No matter which way I turn, cleaning experts and home cleaners alike rave about the powers of baking soda and

vinegar. Touted at the holy grail for cleaning almost anything, the baking soda-vinegar solution promises minimal work for even the toughest of stains. I’m always a bit sceptical of natural remedies. I don’t know why, but it seems too good to be true. 

My  bathroom’s toilet has built up a few pesky stains over the past few years, yet bleach and a good bit of elbow grease doesn’t seem to be solving the problem. One chemical-based product recommended to me which promises unbelievable results is Harpic Original Power Plus Max 10 Action Gel (£1.65), affectionately known as ‘Black Harpic’.

However, for the sake of my toilet bowl, I thought I’d put the two solutions to the test to see if either of them can finally get rid of those stains. First up, the baking soda and vinegar. 

You’ll see a lot of different measurements about how much of each to use, but in reality, if you’re not popping out to the shops and going straight to your cupboard instead, you have to work with what you’ve got. 

I used about half the tub of bicarbonate of soda, which is usually reserved for baking, and the rest of the distilled vinegar I had left. Liberally scattered over the whole bowl, the solution is left for between 15 and 30 minutes to soak.

The easy part is over. I left the solution for around 20 minutes, just to make sure it had enough time to soak in. 

On the face of things, the baking soda and vinegar appeared to break down a bit of the stains, mainly in the top of the bowl. It would be down to the elbow grease to see if the stains could be removed from the real problem areas.

Armed with my toilet brush, I gave it some welly. Although the cleaning solution appeared like it was successful, no matter how hard I brushed, none of the problem stains seemed to be moving. Also being suffocated by vinegar is not a pleasant experience.

Once flushed, the dirt from the top of the bowl slowly trickled down, but didn’t appear to be resolved by just one flush, as many #CleanTok creators would demonstrate. Upon closer inspection, the natural remedy seemed to do nothing, as I can still spy the problem stains I set out to resolve. 

I don’t know whether my proportions were off or the stains were too tough, but the “holy grail” baking soda and vinegar hack didn’t deliver on this occasion. On the other hand, the Black Harpic was much easier to decant, no rummaging in the cupboards needed. 

You’re instructed to cover the whole bowl in the liquid, a bold cobalt gel. Similarly to the natural remedy, the cleaning product is left for 10 minutes, scrubbed and then flushed. Repeating the last steps if needed.

I’d been warned Black Harpic has a pungent odour, although I think I went nose blind by the vinegar. Most of the vibrant blue gel dissipated after ten minutes, and still no potent smell. A product doesn’t need to have a strong smell to do an efficient job.

It was hard to see if the problem areas as the water had turned a bright shade of blue. After powering through with another round of scrubbing, it was time to face the music.

The results after flushing were like night and day in comparison to the baking soda and vinegar. Nearly all but a small part of the stain had vanished from the bowl. It was just that easy.

Sometimes cleaning - sorry #CleanTok - it’s much easier and efficient to clean with chemical cleaners with specific problems in mind. ‘Black Harpic’ is the true holy grail for banishing toilet stains.