[phatchristy]

I was watching a TV show about cleaning a week ago. On the show the person had a particularly large amount of limescale in their toilet. The person poured some of a two liter bottle in the toilet and let it "sit" there for many hours. When they got back it seemed like most of the hard water stains came off. She said it was the citric acid in the soda.

Could this be used for other areas of the house as well. We have very hard water, and I've tried using vinegar, but it doesn't seem to work that well. I think if I used vinegar I'd have to use it every other day...sigh. I don't clean that often.

:

I have some hard water staining on several areas, and would be interested in what else I could use other than vinegar which would work well!

 

[papschmitty]

What exactly did they pour in the toilet? I'm with you, vingear is OK but not wonderful. We have a toilet bowl in a bathroom that we rarely use so it's got insane stains on it. I tried (not that hard) using a pumice stone but the results were marginal at best. I'm curious to hear what people have to say about this.

 

[phatchristy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by papschmitty What exactly did they pour in the toilet? I'm with you, vingear is OK but not wonderful. We have a toilet bowl in a bathroom that we rarely use so it's got insane stains on it. I tried (not that hard) using a pumice stone but the results were marginal at best. I'm curious to hear what people have to say about this.

They poured soda in there...some sort of cola drink.

:

 

[VanessaS]

Soda's not bad... if it's washing or baking soda.

I usually use washing soda and citric acid to de-calcify the toilet bowl. I put it in a bowl and mix it with enough water to form a thick paste then I spread it on the empty toilet. You have to work fast as it starts to foam like crazy. Leave it on for about 15 minutes, then scrub. My package says to leave it on overnight but I've never needed that long. Vinegar works if you make a paste with some salt so that it sticks (otherwise it just runs off and is inneffective).

 

[papschmitty]

Here's a dumb question.

: How to you get the toilet bowl emtpy?

 

[Naturalyst]

Quote:

Originally Posted by VanessaS Soda's not bad... if it's washing or baking soda. I usually use washing soda and citric acid to de-calcify the toilet bowl. I put it in a bowl and mix it with enough water to form a thick paste then I spread it on the empty toilet. You have to work fast as it starts to foam like crazy. Leave it on for about 15 minutes, then scrub. My package says to leave it on overnight but I've never needed that long. Vinegar works if you make a paste with some salt so that it sticks (otherwise it just runs off and is inneffective).

What "package" are you referring to? I would think that the washing soda (a base) and citric acid (an acid), mixed together, would deactivate one another. I just use straight citric acid - it's cheap and available.

 

[phatchristy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Naturalyst What "package" are you referring to? I would think that the washing soda (a base) and citric acid (an acid), mixed together, would deactivate one another. I just use straight citric acid - it's cheap and available.

OK, where do you get ths from?

I'm thinking she gets the toilet empty by shutting the water off at the base of the toilet and flushing, right?

Yeah...baking soda/washing soda does not make sense to me if it is a base. Calcium/magnesium deposits need an acid to remove.