After spotting it doing the rounds on social media, I tried the viral Coca-Cola cleaning hack to banish limescale from my toilet and was left thoroughly impressed with the results.
I think I can speak for all of us when I say limescale is a royal pain in the proverbial. It can make your toilet look dull and dirty, which is why so many of us are always looking for the most effective ways to clean limescale from toilets.
When I spotted videos of cleaners tipping cans of coke down their loos, I knew I had to try this unconventional cleaning method to see if it actually works — especially as it promises to clean your home fast. While some viral trends don't actually work in real life, I found this one to be an easy way to lift limescale with minimal scrubbing.
How does it work?
A crisp can of Coke is probably the last thing you’ll consider as a cleaning agent — instead, I find a can of Coke is more of a treat when the cleaning is done. But it turns out that Coke’s acidic nature makes it excellent for lifting hard water stains and limescale.
‘The phosphoric acid content in full-fat Coke helps dissolve limescale, rust, and mineral deposits, often found in bathrooms. To clean your toilet, simply pour a can into the bowl, let it sit for an hour, scrub, and flush,’ explains Rikki Fothergill, bathroom expert at Big Bathroom Shop.
A foolproof way to clean a stained toilet bowl, by letting the Coke sit in your loo, the phosphoric acid works to break down stubborn stains and limescale. That means you should only need to do minimal scrubbing as the stains should lift easily.
Trying out the hack myself
I’d seen that this hack called for full-fat Coke rather than Diet Coke. As a lover of Diet Coke, I never usually keep full-fat in the house, however I was able to pick up a can in my local corner shop for £1.
I poured the entire can into my toilet bowl, and left it for an hour, where I caught up on other household tasks that were on my to-do list. After the hour had passed, I used my toilet brush — a Lidl dupe for the Joseph Joseph Flex Lite Toilet Brush (£21.19 on Amazon) — to give it a scrub.
I was dubious to begin with as the Coca-Cola understandably turned the water in my toilet bowl a dark brown colour which made it hard to see exactly what I was scrubbing, when the time came.
However, even though I had missed a couple of spots, I was really impressed by this hack. I noticed a clear difference between my before and after pictures and my toilet was considerably cleaner than before. What’s more, the method was easy, taking minimal effort to complete, which is always a bonus in my book.
Normally, I would use the Astonish Toilet Fizz & Fresh (£1.60 at Dunelm) to lift my toilet limescale, and going forward it will still be my top choice — the product is rated one of Ideal Home’s best cleaning products after all. Containing eight fizzers for less than £2 I do think it’s better value for money, too.
But I do think when I run out of fizzers, Coke will definitely be my second port of call. It worked just as well and the method was easy to follow. I’d definitely recommend it if you’re short on time and effort.
