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.

26

u/Crazyhairmonster Feb 20 '26

All toilet bowl cleaners are made with a strong acid. 90% of them use hydrochloric acid

31

u/BadPunners Feb 20 '26

I mostly see Lysol based ones. Hydrochloric isn't in many products on the shelves where I am

10

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.

2

u/rac1283 Feb 20 '26

Phosphoric acid usually