How to Remove Stubborn Stains from Toilet Bowl

Thanks to the innovation of glazed ceramic bowls, you don’t need to crouch distastefully over the pit again. However, you don’t want any of your guests to greet slimy, dark, disgusting stains in your toilet. There is no doubt that one of the most sickening house chores is ensuring that there are no rings or residues at the bottom of your toilet’s bowl. They give the wrong impression that your bathroom hasn’t been cleaned in a long time. Luckily, if you are more concerned with hygiene, here are some tips on how to remove stubborn stains from toilet bowls.

Video Courtesy of Cleaning How To

What Causes Brown Stains in Toilet Bowl?

Find out the reason brown stains appear on your toilet bowl. It’s not that some evil deity has come and tried to cause you to have problems. Hard water contains a lot of minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron, and manganese.

It is easy to let iron and manganese particles through the pipes in your house.

  • Groundwater naturally collects minerals like iron and manganese as it flows through the earth.
  • Old iron pipes carry minerals passed through the water as it flows from the source to your house.

These minerals cause hard water to attack the delicate parts of your plumbing system, which can cause brown stains to appear on your toilet bowl. Your guests may find it horrible that you are getting brown stains on your toilet bowl, but the fact is that they are actually rust stains caused by iron and manganese in your water.

Cleaning the brown stains that appear in toilet bowls is difficult and time-consuming. Fortunately, water softeners can help prevent hard water from causing brown stains in your toilet by changing the way ions in your water behave. This is called ion exchange.

Why Is It Essential to Remove Stubborn Stains from Toilet Bowls?

The sheer image of the blotch gives the appearance of an ugly and unsanitary loo. And the fact that you landed on this page demonstrates how much hygiene is vital to you and your family. Besides, stain buildups endanger your pipes and faucets. If you hesitate for an extended period, these buildups can constrain water flow in the lines and impact the overall performance of your toilet. You’ll want to remove all those ugly stains and rings to keep your toilet looking aesthetic and functioning well for years to come.

How to Remove Stubborn Stains from Toilet Bowl

If you want your toilet to remain ever clean all time, here are some ways to get rid of those ugly, brown stains:

#1: Try Using the Magic of Baking Soda and Vinegar

The toilet is among the top places you should maintain quality hygiene. Because enzymes and residues quickly pile up on the loo surface, it forms ugly blotchy stains. Although many chemicals get manufactured today, most of them contain harmful ingredients for both water lines and your family. But, try the magic of combining baking soda and vinegar to wash, sanitize, and remove unpleasant odor from your toilet.

You will be amazed! The combination results in a mild carbonic acid that efficiently removes stubborn stains from your toilet. For effective results, follow these steps:

  • Take a cup full of baking soda and sprinkle it into the bowl
  • Take a cup full of vinegar and spread it into the bowl
  • Softly close the lid and relax for approximately 30 minutes for the mixture to react
  • Raise the toilet’s lid, and with the help of a brush, scrub the ceramic bowl all around. Scrubbing will be a simple process since the reaction has wholly taken place after waiting for 30 minutes.
  • Flush your toilet once the bowl looks decent and clean
  • Repeat the process at least once after every week
Toilet soaked in baking soda
Toilet soaked in baking soda

#2: How to Remove Thick Stains from Toilet Bowl Using Sandpaper

Cleaning your toilet bowl to eliminate all stains can be astonishingly complex. Even though this method will be a bit less exciting because it necessitates you to get nearer to the awful stain, sandpaper has proven to be an effective stain remover. Because you will require both fine and medium-grained Sandpaper, it’s preferable to visit the next local hardware store before starting your work.

The medium-grained quality tends to produce 90% effectiveness. On the other hand, fine-grained sandpaper accomplishes a more thorough polish. Buy both sandpapers from the local hardware store and follow these steps:

  • Rub the smudge tenderly with your medium-grained Sandpaper
  • Avoid exercising too much pressing, which may scratch or damage the bowl. (Remember we are trying to avoid additional costs)
  • After a while, now switch to using the fine-grained Sandpaper and continue scrubbing gently for a while
  • Flush the toilet

Does your toilet look more appealing? Most certainly it does!

#3: How to Clean Stubborn Stains from Toilet Bowl with CLR

CLR, an acronym for Calcium Lime Rust, a powerful anti-rust and tricky water staining agent. Even though it is a chemical, CLR is not toxic and cleans efficiently. Its application is determined by the rust’s location in your porcelain bowl.

Apply a Calcium Lime Rust agent to the rust and scrub using a brush for stains above the drainage line. Allow the anti-rust agent to settle on the smudges for at least 2 minutes before flushing your toilet several times to rinse any excess remains of CLR thoroughly.

It is critical not to leave CLR on your porcelain bowl for more than 2 minutes as that can destroy the bowl finish. For stains located underneath the drainage line, first, flush your toilet and follow the procedure below:

  • Close the toilet’s water supply
  • Plunge your loo to draw water down the line.
  • After your toilet gets emptied, apply Calcium Lime Rust Agent to the rust.
  • Scrub the rust and allow the mixture to last for at least 2 minutes
  • Open the water supply and flush your toilet several times to ensure that all the stains and CLR are washed off.

#4: How to Clean Your Porcelain Bowl With Coca-Cola

Have you ever tried using Coca-Cola to clean your toilet before? As odd as it may appear, Coca-Cola is an excellent agent for removing hard water stains from your bathtub. Coca-Cola is an acidic beverage that can kill microbes that cause stains in your toilet bowl.

Here are the steps of how to use Coca-Cola to remove stains from your toilet effectively:

  • Close the toilet’s water source
  • Flush your loo to draw water down the line
  • Fill your porcelain bowl with Coca-Cola to a height just above the stains
  • Leave your toilet for several hours, preferably overnight
  • Open the water line the following morning
  • Flush your toilet
  • With a loo brush, gently scrub the porcelain bowl to ensure persistent stains get removed
  • Flush your toilet for a second time to rinse your toilet

#5: How To Clean a Badly Stained Toilet Bowl With Lysol Cleaner

This is a quick but effective method that you will probably want to try out. Moreover, Lysol Toilet cleaner should be your number one product on your shelf. It has Hydrochloric Acid that effectively removes stains with a single application.

To use Lysol properly, follow these steps:

  • Plunge your toilet to draw off water from the porcelain bowl
  • Sprinkle a little of the Lysol toilet cleaner into the porcelain bowl
  • Relax for at least 10 minutes for Lysol to react with the stains on the bowl
  • With the help of a toilet brush, gently scrub the porcelain bowl entirely
  • Flush your toilet
  • Repeat the procedure if required

Safety Precautions While Removing Stubborn Toilet Stains

Always observe the following safety precautions while cleaning your toilet bowl:

Put On Gloves

Always remember to put on gloves before you begin cleaning up your toilet. Gloves protect your skin from getting damaged by chemicals such as vinegar. Chemicals tend to peel off your natural skin oil constraint while removing grime, which can result in chemical burns.

Putting on a pair of gloves is your first line of protection before cleaning your toilet. Furthermore, gloves can protect you from getting sick – stains that fill your toilet bowls are most likely to be harmful pathogens.

Cleaning your toilet bowl using bare hands can pose risks of getting attacked by pathogenic bacteria such as E. Coli and Salmonella. These bacteria can lead to very fetal signs and symptoms, and you may end up getting hospitalized. Therefore, you don’t want to risk your health, just put on a pair of gloves.

Take Into Account the Warnings and Directions on Commercial Toilet Cleaners

It is very critical to keenly read and comprehend the warnings of any toilet cleaner you intend to use. Stick to the instructions given, and avoid mixing cleaning agents to develop a more powerful cleaner.

If you want to apply more than one cleaning agent in your bathroom, sit tight until you are assured that the first cleaning agent has completed its task. Then, flush your toilet to ensure that no single bit of that chemical remains in the bowl. After that, wait for the bowl to dry up before beginning your next procedure.

Final Thoughts

Stubborn stains are yucky at times, but they will worsen over time if you ignore them. Do you want to buy a new porcelain bowl every couple of years? We guesses no! Fortunately, the tips we’ve discussed here can help clean stubborn stains from your toilet bowl. Based on how many family members you have in your home, try cleaning your bowl once per week or even every day.

It will assist you in removing excessive stubborn stains and maintaining excellent hygiene in your bathroom. You can even try simple hacks like using Coca-Cola, which has proven to be perfect in removing stubborn stains.

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