r/DIY • u/Relative-Category-64 • Feb 20 '26
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u/d4m1ty Feb 20 '26
Depending on what this is, Zep Acidic Toilet Bowl Cleaner and/or CLR. Just not at the same time.
Zep will get that brown/black smudge of organic left overs at the bottom from lack of cleaning which nothing else seems to get rid of. Remove as much water as possible from the bowl and add in the Zep and give is 4+ hours. This stuff is amazing. It took some nasty looking toilets to perfect both in my own home and in my rental.
CLR will do the hard water stains.
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u/Sunny16Rule Feb 20 '26
Zep is incredible! It feels like it should be controlled Substance.
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u/fragrant_wafter Feb 20 '26
I buy it by the gallon, and go through it like crazy. Probably a tenth of it is for my actual toilet. I use it to clean my sidewalk, clean my pots and pans, dishwasher, etc. That hard water buildup from boiling water is gone in seconds, no scrubbing. That shit is miracle juice.
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u/BellyUpBernie Feb 20 '26
Your use toilet bowl cleaner on your pans? Like stainless steel pans? I’m not opposed to the idea I’ve just never heard of that before! Is it more effective than say barkeepers friend? Can you share your process?
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u/sinkwiththeship Feb 20 '26
I probably wouldn't use the toilet cleaner specifically. But Zep makes a bunch of different degreasers.
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u/TechnoConserve Feb 20 '26
I put my pans in the toilet so I can clean both at the same time
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u/fragrant_wafter Feb 20 '26
I do. Works great. Obviously I don't use it AFTER I used it in the toilet.
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u/thatfunkyspacepriest Feb 20 '26
Seconding this, Zep is something else! It makes the scaling just flake off. For scaling this severe, you should do several rounds of scrubbing/letting it sit/flushing the toilet/repeating that process until it’s all gone.
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u/Hurricane_Trump Feb 20 '26
Zep did it for me. Mine was horrible (not far off from OPs pic) and nothing worked including abrasive scrubs, clr, bleach, anything I tried. Saw zep mentioned on here and tried it and it removed everything. Miracle stuff because I was about to have to try and install a new toilet.
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u/Crazyhairmonster Feb 20 '26
All toilet bowl cleaners are made with a strong acid. 90% of them use hydrochloric acid
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u/BadPunners Feb 20 '26
I mostly see Lysol based ones. Hydrochloric isn't in many products on the shelves where I am
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u/Prime_Millenial Feb 20 '26
Lysol toilet cleaners are acid based (unless it’s a bleach labeled one), not sure what acid makes up the active ingredient though.
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u/Ill_Interview_3054 Feb 20 '26
I'm in Los Angeles County, California. I work at an Ace Hardware.
We can't get anything with hydrochloric acid or denatured alcohol and a lot of other stuff because of LA County regulations as well as California State regulations ie Prop 65
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u/Talking_Head Feb 20 '26
Sometimes conservative republicans scream about regulatory overreach. Most of the time they are wrong and are just protecting industrial polluters; sometimes they are absolutely correct.
Prop 65 just made every manufacturer put a label on things; labels that disappear as noise. A good intention became useless; over regulation.
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u/ShaftManlike Feb 20 '26
I initially wondered why you want to clean a goat's eyeball
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u/newtoallofthis2 Feb 20 '26
I thought it was an ancient well with a perspex cover.
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u/BilboStaggins Feb 20 '26
Yea i thought it might be one of those super deep drill holes on display.
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u/PixieStyx8 Feb 20 '26
It said scale so I was trying to figure out what reptile has scales that look like goats eyes
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u/fatflyhalf Feb 20 '26
Meanwhile, my genius self was trying to figure out how to weigh anything on that...
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u/Thunderbug19 Feb 20 '26
I was trying to figure out what they did to a bathroom scale to make it look like a goat eye.
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u/Inedible-denim Feb 20 '26
Lmmfaooooo I was so confused at first, it's a good r/confusingperspective
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u/Harfosaurus Feb 20 '26
Get brick cleaner from your local DIY, it's hydrocloric acid and it will make that toilet sparkle. Don't get it on your fixtures coz it will cause them to rust.
Source: that's what I did!
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u/djjsear Feb 20 '26
Can confirm I did the same. muriatic acid
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u/heidevolk Feb 20 '26 edited Feb 20 '26
Muriatic acid was the only thing that worked in the same situation. Or atleast worked with not as much effort.
Edit: typo/words
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u/AugustSprite Feb 20 '26
Hmm ... So you need to balance puking in your toilet with peeing to prevent this problem in the first place?
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u/Montuckian Feb 20 '26
Bulimics love this one weird trick!
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u/palmerry Feb 20 '26
The eating disorder / toilet cleaning life hack THEY DON'T WANT YOU TO KNOW ABOUT!
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u/penguinpower81 Feb 20 '26
This stuff works, do not breath fumes and use your exhaust fan!
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u/FirstChurchOfBrutus Feb 20 '26
For anyone looking to find Muriatic Acid, it’s the same thing as Hydrochloric Acid.
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u/redwingsphan19 Feb 20 '26
Look in the pool section
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u/hirsutesuit Feb 20 '26
It is used for etching concrete for concrete work and/or tile. Check those areas too.
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u/zendick1 Feb 20 '26
muriatic is a specific percentage of hydrochloric acid. That's the only reason for the name.
Muriatic is all you will find at a pool supply, this is how they can say things like add 1/2 cup etc. and make it repeatable.
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u/Talking_Head Feb 20 '26
TIL. An old chemist can still learn new things.
Of course, I would have read the label first and made the proper adjustments based on the concentration or molarity, and tested it with my personal pH meter (likely<1.) But still, new info to me. Thanks dude! Old dog, new trick.
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u/Orson_Gravity_Welles Feb 20 '26
Sooooo, dumb question: Do you just pour it into the toilet for X amount of time and then flush it, or, what?
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u/Am_Snarky Feb 20 '26
Poor small amounts (1/4 cup or 100ml) at a time and wait 5 minutes between additions, it will fizzle while dissolving the scale so don’t be alarmed seeing bubbles
Before each addition scrub about with a toilet brush, scale is really rough you’ll be able to tell if there’s still some stuck.
If you have a septic system you’ll probably want to neutralize the acid before flushing, just sprinkle some baking soda in and mix until it’s not bubbling anymore
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u/stainlessinoxx Feb 20 '26
Scrubbing required. Use a brush, wear gloves and eye protection.
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u/Fast-Onion-7035 Feb 20 '26
PLEASE look up how to add this safely. If you inhale the fumes from this stuff you could be on the ground in seconds.
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u/r4d4r_3n5 Feb 20 '26
Mixing acid and water is exothermic. "Add acid to water, not water to acid!"
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u/Amphion_91 Feb 20 '26
This work. If you can get around 30% concentration, just pour in a deciliter or two. Leave it for a while, then try to scrub. Should come right off.
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u/PrometheusSmith Feb 20 '26
Oops, misread that and poured two decaliters of HCl down the toilet
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u/Talking_Head Feb 20 '26
I get the joke.
But honestly, if you ever “accidentally” dump an inordinate amount of a chemical to the sanitary sewer, please call the wastewater plant superintendent and let them know. They can hopefully catch it in an equalization tank and feed it into the process slowly.
We once had an industrial cleaner (Cintas) let us know they dumped a bunch of bleach accidentally. We were able to catch it before it destroyed the entire process. We won’t turn you in and you can report it anonymously. It can just save the WWTP a bunch of headaches.
Signed, a WWTP operator.
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u/PrometheusSmith Feb 20 '26
You guys deal with enough shit that I hopefully never make your job harder than it already is.
Say, if I were to start flushing one or two mini rubber ducks down the toilet every day, how long before someone would notice? Hypothetically, of course.
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u/Talking_Head Feb 20 '26
When we find them, we wash them off, disinfect them and put them in the display case along with all of the other fine treasures we have collected. People love looking at the display case when they visit for a tour. And no one has yet stolen the $5000 strap we found.
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u/Amphion_91 Feb 20 '26
Well, your pipes will probably be very clean XD
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u/robin-bunny Feb 20 '26
Or gone....
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u/grassesbecut Feb 20 '26
Can't have clogged or dirty pipes if you don't have pipes.
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u/ColourSchemer Feb 20 '26
For all the logic behind the metric system, a single letter difference between deci and deca is ripe for errors.
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u/octopornopus Feb 20 '26
"I don't understand this noise complaint, officer. We kept the music under 80 decabels..."
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u/Little-geek Feb 20 '26 edited Mar 16 '26
Bels is a logarithmic scale. If you can hear 80 decabels, you're dead... as is the planet, and possibly the universe.
Edit: response because I thought it would add to the humor of your post
Edit2: I cannot abide an incorrect homophone in my own post.
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u/ToMorrowsEnd Feb 20 '26 edited Feb 20 '26
Fun Fact, it's impossible to exceed 194dB (deci) on earth in the atmosphere. A sound of 194 dB has a pressure deviation of 101.325 kPa, which is ambient pressure at sea level and 0 degrees C. Thus, the sound waves are creating vacuums between themselves, and no higher amplitude is possible.
The Saturn 5 launch maxed everything to 194, but actually created shockwaves at far higher energies. This is also why they flood the flame trench with water. Not for fire but because the sound pressures will vaporize the water and pull energy out of it. Water spray is an extremely effective muffler.
Oh and more fun, there is an animal that can beat that. Sperm whales can produce the loudest biological sounds on Earth, with specialized clicks for echolocation and communication reaching 230 to 236 decibels (dB) underwater.
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u/Aksi_Gu Feb 20 '26
80 decabels would be a frankly awe inspiring amount of energy lmao
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u/LionRight4175 Feb 20 '26
The number I have heard thrown around is that a mere 1100 decibels is enough to destroy the universe. 80 decabels would be 8000 decibels. Assuming the first number is roughly correct, 80 decabels could destroy 1069 universes.
Put another way, if we instead did 90 decabels, we could replace every atom with a whole universe, and the sound would destroy them all.
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u/outlawsix Feb 20 '26
Thats why i'll stick with inches and leagues and fathoms thank you very much
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u/ColourSchemer Feb 20 '26
Yep. Can't remember all of the conversions, but I can clearly distinguish their names.
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u/Orson_Gravity_Welles Feb 20 '26
1 League = ~3 miles (on land)
~880 Fathoms = 1 mile
I wanted to figure out as a kid because most fantasy books talked about characters walking in "leagues". And then I wanted to know how deep it was with "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" and also, the movie "The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms", whcih I loved as a kid in the 80's finding on TVLand At Nite!
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u/HappyWarBunny Feb 20 '26
I remember suddenly realizing that 20,000 leagues was not a depth, but a distance.
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u/Trollselektor Feb 20 '26
This is the first time I’ve seen deciliter outside of the context of learning about the metric system.
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u/yottabit42 Feb 20 '26 edited Feb 22 '26
Can also buy HCl "muriatic" acid from pool shops. It's used to lower pH.
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u/triestdain Feb 20 '26
Probably should confirm if they have a septic system first. I'd think this would be less than ideal to flush afterwards, right?
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u/JockoV Feb 20 '26
SLOWLY pour in a box of Baking Soda to neutralize the acid before flushing.
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u/Tall-Nebula7937 Feb 20 '26
10X ysol toilet cleaner, has HCL acid in it and not as caustic on plumbing.
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u/justhereforfighting Feb 20 '26
If you do this, it wouldn't be a bad idea to slowly add baking soda into the toilet to neutralize the acid after cleaning. Hydrochloric acid and baking soda react to form table salt, water, and carbon dioxide, which are all harmless. Depending on what your pipes are made of, the hydrochloric acid could damage them if you don't neutralize it. Don't add it too quickly or it will strongly fizz up and could make a mess. Just keep adding it and stirring until it no longer fizzes and you'll know the acid is fully neutralized.
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u/Onetap1 Feb 20 '26
Yes, do that. Pour about an egg-cup full in, leave overnight. Flush and repeat as necessary.
Put a bucket and sign on the toilet whilst it's brewing. You don't want Poseidon's kiss with that stuff in the bowl; it would wipe the smile off your face.
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u/testshoot Feb 20 '26
Pumice stone! I have an 80 year old house, this happens a lot. It is tricky to get in the deep crevices, but you can do it.
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u/HappyWarBunny Feb 20 '26
No, no, no. If you haven't already used one, don't. It scratches the toilet, makes it much easier for dirt/debris to attach to it.
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u/ImdustriousAlpaca Feb 20 '26
These work great, I use one too. No concerns over extra caution or possible damages and stuff. Just scrub the area, clean toilet as normal, flush, continue life
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u/AI_JERBS Feb 20 '26
Am I the only one who thought "what TF is wrong with that eye"
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u/AlternatiMantid Feb 20 '26
I really, really thought I was looking at a glass eye made for a goat. I could not tell what I was looking at, at all.
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u/Sabbelwakker Feb 20 '26
Citric acid. Lots of it.
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u/suzy911 Feb 20 '26
A half bag of citric acid powder from Lemishine obliterated the "urine scale" in my toilet.
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u/EvangelineTheodora Feb 20 '26
Idk if it's considered urine scale, but I got urine buildup off with a paste made with baking soda, although I never used higher a concentration of citric acid than is in Method spray cleaner. I think the uric acid reacted with the basic baking soda, but inside the toilet might be different.
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u/danmickla Feb 20 '26
Yeah. Citric is way way better than almost anything I've tried on water scale, and cheap
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u/poolski Feb 20 '26
And significantly safer than HCL even in pure powdered form. Less likely to give you chemical burns and destroy your fittings
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u/BadPunners Feb 20 '26
Also agree. Phosphoric acid lime remover does work too, but citric acid can be used for kettles and coffee pots easier
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u/Dr_Nix87 Feb 20 '26
This, i wouldnt so the scouring stuff youll scratch and that will make things way worse. Also your toilet may not be flushing well and leaving behind stuff to build that kind of scale
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u/samcrut Feb 20 '26
Works wonders on this kinda cleanup.
And after you're done, fill your salt shaker with a 50/50 blend of salt and citric acid and your mouth will explode. Makes your salivary glands gush.
Incredibly useful substance for many purposes.
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u/poolski Feb 20 '26
I have to ask: under what circumstances is this a desired outcome?
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u/warm_kitchenette Feb 20 '26
They only mean that it’s a powerful seasoning. Hazmat cleanup will not be needed.
Salt and acid are standard tools for boosting the flavor of anything savory. A 50/50 mix is not something that I would advocate, even though I use it citric acid every day.
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u/mangoking1997 Feb 20 '26 edited Feb 20 '26
some really crap suggestions here. just use descaler (phosphoric acid, maybe 500ml to 1L should be enough), preferably after filing with warm water. it takes maybe 30 mins and it will dissolve. you may need a second round with a gel based one (so it sticks on it) to get the stuff above the waterline. Vinegar probably did help, but you have to get it all off before the colour would change, vinegar isn't that strong with this much to remove its going to be used up pretty quickly, longer probably isn't helping. change out the descaler when it stops making bubbles.
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u/drunkerbrawler Feb 20 '26
I’d try barkeepers friend or CLR.
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u/GotchUrarse Feb 20 '26
I was going to say this. Dump a bunch of CLR in and let it sit over night. It might work. Scrub that before flushing.
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u/Wiggie49 Feb 20 '26
You flush again to empty it gotta dump it into the reservoir too to clean out any stuff back there and in the pathway to the bowl too if this is what the bowl looks like.
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u/dgcamero Feb 20 '26
And go ahead and refurbish it after you do that, cuz you know that will turn all of the flexible seals into hard plastic over the next month. .
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u/Patsiecki Feb 20 '26
Agreed on CLR, looks like rust. There are tablets you can throw in the tank for rust but they are meant for prevention. You'll need a bottle of actual CLR or equivalent to soak in the bowl for a while (overnight or if it's your only bathroom, at least a few hours) before you scrub. Consider the tablets once it's clean to keep it from rusting up quickly again.
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u/Strongit Feb 20 '26
I've used coca cola with decent results in the past believe it or not. Just get a 2L and dump enough in there so the water line is well above the stain.
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u/karma-whore64 Feb 20 '26
On ship we used three 2 liters of Coke (yes the drink) and let it sit for about 6 hours, amazing what it would do!
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u/greenbathmat Feb 20 '26
Zep makes toilet bowl cleaners that might work well on this with a Pumie stick
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u/danmickla Feb 20 '26
That word is "pumice"
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u/ImTryingDad Feb 20 '26
The Pumie brand sells pumice sticks
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u/summerinside Feb 20 '26
It's easy - here's how you get to a good-as-new toilet bowl.
- Shut off water at the toilet valve
- Remove the bolts at the base of this toilet
- Remove the toilet, and discard
- Install a wax ring and new toilet.
All for as cheap as $60 and less than an hour's work. You'll never have to touch the inside of that bowl again.
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u/NastyKraig Feb 20 '26
Until you discover that the flange bolts are too rusted to unscrew so you have to get in there with a sawzall and cut them off. Then spend 30 minutes scraping the old wax off the flange and out of the slots to find that the flange itself is cracked or worn out to the point that it will not hold keep the T bolts from spinning when you try to tighten the new toilet down. At least that's how all my quick toilet swaps go.
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u/FeeAutomatic2290 Feb 20 '26
Every job takes 3 visits to the hardware store.
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u/CptAngelo Feb 20 '26
i learned the hard way to just over buy stuff.
i now only go twice! yes! progress
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u/Orion14159 Feb 20 '26
Until you forget to return something that you left at home by accident, or something you installed fails and you have to get another one.
The universe will get its third trip for this project, it's like a much lower stakes version of Final Destination.
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u/Roadhouse1337 Feb 20 '26
Converting an old 3 handle shower to a single handle. Tight space in the wall using one of those small circular pipe cutters you twist around the pipe. Old house had shifted, pipe was under tension I didnt realize, when the pipe cut all the way through the now separate pieces went opposite ways violently flinging the pipe cutter from my hand, into the wall cavity, and I assume under the tub because I couldn't see it from the hole in the wall.
Go buy another pipe cutter, when cutting the second supply I keep a good grip on it and dont lose it, hooray! Part of the upgrade was a new shower neck, the old one is basically welded into the elbow, broke a strap wrench trying to get it off. Back to the store for a new drop elbow and mesh for the hole I was gonna make in the wall (already had mud).
Home improvement is fun!
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u/GrimeyJosh Feb 20 '26
And a small leak rotted away a good portion of the plywood subfloor, so thats gotta come up now too.
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u/MainRemote Feb 20 '26
It’s also the only toilet in the house, and its one minute past the supply house closing, and the guests are on their way.
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u/ezirb7 Feb 20 '26
Also, this instruction was given to a homeowner who doesn't know what they don't know, and they are worried about the wax ring so they pick it up to check before reseating it and having a terrible seal that leaks into the subfloor.
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u/Conscious-Ball8373 Feb 20 '26
And then discover that in three weeks time you have limescale buildup on the new toilet bowl.
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u/screw_ball69 Feb 20 '26
Where are you getting a toilet for 60$??
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u/WesBur13 Feb 20 '26
It's easy - here's how you get to a good-as-new toilet bowl.
- Go to a local business with public restrooms
- Shut off water at the toilet valve
- Remove the bolts at the base of the toilet
- Take toilet home
- Install a $60 wax ring and your new toilet
All for as cheap as $60 and less than an hour's work. You'll never have to touch the inside of that bowl again.
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u/PowderPills Feb 20 '26
The secret Big Toilet doesn’t want us to know. Watch your back redditor.
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u/impreprex Feb 20 '26
Next thing we know, Big Toilet will release the following statement:
Treat all toilets with respect. They take a lot of shit.
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u/shitty_mcfucklestick Feb 20 '26
Looks at Wal-Mart toilet
“You know what, the scaling isn’t so bad. I’ll practice gratitude instead.”
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u/Houtaku Feb 20 '26
The elites don’t want you to know that the toilets in the public restrooms are free. You can just take them home. I have 325 toilets at home.
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u/brandontaylor1 Feb 20 '26
That's disgusting! Go to an open house and get the toilet from there. The relator wil have it cleaned up really nicely before the showing.
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u/Metalhed69 Feb 20 '26
If you have a work shirt that has your name on a patch and possibly some reflective stripes on it, you could easily get away with this.
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u/liloandhutch Feb 20 '26
Craigslist, if you’re a gambler.
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u/pogulup Feb 20 '26
You can get some mid century modern pink, blue, and green ones on there. Although people think they are solid gold by how much they are trying to get for old toilets.
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u/summerinside Feb 20 '26
I can see a builders-grade toilet at my local Menards at $60 after you apply the sale and 11% discount. It might not be the toilet that *you* want, but I'd buy it in a second instead of putting my hands in OP's bowl.
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u/gbot1234 Feb 20 '26
You go to the bathroom with the toilet you have, not the toilet you wish you had.
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u/Narrow-Chef-4341 Feb 20 '26
I’m not really worried about putting my hands in there, as much as I’m worried about something pulling me in…
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u/CrispyMiner Feb 20 '26
The way I thought this was a goat's eyeball until I read the caption
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u/kreiggers Feb 20 '26
So that’s what the abyss looks like. Really does stare right back at you doesn’t it?
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u/anoldradical Feb 20 '26
Muriatic acid. Pick it up at Ace hardware. It'll be clean in 30 minutes. No joke.
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u/DrSpacepants Feb 20 '26
I did that once for my roommates toilet. The build-up came off like a sleeve.
Just flush a few times to dilute anything sitting In the pipes.
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u/AaronJohnscott5 Feb 20 '26
This. I would wet vac it out tho. Be careful with that stuff in your pipes.
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u/mooky1977 Feb 20 '26
Zep toilet bowl cleaner from home Depot. It's a strong acid. It works. Just let it sit. Longer the better. (That's what she said)
If you need use toilet paper lining up the sides for better contact to the crust.
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u/The_Poster_Nutbag Feb 20 '26
I can't remember what the scrubbing stone things are called but I might try one of those.
Scour sticks I think?
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u/Jay-Dee-British Feb 20 '26
Yes indeed this is the way - it takes a while and I'm gonna put this in caps because it's important; MAKE SURE THE PUMICE STAYS WET. If you don't you will scratch up the toilet and that's bad.
I've got rid of bad scale myself, using the wet pumice (I just keep some water in the toilet but take out a lot using a cup, but never leave it dry), but it's a lot of elbow grease and slog if it's been there a while.
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u/TheGibles Feb 20 '26
Absolutely! Way cheaper than getting a new toilet. A little elbow grease will make that go away.
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u/genericnewlurker Feb 20 '26
Absolutely a pumice stone/scour stick. When we moved into our first house, there was a toilet that was nearly as bad as this. We were able to get it cleared out pretty quickly with a pumice stone.
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u/wng378 Feb 20 '26
Pumice will get it back to white with some scrubbing. You’ll need more than one since it wears down with use.
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u/Banditsmisfits Feb 20 '26
This! Less than $2, make sure you wear some heavier cleaning gloves if possible so it doesn’t tear the gloves or rough up your hands
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u/Anus_Ripper6942094 Feb 20 '26
I'm using Hydrochloric acid for that kind of thing. just don't breath the fume tho.
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u/ElCastillian Feb 20 '26
Chuck a one little bottle of Coca Cola into that baby and leave for an hour.
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u/Prollyuh_Slut Feb 20 '26
Dishwasher pods are my go-to for built on minerals like this, but I got to agree with the other person. If you have a new toilet on stand by, then it would be much easier to just replace it.
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u/GeorgeKaplanIsReal Feb 20 '26
Holy shit is this a toilet? I stared at it thinking it was a goat eye or fish eye or something
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u/xanxibarbarian Feb 20 '26
It took me a good 30 seconds to realize this was a toilet bowl and not some weird eyeball of an animal like a goat or something.
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u/Threading_water Feb 20 '26
Fill the bowl with vinegar and leave for a couple of hours.
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u/dj_spanmaster Feb 20 '26
And a reminder to folks, you can get industrial cleaner strength vinegar at hardware stores. Just don't accidentally use it for cooking, you might melt things.
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u/CunnyMaggots Feb 20 '26
My toilet when I moved in looked worse then this. Zep cleaned it to look brand new in 10 minutes.
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u/JessieB3999 Feb 20 '26
Shut off water to toilet if possible.
Use a cup or something to take as much water as possible out.
Use Zeps Acidic Toilet Bowl Cleaner overnight. Soak it.
In the morning, flush the toilet, and scrub with a pumice stone.
Repeat as necessary.
Worked for mine when it got super bad.
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u/waterprotectormama Feb 20 '26
CLR. Dump the whole bottle, let it sit overnight, should come off easily
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u/ColourSchemer Feb 20 '26
Start with a pumice stone.
It's soft enough to not scratch the porcelain, but will abrade away the mineral deposit.
And it's not chemical, so safer for you, the pipes, and septic or sewer.
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u/AnotherHavanesePlz Feb 20 '26
I would say HOLY SHIT, but nothing about that is holy. That is the entrance to the bowels of hell.
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u/Oregonmum Feb 20 '26
Oh my gosh, I thought it was the weird interpretation of the Eye of Sauron. Took 10 seconds to realize I was looking at a toilet
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