From the sands of Arabia to the bottom of my toilet.

My wife used to have no end of trouble trying to get the bottom of the toilet clean. There seem to be 101 cleaners out there on the market and - not to put to fine a point on it - they are all rubbish.

The U bend of the toilet gradually seems to accumulate a - caked on - green/brown course residue. Over time it becomes darker and darker. Trying to scrub this off is basically impossible.

I mentioned this to my next-door neighbour who is a cleaner. She instantly replied "Oh, you need Spirit of Salts". I had never heard of it. Well I had heard of it, just not by that name. It's more usual - chemical - name is Hydrochloric Acid.

"What's that got to do with Arabia ?" I hear you ask. The answer lies it a little research I did and is courtesy of Wikipedia.

Essentially, the bloke who invented this stuff was an Arab - from the 8th century - by the name of Jabir ibn Hayyan (Geber) and he was medieval alchemist. He was also a polymath which - after all - is the theme of this blog. I like polymaths/generalists/Jack of all trades - or Jacques in my case.

From wikipedia:

In the Middle Ages, hydrochloric acid was known to European alchemists as spirits of salt or acidum salis. It is still known as "Spirits of Salt" when sold for domestic cleaning purposes in the United Kingdom today.

So, there you go. Thanks to this bloke I can now clean my toilet - but I'd best be careful. This stuff is seriously corrosive. Here's how to go about it. The liquid is sold in plastic bottles - of usually 1 litre capacity. The lid is one of those 'kid proof' lids that you have to push and twist to open.

Go in the bathroom and open the window as wide as you can. Now hold your breath and open the container. Pour about 1/2 the contents into the toilet. If the toilet is really dirty then pour the whole lot in. Make sure you close the lid if there is any left.

Now get the hell out of the bathroom and close the door - you can breath now. Why do you have to hold your breath you may ask. Here's why:

Hydrochloric acid in high concentrations forms acidic mists. Both the mist and the solution have a corrosive effect on human tissue, with the potential to damage respiratory organs, eyes, skin, and intestines.

Basically, this is nasty stuff and you don't want to take any chances.

When you return after 30 minutes the toilet bowl will absolutely spotless. All evidence of grime will be gone, and it is all thanks to Mr Geber. He may not have discovered how to turn lead into gold but I am sure housewives up and down the land will be eternally grateful.