1 cm thick limescale in toilet

[lettywetty]

Hi,

My parents in law complained about a blocked toilet for months.

My husband disconnected the bowl from the evacuation pipe and realized that there is at least 1 cm of limescale from the bottom of the bowl right to the exit where it connects to the evacuation pipe in the wall. He had to use a chisel to break the main lump of limescale at the exit level before using a bit of acid.
Parents in law don't want to buy a new bowl.
Type of acid is not strong enough, just about to clean a kettle.

We saw that there is something called "Spirits of Salt" which is quite efficient. Don't know where to buy it.

My question is do you know where to buy this or can we use something equivalent strong enough. I read about brick cleaner, would this work the same?

Thank you.

Letty

 

[blup]

Plumbers use acid in controlled circumstances as it is exceptionally dangerous. I'm not sure there is an appropriate alternative to a new pan and cistern other than physically sanding down the remaining scale until the lip is removed and it can flush effectively. Not pleasant work. Worth checking that the blockage is not further down the soil pipe.

 

[tincup]

White vineger takes time but softens it

 

[kidgreen61]

It would be far easier just to change the pan.

 

[flameport]

Parents in law don't want to buy a new bowl.

That may be, but a new toilet will be cheaper, quicker and much safer than the alternatives.

 

[Echo the husky]

That may be, but a new toilet will be cheaper, quicker and much safer than the alternatives.

No where near as fun as the chemistry experiments though.

 

[gas112]

use this it will get it clean empty bowl of water fill with this and leave for several hours will get rid of it if its really bad may take a couple of goes

Search brick acid | Wickes.co.uk

Search results for brick acid on Wickes.co.uk

www.wickes.co.uk

Bostik Cementone Brick & Patio Cleaner

For effective and efficient outdoor cleaning, try this Cementone brick and patio cleaner from Bostik. The hard-working cleaner removes dirt and algae from outside areas such as patios, paths and driveways, as well as cleaning off light cement and mortar stains from brickwork.It can be used on...

www.toolstation.com

 

[Notch7]

I use this in our kettle, works great

In my experience it works far better at higher temps, certainly with the kettle I boil it first 3/4 full then stick in a dollop of the stuff.

I suspect gas112 has the right idea though, brick acid is pretty strong stuff and cheaper

https://www.amazon.co.uk/2X-MEGA-K-Descale-1-L/dp/B07WK313KR/ref=asc_df_B07WK313KR/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=384207412538&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4969228397740777247&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9045866&hvtargid=pla-825952818928&psc=1&mcid=8db3de50f89e3648979d6e09397d87bd&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=78798779499&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=384207412538&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4969228397740777247&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9045866&hvtargid=pla-825952818928

 

[lettywetty]

Thank you to all of you who answered.

We used 2 bottles of Kilrock Rhino Heavy duty when the toilet was still in place but it did not work. We couldn't even pass the spring drain rod due to the amount of scale there. I have never seen this in my life. Then we disconnected the toilet, it sits now in the middle of the lawn, and used Kilrock Mega K that we use for the kettle. Not powerful enough Notch7.

Gas112, is brick acid safe for enamel?

No way parents in law want a new bowl. It is such an old model that changing it for a new means that we would need to redo everything around, the hole, the wall tiles, the floor... They don't have/want to spend the money and we don't have the competence to do it all ourselves.

 

[nickjb]

I've used brick acid a few times. Bowl comes out looking like new. Obviously be careful not to get it on anything else, especially yourself, but it doesn't harm the ceramic.

 

[Madrab]

Are you sure it's limescale? Wouldn't be the first time I've seen a trade pour their leftover mortar/adhesive/plaster/etc down the toilet and it's solidified at the bottom. That can sometimes look very like limescale.

Limescale, no matter how thick, will happily dissolve quite readily using a proprietary limescale remover given time and will certainly dissolve quite quickly using an acid, so it may not be limescale.

 

[gas112]

Thank you to all of you who answered.

We used 2 bottles of Kilrock Rhino Heavy duty when the toilet was still in place but it did not work. We couldn't even pass the spring drain rod due to the amount of scale there. I have never seen this in my life. Then we disconnected the toilet, it sits now in the middle of the lawn, and used Kilrock Mega K that we use for the kettle. Not powerful enough Notch7.

Gas112, is brick acid safe for enamel?

No way parents in law want a new bowl. It is such an old model that changing it for a new means that we would need to redo everything around, the hole, the wall tiles, the floor... They don't have/want to spend the money and we don't have the competence to do it all ourselves.

yeah perfectly safe

 

[foxhole]

Acid Needs leaving overnight for thick deposits .

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

Just buy a 1kg bag of citric acid powder on ebay. A teaspoonful dissolves all the crust in my kettle, far cheaper and more effective than supposed descaler products, we keep a bag on the go all the time. Example...

1kg Citric Acid (Fine, Anhydrous) - 100% Food Grade - Great for Bath Bombs! | eBay

It also acts as an antioxidant. 1kg Citric Acid (1000g). It is also the most widely used organic acidulate, probably because it is classified as a weak acid. Normally the product is titrated with a dilute solution of Citric Acid (10 or 20% in water) until the desired pH is achieved.

www.ebay.co.uk

Mix perhaps 200g powder with boiling water then pour in. If it doesn't fizz then it's not dissolving so isn't limescale, as suggested above it could be something else. Leave until it stops fizzing then flush. Repeat as necessary until there's no more fizzing and/or nothing left.

 

[Diver Fred]

Are you sure it's limescale? Wouldn't be the first time I've seen a trade pour their leftover mortar/adhesive/plaster/etc down the toilet and it's solidified at the bottom. That can sometimes look very like limescale.

Limescale, no matter how thick, will happily dissolve quite readily using a proprietary limescale remover given time and will certainly dissolve quite quickly using an acid, so it may not be limescale.

That is what happened in our house. Toilet not flushing properly. When the link pipe seal failed removed the toilet to find the discharge pipe and sewer pipe had a layer of plaster in there. took a couple of hours to clear with 'gentle' work with wedges and hammer to knock off the hardened rubbish. The bottom of the bowl was clear so no one could see the cause mom the blockage.