Hi,

I find Hydrochloric acid 'Acide chlorhydrique' in my local store in France but never found some bottles in the UK..

Is this product forbidden in the UK?

Many thanks

If you search on Google you will get some results. e.g. Amazon or Ebay.
You could also search on Yell.com for local chemical suppliers.
Watch the strength !!!
I have never seen hydrochloric acid on sale in the UK but I have seen many things on sale in France that are restricted in the UK.

In the UK, HCl is seen as a dangerous substance from which the public need to be protected. When used in toilet cleaning products, its name is kept away from public gaze by terms such as "limescale remover" or "Bugdeath". You could get HCl in a pharmacy or a builder's merchant in the UK but you'd probably have to indemnify the suppliers, manufacturers and person who sold it to you against misuse, accidental damage and idiocy.

In France, where a beche is called a beche, you take responsibility for what you buy.

Vive la difference (?)

I agree with the two statements highlighted above.
It is probably unlikely that you will get hydrochloric acid in a pharmacy because
a) they have no need to stock it.
b) the national wholesalers do not stock it.
c) The Pharmaceutical Society has introduced restrictions with regard to purchasing items in pharmacies that are seen as liable to mis-use.
For example you are restricted in how many proprietary cold treatments you can buy - even for two adults. Simple chemicals like ascorbic acid are restricted because they can be used for cutting drugs. etc

Builders merchants will sell it to clean mortar of bricks and paving slabs. You just need to ask for it. It will have a proprietary name but will be almost pure acid. Just be very careful with it.

I just need a small amount for limescale in a toilet bowl... tried natural stuff but it wouldn't work and the amount in standard product is not strong enough to make it go away.

Thanks for your replies I will have a look.

It will have a brand name on it, but it will likely be described as "muriatic acid", or perhaps "brick acid". ...... But given that HCL it is going to be a long way short of "pure" acid. ..... Joking aside, it is highly concentrated and very dangerous if not handled with caution.

I have heard of people using vinegar and sodium bicarbonate mixed up as a paste for that.
If it is under the water-line then pouring vinegar into the water may help.

If it's as highly concentrated and dangerous as Pulaski makes out, it sounds like it's just the solution I've been looking for to add to the mother-in-law's denture rinse.

Proceed with caution, babyposer. I thought I would try using some PH Moins (which I think is sulphuric acid) to descale a kettle. Result, one wrecked kettle

As Pulaski says, it's often called Muriatic Acid. Here it's sold in the supermarket alongside the general cleaning stuff. Used for drains, toilets, cleaning tiles and slabs etc. In UK it's a controlled substance but you can buy versions of it at builders merchants.
We can also buy Sosa here - sodium hypochlorite - specifically for unblocking toilets and drains.
Another difficult to get hold of chemical in the UK is isopropyl alcohol. I used to use this to clean the heads on tape recorders but had to go to my local pharmacy who would sell me a tiny bottle! Here, it's sold everywhere as a disinfectant, anti bite and cooling medicament - admittedly as a 70% strength. In UK it would be drunk by meths drinkers if they could get it, but I've never heard of anyone drinking it here.

Allowing a strong/ mineral acid, such as sulphuric, nitric, or hydrochloric acid to come into contact with metal is a bad idea. Even a weak acid can cause a lot of damage to metal very quickly - I tried to use vinegar to clean up an old shower head, which was plastic with a metal film coating. Result: heavy pitting of the metal surface in just a few minutes.

If you buy strong acid then you should careful when you dilute it.
Always add acid to water - never water to acid.
Otherwise depending on the acid and the strength, it can explode in your face.
Add a little acid at a time until you reach the strength you want.

While on the subject of loos, it might be worth mentioning for those not in the know, that Eau de Javel (bleach) should never be used in the case of septic tanks, as it kills off all the useful bacteria.
The various acids mentioned above aren't good for the infernal mixture, either, except for white vinegar, but then you're in the UK and aren't likely to have a septic tank!

Thank you reviving my post, Pulaski, which I managed to delete instead of edit!