Expert shares ‘golden rule’ for removing limescale – and reason ‘bleach won’t work’

A cleaning expert has shared the reason bleaching limescale does not get rid of stains – and the two household ingredients you can use instead to ensure sparkling toilets

When it comes to household chores, cleaning toilets is one of the worst; as it important as it is to keep your loo in tip top shape, scrubbing limescale stains can be an arduous task. And even after a thorough cleanse, marks can quickly reappear. Luckily, there’s a “golden rule” that you can use to help to keep your toilets fresh, and it doesn’t involve bleach, as the Daily Express reports.

In fact, you should not rely on bleach when it comes to treating limescale stains as it won’t get rid of them but in fact masks the problem, according to an expert.

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Chris Wootton, Managing Director of the domestic cleaning business, Poppies, revealed how to properly clean toilet bowl stains, and why some products might be concealing the problem.

He explained: “The golden rule for cleaning toilet bowl stains is to use non-alkaline products.

“Most toilet bowl stains appear in hard water areas, so it’s important to remember that bleach won’t work, and you will need to use an acid-based product such as limescale remover.

“While bleach doesn’t get rid of limescale, it does make it invisible which blends in with the colour of the toilet bowl.”

He adds that this is the reason why stains often appear to come back so quickly – if you used bleach, they never went away.

To really rid your bowl of stains, white vinegar makes for an excellent cleaning solution, according to Chris.

The expert recommends using the ingredient alongside another common household item.

He advises using a non-alkaline cleaning solution by pouring half a cup of bicarbonate of soda in and around the bowl, letting it sit for at least 15 minutes, and then adding white vinegar.

The simple fix works because when you apply the vinegar over the baking soda, the mixture will fix, activating the acid, so it can attack even the most stubborn of stains.

Chris says you should leave the mixture to work its magic for around ten minutes, before scrubbing the toilet bowl with a scouring pad. Then simply flush the toilet a couple of times to rinse everything away.

Hopefully, you will be left with a sparkling loo, but if there are any stains left, you can also use lemon juice after you flush. Not only should the acidic solution help, but it will also deodorise your toilet.

According to Tony Jones, General Manager at Hard Water Softeners, out of all the areas in the home, the toilet is one of the most problematic.

He explained that the heavy use, combined with the water left sitting in it, makes a perfect environment for limescale. It then takes on colour as it mixes with dirt particles, leading to the stains we see on the inside of toilet bowls.

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