Mrs Hinch fans say one £3.99 ingredient 'works better' than vinegar and baking soda for thick toilet limescale

Limescale in the bathroomis a frequent nightmare, particularly when it affects taps, shower heads, and loos.

While this white chalky deposit is basically a combination of calcium and magnesium, when it accumulates in toilet bowls it appears far more revolting than around taps and kettles.

Rather than the usual white look, these marks can become a disgusting brown colour, making recently scrubbed toilets appear grimier than they actually are.

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Fed up with attempting techniques that wouldn't eliminate the "thick" limescale in her loo bowl, one woman turned to the Mrs Hinch Cleaning Tips and Tricks Facebook group, reports the Express.

Sharing a photo of her toilet seat covered in dark brown, almost black, marks, Tia Frances Caiger posted: "Anyone able to suggest anything to me?

"My toilet has had thick limescale since we moved in last year, I have got the worst of it off with bicarbonate of soda and vinegar. Sadly this is the end result and no more will come off! It looks awful and I hate it! Any suggestion will be greatly appreciated."

The message attracted many responses suggesting a similar solution - that vinegar and baking soda weren't the most effective but recommended an alternative ingredient - citric acid.

Maria Louise commented: "We used everything and literally the only thing that cleared it up is using citric acid."

Abbie Marsh replied: "I had the exact same and couldn't seem to shift it with baking soda and vinegar. What worked was removing as much water out of the toilet as possible and leaving it as long as possible with citric acid."

Abigail Heard advised: "So empty the water out of the toilet, fill it with citric acid and leave it overnight and when you flush the toilet it will all come off.

"I did it to a toilet last week and I was so shocked by how easy it came away lol. I used to use white vinegar and baking soda but it never worked as good."

Donna Jones remarked: "I live in a very hard water area and this can happen so easily if not kept on top of. But when it was that thick the only way I could get rid was to use citric acid and using it regularly has kept it away."

Citric acid is available from a number of specialist food retailers. You can also currently buy a 250g of citric acid on Amazon at the discounted price of £3.99.

For those who can't source citric acid and don't mind using chemicals, fans of Mrs Hinch also suggested Harpic Power Plus in either gel or tablet form.

Louise Anne recommended: "Harpic in the black bottle! Put it in overnight, it peels off the next morning. So satisfying."

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Emma Ross stated: "Black Harpic 100 percent. I couldn't believe it when I used it. Would have turned out better if I drained the toilet first though."

Regardless of what product households are using to remove limescale from their toilets, cleaning enthusiast Lorraine Shepherd urged: "Whatever you use empty the water first it will always work better without the water in there."