My mum introduced me to Nancy Birtwhistle’s ‘Pure Magic’ recipe — now I don’t think I’ll need to buy another cleaning product ever again

As Ideal Home’s Editor for all things cleaning, I’ve tried just about every cleaning product out there. And while I have a pretty clean home as a result, one thing I’ve never been able to tackle completely is the stains in my toilet. But that all changed when my mum introduced me to Nancy Birtwhistle’s cleaning recipes.

Anyone who lives in a hard water area will know the struggle of cleaning a stained toilet bowl, but my problems go one step further as my chalky Kent town is technically a ‘very hard water’ area. As a result, I’ve tried everything to remove the limescale from my toilet - from pouring a whole load of white vinegar down it to giving the viral Coca-Cola hack a whirl. And while they’ve worked okay, they’ve never been able to get rid of these stains completely.

So, when my mum (a die-hard Nancy Birtwhistle fan) suggested I try making the eco-cleaning guru and former GBBO contestant’s ‘Pure Magic’ cleaner, I figured I didn’t have anything to lose. What I didn’t expect was just how magical this DIY cleaner would actually be.

I should preface this by saying I’m all for natural cleaning hacks. I try to be as chemical-free as possible in my home, and I usually rely on white vinegar and bicarbonate of soda to tackle my cleaning tasks. But as these products are primarily ready-to-go, I’ve never actually made my own DIY cleaner before.

I’ll definitely be doing it again, though, as after spraying this ‘Pure Magic’ cleaner around my toilet bowl and leaving it for a few hours, my toilet was GLEAMING. In all seriousness, I gasped out loud and immediately called my husband into the bathroom so he could admire the sparkle and shine coming from inside. Admittedly, he wasn’t quite as excited as me, but he was still suitably impressed by the lack of limescale and grime.

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Nancy regularly shares this recipe on Instagram for all of her followers to use, and all of the comments on her posts are from satisfied DIY-ers who have experienced the magic just like I have. And you’ll be happy to know that it’s seriously easy to make, and the whole thing took me less than five minutes.

All I did was put 200g of citric acid into a glass jug (I used this 1L Glass Measuring Jug from Amazon, as it was the perfect size), before pouring over 150ml of just-boiled water and giving it all a good stir. When the citric acid had dissolved, I then added 20ml of eco-friendly washing-up liquid before mixing it all together and leaving for a few hours.

According to Nancy, you can also add a few drops of the essential oil of your choice to add that extra scent, but I chose not to do this as I thought it already smelled clean and fresh. And when the liquid is cooled, you can then pour it into the glass jug before using it immediately.

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The cherry on top of the very satisfying cake? I didn’t even really have to scrub my toilet with this magical cleaner. The hard water deposits seemed to disappear on their own, with only slight scrubbing needed around the rim where the limescale had been left to its own devices for months.

Since cleaning the toilet, I’ve also used ‘Pure Magic’ to clean the limescale around my bathroom and kitchen taps, and Nancy claims that you can also use it to clean and brighten tiles, clean a shower screen, and even remove stains from clothes - so I’ll be testing this out soon, too.

All in all, I couldn’t recommend this DIY cleaner more, and I’d like to hope that my photos speak for themselves (while also making me feel incredibly embarrassed that I let my toilet get in such a state. But it's hard out there for hard water homes, so don't judge!)

What you’ll need to make Nancy Birtwhistle’s ‘Pure Magic’ cleaning recipe

Will you be trying Nancy Birtwhistle's 'Pure Magic' recipe? Let me know how you get on!