stuart noble wrote:
On 16/05/2011 08:31, MuddyMike wrote:
On Sun, 15 May 2011 18:06:17 +0100, wrote:

Is there any realistic way of "rejuvinating" the enamel of a toilet?


I threw the pan from the house my son bought last autumn because we
were unable to remove heavy staining and limescale from the bottom
of the trap. It laid among a load of other detritus pending a trip
to the tip with the trailer right through the winter. When I did get
around to dumping it, it was clean!
It seems the winter frosts had dislodged whole sheets of limescale
and other muck.

Mike


Block it up with a bunch of plastic bags, fill to the rim, and drop a
couple of packs of kettle descaler in. Only problem is, you need to
leave it overnight. IME the time it takes to work is not related to
the strength of the acid, so no point in messing with sulphuric or
hydrochloric. IIRC limescale is soluble at PH4 or less so a mild acid
is all that's required. It's not clear to me why caustic soda would
have any effect.

I guess caustic soda would dissolve the glass below and the limescale would
then just lift-off.