How Do I Remove Limescale From My Toilet?
As a homeowner or a renter, you want to keep your house clean, and the bathroom can be the dirtiest spot. Because of the use a bathroom gets, stains and grime can run rampant, which requires the most attention and maintenance to keep your home clean and healthy. One of the most common issues in the bathroom is limescale buildup, especially in the toilet bowl. They can be pesky to remove, but what is the source of the stain?
What Is Limescale? What Does It Look like?
Limescale is a white, chalky substance that builds up and collects on appliances and surfaces because of calcium and carbonate ions found in hard water. It contains minerals that are regularly found in hard and unfiltered water, and the stains can leave your house looking dirty and unkept even if it’s not. Limescale can also even be pink or brownish and look rusty. Since limescale is calcified and hard it can be tough to remove completely and tends to stick to surfaces more than other less-invasive stains. Hard water is something that over 85% of the United States suffers from, and is something you can combat easily. Getting rid of limescale starts with softening your water. Once your home has soft water, limescale (once cleaned off) will not continue to accumulate.
Toilets are one of many appliances that can suffer from the buildup of limescale. The standing water and constant use and moisture tend to perpetuate the calcification of hard water minerals. If you notice a ring around the inside of your toilet bowl and it’s difficult to scrub away, you’re probably suffering from hard water and limescale.
How To Remove Limescale From A Toilet:
- Pour Vinegar Into The Toilet: It may sound strange, but vinegar is a great solution for limescale because of its acidic chemical properties that eat away at calcified limescale. Make sure to coat the entire bowl and any surfaces affected by vinegar. There are other more professional manufactured cleaners, but they tend to be pricier and a lot less pleasant to use.
- Allow The Vinegar To Sit: After you’ve coated the bowl with vinegar, allow the chemical to sit and rest for 3-4 hours, and if the limescale buildup is particularly thick, leave it to sit overnight.
- Scrub The Bowl: After the bowl has sat for a while, use a toilet brush and scrub all the areas with limescale to wipe away the softened minerals and leave the smooth surface underneath.
- Flush Away The Chemicals: After scrubbing, flush the toilet to ensure that all the limescale is gone and wiped away.
- Repeat Until The Bowl Is Clean: If you’ve noticed after the first flush that there are still some marks, repeat steps 1-4 until the marks are gone.
The best way to prevent hard water stains and limescale in your toilet is to keep your water soft. Hard water is the culprit for these issues, and water softeners/filtration systems are the solutions for long-term cleanliness of your home and appliances.
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