what (chemicals) do you clean your heads with?

stu9000

stu9000

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Hi

I have a (I think) Jobasco hand pump style toilet of indeterminate age (possibly mid 70's).
All seems in good working order except for a minor water leak around the pump shaft.
I am hoping that might be fixed by tightening a nut (so to speak).

But having read around a bit I am a little confused as to what the appropriate cleaning regime is.
Harpic Toilet Duck? Or will this harden the valve rubber?
I am not sure that chucking a litre of white vinegar down it every few weeks will give it the clean 'bleach' smell that I know my wife would like.
But equally I don't want to create problems in the future by using the wrong chemicals now.

Any suggestions welcome.

S
 
Once it's clean, an occasional brush should keep it clean - you can get miniature toilet brushes in a wall-mounted holder which are ideal (cheaper in caravan places than chandleries).

To get it clean, pump it dry and use appropriate stuff to get the bowl squeaky clean. You might use a "creme cleaner" (Cif lookalike), or even mild acid (kettle descaler) if there are deposits of limescale.

As a routine, I've never used vinegar or acids, just ensure that the toilet is thoroughly flushed and it should be OK.
 
Whatever squirty spray comes to hand in the locker under the galley sink - Cillit Bang, Flash, Sainsburys Basics Kitchen&Bathroom, etc.

You can buy a replacement shaft seal, but unless your old toilet is very different to the modern ones, you cannot simply tighten the existing one. Do follow the instructions when you change it, there is a cunning technique involving insulating tape, without which you damage the new seal during installation.

Pete
 
Seawater is very effective at cleaning, so I don't use many chemicals, but mainly from laziness rather than principle. The rim of the bowl gets a bit encrusted after a while, so I occasionally clean round with a light scouring pad and Cif. Most of my time is spent cleaning round outside the bowl, with a combination of toothbrush, scouring pad and Cif. The lid and hinges tend to get a yellow stain, but I find that seawater cleans this best.
 
Does that not make your toothbrush taste a bit off?

johnalison said:
Seawater is very effective at cleaning, so I don't use many chemicals, but mainly from laziness rather than principle. The rim of the bowl gets a bit encrusted after a while, so I occasionally clean round with a light scouring pad and Cif. Most of my time is spent cleaning round outside the bowl, with a combination of toothbrush, scouring pad and Cif. The lid and hinges tend to get a yellow stain, but I find that seawater cleans this best.
Click to expand...
 
prv said:
You can buy a replacement shaft seal, but unless your old toilet is very different to the modern ones, you cannot simply tighten the existing one. Do follow the instructions when you change it, there is a cunning technique involving insulating tape, without which you damage the new seal during installation.

Pete
Click to expand...

thanks for the tip but its opened a can of worms for me.
I found a few posts but still feel a bit vague about it.

Maybe I will smear the shaft with Vaseline as a short term measure.
Once I get the model number i can no doubt track down the part and instructions.

Cheers
S
 
It seems from your replies that there are a range of options.
I take the point about emptying the system.
The heads don't smell bad but I want them to smell clean!
Im not sure how careful I should be with what chems I put in. I read some of the Headmistress stuff and got lost in teflon grease detail!
But it makes sense to look after it.
More research required!

Thanks
S
 
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stu9000 said:
Hi

I have a (I think) Jobasco hand pump style toilet of indeterminate age (possibly mid 70's).
All seems in good working order except for a minor water leak around the pump shaft.
I am hoping that might be fixed by tightening a nut (so to speak).

But having read around a bit I am a little confused as to what the appropriate cleaning regime is.
Harpic Toilet Duck? Or will this harden the valve rubber?
I am not sure that chucking a litre of white vinegar down it every few weeks will give it the clean 'bleach' smell that I know my wife would like.
But equally I don't want to create problems in the future by using the wrong chemicals now.

Any suggestions welcome.

S
Click to expand...
To get the yellow stains off the bottom of the bowl I use bleach. i use smellies as well to keep it sweet. I also pour a couple of tablespoons of veg oil in to lubricate it. I bought a complete pump assembly for 59 quid, it has the locking mechanism in it. In Portugal you can buy any manner of serious chemicals in the supermarket. The pump has been getting tighter and tighter lately after the winter lay up. Build up of carbonate in the pump. i went to the sprmkt, bought a pink liquid, it had 15% acido hydrochloric on the label! Sloshed. half a liter in and pumped, much fizzing, then pumped fresh water then sea water. Then some veg oil, now as sweet as a nut! There is nothing in the pump that can be harmed by harsh chemicals, go for it!
S
 
Use bleach for surrounds to kill off all bacterial smells. Bleach causes most seals and duck valves to deteriorate (depends on their material).

Inside the toilets, do not use bleach. Use acid to dissolve scale (usually carbonate deposits). Scale is worse in hot climates, calling for a good annual flush of the whole system.

Never mix acid with bleach . . . produces chlorine gas . . . '14/'18 trench warfare stuff.

Many household toilet cleaners use Hydrochloric acid (HCL) with various gelling compounds to keep acid in contact with the surfaces. But it's much cheaper to buy the stuff direct. Vinegar, lemon juice are just dilute acetic and citric acids, less effective than HCL. Phosphoric and other acids are also used - often sold as kettle cleaners. Expensive compared to HCl.

No, it's environmentally safe. You use it all the time in your digestive system at about .5% dilution - gastric acid. No, it doesn't attack seals. When discarded it converts carbonates to chlorides and gives off carbon dioxide - lots of fizz.
 
Last edited:
Hi Stu. I've no advice on keeping it sweet smelling but for good functioning I've put brick cleaner thro - satisfying gloops and bubbles signifying descaling I suppose. After that occasional drop of vinegar to keep scale down and some veg oil to lubricate valves. I haven't yet tried combining the last two treatments by splashing down some Fortnums vinaigrette.
 
jimbaerselman said:
Use bleach for surrounds to kill off all bacterial smells. Bleach causes most seals and duck valves to deteriorate (depends on their material).

Inside the toilets, do not use bleach. Use acid to dissolve scale (usually carbonate deposits). Scale is worse in hot climates, calling for a good annual flush of the whole system.

Never mix acid with bleach . . . produces chlorine gas . . . '14/'18 trench warfare stuff.

Many household toilet cleaners use Hydrochloric acid (HCL) with various gelling compounds to keep acid in contact with the surfaces. But it's much cheaper to buy the stuff direct. Vinegar, lemon juice are just dilute acetic and citric acids, less effective than HCL. Phosphoric and other acids are also used - often sold as kettle cleaners. Expensive compared to HCl.

No, it's environmentally safe. You use it all the time in your digestive system at about .5% dilution - gastric acid. No, it doesn't attack seals. When discarded it converts carbonates to chlorides and gives off carbon dioxide - lots of fizz.
Click to expand...


Thanks for this. Very helpful . Maybe a descale and oil treatment will make the pump action easier.
 
Spuddy said:
Hi Stu. I've no advice on keeping it sweet smelling but for good functioning I've put brick cleaner thro - satisfying gloops and bubbles signifying descaling I suppose. After that occasional drop of vinegar to keep scale down and some veg oil to lubricate valves. I haven't yet tried combining the last two treatments by splashing down some Fortnums vinaigrette.
Click to expand...



Thanks. Brick cleaner = hydrochloric acid ?
 
stu9000 said:
thanks for the tip but its opened a can of worms for me.
I found a few posts but still feel a bit vague about it.

Maybe I will smear the shaft with Vaseline as a short term measure.
Once I get the model number i can no doubt track down the part and instructions.

Cheers
S
Click to expand...

Take care! IIRC the "cunning technique with insulating tape" mentioned by PRV is the use of insulating tape around the metal shaft when you grip it with a tool to take the handle (or some other part?) off it. If you get that wrong, you score the shaft and thus, potentially, the new seal too, and get leaks around the top. I did a thorough tape wrap but still managed to slightly score the shaft - I guess mine had been undisturbed for some time, and the handle (or whatever) was very tight. I very lightly abraded the shaft with very fine wet and dry before refitting, but after a while it tended to weep a bit at the top and as it was getting on in years I replaced the whole pump assembly.

No problems since then, and as I believe the new pump was about £60 versus about £30 for a seals kit, the extra IMO was money well spent. But DYOR on prices.

PS Yes, brick acid is normally HCl.
 
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