Toilet limescale vanishes after 1 flush if you use 1 common item that's better than bleach

It can be a pain when you find unsightly dark stains in the toilet bowl that your normal cleaning product won't shift. If the actual bowl of your toilet looks brown, you are probably dealing with limescale.

Limescale is a buildup of mineral deposits in water - a common problem in the UK. Over time, it can turn brown due to iron in the water and also because a chemical reaction occurs when urine comes into contact with limescale. After discovering a common toilet-cleaning product on the Mrs Hinch Cleaning Tips Facebook page, Gemma Lynch put it to the test and found great success.

She wrote: "My daughter exchanged homes and this was the loo. I used black Harpic toilet cleaner/limescale remover and left it in overnight, flushed this morning, and it's all gone.

"I put about half the bottle around the underside of the rim, then it all went into the bowl.

"No idea how a toilet bowl gets that dirty, but thou shalt not judge! Black harpic is fantastic. It works better than bleach. I now know why you all recommend it."

From the photos Gemma posted, you could see the rim and toilet bowl when the water sat was completely brown. After using the Harpic toilet cleaner, the entire bowl was stain-free.

Fellow group members in the comments section also shared their thoughts on this product. Carolyn Ludlam said: "Just done the same with my daughters, it's great stuff!"

Phyllis Behan wrote: "Yes, I put a whole bottle in my son's house when he took over. It worked."

Ala Whitehead commented: "I use black harpic often and the results are brilliant! They should use this in public toilets lol."

Carrie Hollingworth said, "I had the same problem with the bathroom toilet when we moved homes, and that black Harpic is amazing."

If you want to stick to the natural route and don't want to spend time scrubbing, cleaning experts at Smol recommend using citric acid. They instructed: "Mix 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. Then pour it into your toilet bowl and leave it for a few hours. Flush and admire the clean bowl."