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A yellowed toilet seat can be easily cleaned using a few household remedies. These will remove the yellow discolouration and leave the toilet seat sparkling white again.
How to clean a yellowed toilet seat
- Oven cleaner spray: If you have oven cleaner spray at home, spray it over the entire toilet seat or just on the yellowed areas. Leave it to work for a quarter of an hour. Wipe it off with clear, lukewarm water. The spray should have drawn the residue out of the plastic.
- Vinegar and bicarbonate of soda: Make a paste using 1 sachet of bicarbonate of soda, a dash of vinegar and a few squirts of lemon juice. Apply the mixture to the toilet seat and rub it in. It’s best to wear gloves for this. After leaving it to work for three hours, wipe the toilet seat down with lukewarm water. It should no longer be yellowed.
- Dishwasher detergent: Unscrew the toilet seat and place it in the bath. Run enough water into the bath to cover the seat. Dissolve five dishwasher tablets in the water and leave the seat to soak for several hours. Then rinse it off – and you’re done.
- Stain eraser: Many people use it to clean shoes or remove stains from wallpaper. But a stain eraser can also be used in the toilet. Lightly dampen one corner and rub it over the yellowed areas. You can repeat the process several times.
- Toothpaste: Squeeze a little toothpaste onto a cotton cloth and rub it over the unsightly areas. If the yellowing is very pronounced, leave the toothpaste to work for several hours. Then simply wipe it off with a damp cloth.
- Citric acid: Apply this to a cloth and rub it over the toilet seat. If you don’t have any citric acid to hand, a sliced lemon rubbed over the seat will also do the trick. In both cases, wipe with a damp cloth.
Why a toilet seat turns yellow
No matter how hard you try, at some point regular cleaning is no longer enough and the toilet seat will start to discolour in places.
- The yellowing is caused by urine. It sticks to the seat and, over time, eats its way into the plastic. It is almost impossible to remove with standard cleaning products.
- Toilet seats are particularly prone to urine stains when men who urinate whilst standing live in the house. The best tell-tale sign of this is yellowing on the underside of the toilet seat, as the user lifts it up to urinate.
- The urine splashes dry out and the pH level rises. The ammonia they contain then reacts further. If UV rays also strike the toilet seat, the soiled areas turn yellow even more quickly.
