Bleach makes yellow toilet seat stains 'worse' - 35p item removes marks in an hour

Bleach makes yellow toilet seat stains 'worse' - 35p item removes marks in an hour Newspoint | 18/05/2025 15:39:17

There's nothing worse than a sparkling clean being ruined by yellow toilet seat . No matter how hard you scrub, toilet seat stains sometimes don't budge. products, body oils, makeup, limescale and moisturisers can cause yellow stains to appear on toilet seats. One person who was struggling with yellow toilet seat stains was Sylvia Lilian.

She posted on the group, ' Cleaning Tips' asking for help. She wrote: "I want to get rid of yellow staining on my white toilet seat. What should I use?" The post was inundated with responses with some social media users suggesting that bleach makes the stains "worse".

Chris Edwards said, "Don't use bleach, it will make it worse."

Julie Alcock replied: "Brand new toilet and wiped with bleach, now it goes yellow all the time."

Bleach can cause toilet seats to turn yellow because chlorine bleach can react with the surface of the toilet seat, causing the colour to turn from white to yellow.

To remove the stains, the majority of the comments suggested using white vinegar either by itself or with baking soda.

Lesley Hassall suggested using a "white vinegar spray," while Maria Forbes said, "White vinegar, leave it overnight. Maybe do [it a] couple [of] times until it comes [up] clean."

Maria Forbes replied: "Loads [of] people do not understand that white vinegar, baking soda and lemon are all natural cleaning products for the toilet, sink, bath, kitchen, floors, etc. Superb. Toothpaste cleans taps too with a toothbrush."

Emma Wardle commented: "Bicarbonate of soda and distilled white vinegar. Make [it] into a paste, leave it for a bit, then wipe off."

Vinegar and baking soda can help break down limescale stains, urine stains and dirt while deodorising the seat.

White vinegar and baking soda can be bought online and from most local supermarkets. Sainsbury's distilled vinegar costs 35p while Dri Pan white vinegar costs £2 from B&Q.

Duzzit Amazing Baking Soda costs £1 from Poundland, and Sainsbury's Bicarbonate Of Soda costs 59p.

How to remove toilet seat stains using baking soda and white vinegar

To remove stains using white vinegar and baking soda, first make a paste.

Then, apply the paste to the stained area and allow it to sit for up to an hour.

Scrub the area with a brush or scouring pad using a circular motion.

To remove the vinegar and baking soda, rinse the area with water.

Dry the seat with a clean cloth.

Alternatively, you can use Pink Stuff, a magic sponge or oven cleaner to remove the stains.

Potty Dotty said: "Magic sponge. Someone suggested it on this site, I've tried it and it works!"

Ruth Lipton replied: "Oven cleaner foam spray, leave on for about 20 minutes and clean off."

Ella Kehoe commented: "I use the Pink Stuff to get fake tan off mine, works so well!"