Toilet bowl stains consist of limescale and urine - a chemical reaction occurs when urine comes into contact with limescale to make a yellowish-brown stain. The longer these deposits remain in your toilet, the thicker the layer of limescale and urine scale will be. Cleaning the toilet should therefore be part of your monthly, if not weekly, cleaning routine.
Having trouble removing the brown marks in her toilet bowl, Savannah Ramsey took to the Mrs Hinch Cleaning Tips and Tricks Facebook page to ask for advice after bleach just wasn't cutting it. She wrote: "Any tips on how I can get rid of these brown marks on my toilet - they run from top. I bleach it, but it will not come off. I do not know why they appear and how to get rid of them." Group members in the comments noted that the cause of the "brown stains" is limescale and that bleach isn't the solution for it. Instead, they've recommended citric acid.
Sandra Coombs said, "Bleach only kills the bacteria that grow on the limescale. You defo need citric acid. Wait for the loo to stop flushing and the bowl to be dry, and squirt some over this. It eats away at the limescale! Also, put loo paper over it, and that helps to keep the citric acid over the limescale."
Natasha Wilcock wrote: "Citric acid, leave for 15 minutes, then flush. I swear this product is amazing - it took off nearly 5mm of dried limescale."
Gemma Luson commented: "Citric acid and it'll just melt off in several minutes. No scrubbing."
James Barclay said: "Citric acid crystals dissolved in boiling water, spray on, leave at least 15 minutes, then use a toilet brush and it will come off."
Eco cleaning influencer Nancy Birtwhistle commented on the post saying: "Don't use vinegar and baking soda together - waste of time. They cancel each other out. Make up a bottle of my Pure Magic spray." The main ingredient for her "Pure Magic spray" is citric acid.
Bathroom and kitchen fitters at Villeroy and Boch recommend using citric acid on toilets. They said: "You will probably find more products than you could imagine around your home for descaling the toilet.
"Acids are particularly effective for cleaning toilets. They trigger a chemical reaction on contact with the calcium carbonate in the limescale deposits, which helps to break down stains. Different acids can be used to clean the toilet.
"Citric acid is very commonly used to clean toilets. This is because it smells pleasantly fresh and is less pungent than vinegar."
To descale toilets with citric acid, they recommend mixing two to three tablespoons of citric acid powder with one litre of water - always add the water to the bucket before the citric acid to avoid splashes. This solution can also be used to clean a toilet cistern.
