding the one-litre bottle of full-fat cola and letting it sit for three hours.
Once I finished waiting, I then went back in to scrub the loo hard whilst the cola was still in there. However, after flushing the chain to see the results, there was little to no difference.
There has been evidence of cola working to remove limescale, but the limescale in my toilet has been building for over a year, so I think this cleaning hack might be more suited for a smaller buildup or less stubborn limescale. I could have tried again and left the solution in for longer, but as there was no proof of change, I decided to move on to another method.
2. White vinegar and baking soda
For my second test, I tried the holy grail, or rather, the “golden solution” to all cleaning problems: baking soda and white vinegar. Chris Wootton, Managing Director of the domestic cleaning business Poppies, shared how to remove limescale using this solution.
He explained: “Pour a half cup of bicarbonate of soda into and around the bowl and let it sit for at least 15 minutes. Then, apply white vinegar over the baking soda. This produces a fizzing reaction that activates the acid and can break down the most stubborn build-ups of limescale.
“After about 10 minutes, scrub the toilet bowl thoroughly with a scouring pad – you may need to use some elbow grease! Once you have done this, flush a few times to rinse it all away. This should have done the trick.”
The results
I let this solution sit for two hours instead of 10 minutes to give it a fair shot. However, I was quite disappointed by the results. As seen in the picture above, this solution barely budged the limescale, but there was some improvement.
Perhaps I should have left it for longer, but even with tough scrubbing, the limescale wouldn’t move – alas, there was some hope, and I was determined not to head into a second day without better results.
3. Harpic Power Plus with baking soda and white vinegar – winner
I know there is a stigma against using harsh cleaners in your home, but sometimes these products can be your saving grace. At my wits’ end, I turned to Harpic Power Plus. This powerful toilet cleaner is said to remove limescale and tough stains, kill 99.9% of bacteria, remove dirt, and prevent buildup.
When using Hapric, raise the toilet seat and position the nozzle under the rim. Gently squeeze the bottle to coat the entire inside of the bowl. For effective cleaning, let it sit for 10 minutes before brushing and flushing. For disinfection, leave it for 60 minutes, then brush and flush.
The results
I poured a generous amount of the chemical around and in my toilet, but wary of how stubborn my limescale can be, I also added a cup of baking soda and white vinegar for an extra boost. Just after two hours, I finally saw some solid improvement without the need to scrub hard.
I then put the same solution back in and waited another two hours, and voila! Most of my limescale was removed. My toilet is not completely cleared, but the before-and-after is impressive, especially as it required minimal scrubbing and worked in under six hours.
I then poured more Harpic without white vinegar and baking soda and let it sit for a further two hours, but this made no difference — it seems combining the two methods works the best!