These days more than ever before, we are hyper-aware of cleanliness. There is all manner of nasty bugs developing in front of our very eyes, with new diseases being discovered too.
All of this does nothing for your peace of mind, so you need to know that the household cleaners you’re using are not only effective, but as strong as they can be too. If you have children, this is even more vital.
Many regular household cleaners do a good job, but they don’t get right down into the crux of the problem, especially when cleaning the toilet.
For that reason, let’s talk about five of the strongest toilet cleaner product you can find in the UK.
Strongest Toilet Cleaner Products in the UK
1. Domestos Extended Germ-Kill Original Bleach
Scent: Liquid
Domestos is one of the biggest names in the cleaning industry, so you know you’re getting high quality here, and plenty of peace of mind in your purchase.
This bleach is super-strong and is available in a concentrated yet very thick liquid. The bleach kills all known germs, and gives lasting protection to your bathroom, whilst also protecting against damage caused by limescale.
You can easily use this bleach at home or in the workplace and it will certainly get rid of any bugs you need it to do!
A 750 ml bottle contains 4.5 g of sodium hypochlorite per 100 g and less than 5% chlorine-based bleaching agent is included.
Remember to always wear gloves when handling a substance this strong, and to open the windows for ventilation.
2. Harpic Power Plus Toilet Cleaner Citrus
Scent: Citrus
Another big-named brand here, and another to give you plenty of peace of mind.
The difference here is that this particular cleaner is designed specifically for toilets, and it has a slightly more pleasant smell than regular beach!
Having said that, you should never breathe in the fumes from any type of cleaner, so remember to keep those windows open and limit the amount of time you spend using it.
Each 100g contains 9g of hydrochloric acid, which makes it amongst the strongest around. The cleaner kills 99.9% of all bacteria and removes up to 100% of limescale, so it’s very effective.
It also gets rid of stains, so you can be sure of a very clean toilet at the end of your cleaning session.
3. Domestos Zero Toilet Limescale Remover
Scent: Lime
Another in the Domestos cleaning range, this particular product is designed specifically for toilets. For that reason, you can be sure of effective and tough cleaning results.
The liquid is three times thicker than regular cleaning fluids and removes even the most stubborn dirt and germs.
It is also known to grip well below the waterline, and really get into the small nooks and crannies of your toilet, sticking to all vertical surfaces.
All you need to do is squirt the liquid below the rim of the toilet and let it do its work.
For really stubborn stains, you can let it soak for 30 minutes and then rinse it away, leaving a shiny surface behind.
This product contains 8 g of hydrochloric acid per every 100 g. This is another strong product with a big name for reassurance.
4. HG Professional Limescale Remover
You might not have heard of this product, but it is actually one of the strongest bathroom cleaners around and will remove even the most stubborn stains and limescale in your bathroom.
You can use this cleaner on bathtubs, sinks and toilets, but you should always dilute it if you’re using it on anything other than under the rim of a toilet, such is its potency.
It is also very successful at removing rust stains, any yellow stains and even copper oxide marks. First and foremost, it is a very professional limescale remover.
This is a very powerful cleaner which can be used on almost all surfaces within the bathroom including stainless steel, ceramics, glass, crystal and a few different types of plastic.
Because of the strength of it, remember to dilute if you’re not using it on a toilet rim, and always keep the window open to avoid inhaling the fumes.
5. HG Super Powerful Toilet Cleaner
This is another product in HG’s range of powerful cleaners. Rather than being a limescale cleaner, this product is specifically a toilet cleaner.
You can easily use this product at home or in the workplace because it is so strong it will certainly get rid of all types of known germs with ease.
The cleaner is designed especially for the toilet but can be used around the home if you dilute it down for use in other areas.
When you apply the cleaner to the toilet pan, it sticks to all surfaces to ensure all marks and dirt are removed effectively, and it also easily removes any stubborn areas which could otherwise cause the toilet to not flush correctly, or to lose power.
You can easily buy this product in bulk orders of two bottles or more, so you can get more for your money too.
How to Clean a Badly Stained Toilet
The key to cleaning a badly stained toilet is time. Leaving the cleaning product to soak into stains is a must if you have any hope of getting rid of them.
To be honest, most toilet cleaning products can get rid of stains when given enough time to work, but there are a few that out-power the rest for very stubborn stains.
Harpic Power Plus toilet cleaner, for example, is an excellent option for cleaning a stained toilet. This is because it has been formulated with bleach and other chemicals, so it kills germs, removes limescale and gets rid of stains. It is also designed to stick to the walls of your toilet more than regular bleach.
Bleach is a very thin liquid, so when you pour it into your toilet, it quickly makes its way to the water, and all of its cleaning power is lost. Power Plus, though, is much thicker, so it stays on the walls of the bowl for much longer.
Using a cleaning product like Power Plus from Harpic or another powerful cleaner from another brand is the best starting point for cleaning a stained toilet.
Here’s a quick breakdown of how to use a cleaning product like this to get rid of stains in your toilet.
What you’ll need:
- Your toilet cleaning product of choice
- Rubber gloves
- A scrubbing pad
- A toilet brush
1. Apply the cleaning product and leave it to soak
The first step is to give your toilet a generous coating of the cleaning product you are using. Leave this to soak for as long as you can.
If you have other cleaning to do, perfect. Head off into the wilds of your teenager’s bedroom and peel their clothes off of the floor. The longer you leave the cleaning product in the toilet, the more effective it will be. Just make sure that the toilet cleaner covers all the areas that have stains.
If the stains are below the water line, the cleaning product will eventually get to them. However, it will be diluted by the water in the bowl, so you’ll want to leave it to soak for as long as you can.
2. Grab a scrubbing pad and toilet brush
Don’t forget your rubber gloves for this step. Once the toilet cleaner has been left to soak, and before you flush the toilet, it is time to scrub it.
Now, a toilet brush can sometimes be enough to get rid of stains, but most of the time, you’ll need a scrubbing pad as well.
Give the stained areas a really good scrub. You’ll likely see the water colour change during this step; this shows the scrubbing is working.
3. Check the results
It is now time to flush the loo and see how you did. If the stains in the toilet are very severe, you may need to repeat these steps or leave the cleaning solution to soak in for longer.
However, if you left the cleaning solution to soak for long enough and gave the toilet bowl a really good scrub, you should be left with a shiny and clean toilet.
FAQs on Toilet Cleaner Products
What do professionals use to clean toilets?
Most professional cleaners use bleach to clean toilets. Toilets are one of the most challenging places in the home to clean, so pros use the strongest cleaning products they can to make the job easier.
Most professional cleaners say that letting the cleaning solution soak into the stains offers the best results when cleaning a toilet or anything else around the home. So, if you really don’t want to use bleach in your loo, leaving a non-bleach alternative to soak in will offer good results as well.
Is Harpic stronger than bleach?
Harpic claims to be 10x stronger than bleach, at least, its Power Plus range of toilet cleaning products do. But is it?
Well, this cleaning product has a unique recipe that Harpic holds close to its chest, but a lot of professional cleaners and home gamers rely on this toilet cleaning product to get the job done. And it does the job very well.
Now, Harpic toilet cleaner does contain bleach, but it also contains other chemicals to help further its cleaning power.
With the addition of certain acids, this cleaning product can break down limescale, kill germs and create a shiny toilet bowl much more effectively than just using bleach alone.
Can you use Coca Cola to clean a toilet?
This is a toilet cleaning tactic that has been popularised on platforms like YouTube and TikTok.
Some videos show Coca-Cola having incredible results, leaving the toilet bowl as clean as the day it was installed. While others show it as having slightly less effective cleaning power.
Now, the premise behind using Coke to clean your toilet does seem to make sense. It is mild acids and the carbonation in the drink that is said to give it mild cleaning properties.
The phosphoric acid in Coca-Cola can break down grease, limescale and even mould.
While the effects of using Coke to clean your loo may not be as dramatic as the effects in the videos online, you can use it to clean around the home.
Just remember, though, that it isn’t as strong as most readily-available cleaning products. If it was, it wouldn’t be suitable for drinking.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for one of the strongest toilet cleaners available in the UK today, these five suggestions should certainly be high up on your shortlist.
If we had to pick just one to recommend, it would be Domestos Extended Germ-Kill Original Bleach. It will kill at least 99.9% of bacteria and viruses, while also removing stains and preventing limescale build-up.
Again, remember to ensure you keep windows open when using any cleaner of this strength, and to limit the amount of time you spend using it, to avoid developing respiratory problems. You should also dilute in many cases.
In The Wash is your guide to the best laundry and cleaning products, tips and tricks. Our mission is to solve the UK’s cleaning and laundry dilemmas!
