Chalk deposit in toilet pan

[Stevekane]

I tried with HCl, terrible fumes but scale remained.

Thats odd because weve used it a few times with great sucess, I bail out the same amount of water as Im adding the SoS and pour in roughly half a bottle and let it sit for maybe an hour, as you say, you get terrible fumes but its worked for us,,

 

[Jacob]

Chalk deposits? Is there a teacher in the family?

 

[TRITON]

Dogs used to leave white poo's around years ago which was due to their diet, maybe you have a dietary issue . Limescale is not white but a very off white.

I believe it was caused by excess bone meal added to their food.

Anything to maximize a profit in them days.

 

[niall Y]

Could the deposits be silica ? The usual suspects are calcium and magnesium Which I believe can be easily shifted with acid. Not being a chemist I have no idea if silica is as easily dissolved in the same way.

 

[PerryGunn]

I'm not sure it is always limescale. We have a water softener but we still have scale. I have even tried hydrochloric acid used to clean cement residues and the scale remains.

If you have a water softener, it's very unlikely to be limescale but remember that mains water contains dissolved minerals other than calcium and these will also leave deposits - with hard water you don't normally notice them as limescale is the major deposit. Your local water company should be able to provide details of the dissolved mineral composition of your supply which will give you a place to start.

Our water softener prevents any limescale but, over time, we noticed that a brownish stain, probably iron or manganese, was developing in the kettle (usually the first place you see things like this), acid treatments wouldn't remove it but we started running water through a filter jug before putting it in the kettle and that resolved the issue.

 

[Skeety]

I have used brick cleaner (acid) poured into the pan water. Left overnight and all good.

 

[niall Y]

Perhaps a little experimentation might be on order, Maybe try a warm caustic soda solution to see if this will have an affect on the deposits. Though, make sure there is no HCL present.

 

[cowtown_eric]

Saying your watersoftener is "programmed" makes me think it is an electronic type!

From past experience, apparently the softener may need servicing., as I have been told that if they get clogged with the same calcium, they just stop working.

The experience? One of our neighbours was drawing well water from the same aquifer we were on, and his washing machine was black, his toilets were calcified , but ours wasn't. We had a mechanical cycled softner.

I was into the plumbers and asked why. Immediate response was "it is probably an electronic type".

Told the neighbour- he called the plumbing shop and they came, serviced his water softener and descaled washer/diswasher/ toilets .

Talking to him a few weeks later he said all is well!, and thanked me for saving him from signing a multithousand $ contract with a "water treatment specialist company

 

[stevep]

Have you actually tested the water hardness ? It could be that the ion exchange resin is ‘spent’ and needs replacing. Test just before you regenerate the softener beds, as you could also possibly be over-running them and the resin is reaching the exhausted state prior to regenerating. It is then worth testing after the regeneration to see if the water is then ‘soft’. You can get test kits from Amazon cheap enough.
If there is an issue, try a ‘double regeneration’ to see if that helps. ( Regenerate it twice), one straight after the other.
The weak caustic solution is cause for thought too. It is possible that the deposits you’re seeing are Colloidal Silica, which the caustic could possibly remove. Without serious investment, Colloidal Silica is difficult to prevent in a domestic environment. Silica is removed by Reverse Osmosis and Anion exchange resin,
Anion resin is regenerated using a weak caustic solution to remove silica in industrial environments, so it may be worth a try.
Softeners contain a weak Cation resin which will not remove silica.

 

[Filament]

I live in a high calcium area and have used spirits of salts with great success, but I’m always nervous to leave any strong cleaner for too long in case it etches the porcelain and makes it porous (therefore exacerbating the problem in the long run)
Any thoughts?

 

[stevep]

I live in a high calcium area and have used spirits of salts with great success, but I’m always nervous to leave any strong cleaner for too long in case it etches the porcelain and makes it porous (therefore exacerbating the problem in the long run)
Any thoughts?

Spirit of salts is Hydochloric Acid. Unless you’re using industrial strength HCL , you should be fine.

 

[--Tom--]

Harpic used to do tablets you could drop in the bowl, worked great for me whenever I moved into a new rental with a grim bog.
Left everywhere I moved into better than I left it. Oh the ovens

 

[pgrbff]

The water is soft after regeneration, I did to test it but I can feel it when I wash, my wife says she can't. I can tell when it is coming to the end of it's cycle when washing. We have no other limescale problems, washing machine, shower kettle etc. if the ion exchange media needed changing I'd know simply because I can usually tell when it is about to reach the end of it's cycle. As we're on a very small typical Italian septic tank with little ot no prcolation area we use no bleach or other hearsh chemicals.

 

[trvlr]

wise to ensure you have the window open and let the air circulate so as to vent the fumes... And equlaly wise(r) not to get it on your hands - even if in diluite form; wear some rubber gloves, which rinse off afterwards.