Hard water stains in the toilet !!

vaknitter · 06-30-2008, 08:43 PM

After I bought my house I left it empty while at grad school and all the toilets got hard water rings/stains. I drained the toilets once and scrubbed them all down but alas they are back despite 2 of us living in the house. Any suggestions? I am on well water which I know complicates it, but then I am also on a septic tank which means I cannot use clorox drop ins or anything like that.
Help please !! I hate cleaning bathrooms, but I really HATE bathrooms that look dirty even more.

gotta knit · 07-01-2008, 01:50 AM

Can you use something like CLR?

bambi · 07-01-2008, 02:58 AM

I wish I knew the answer to that one, too! I feel your pain.

Bambi

cam90066 · 07-01-2008, 03:22 AM

Big fan of pumice stones. (You can usually find large ones at the .99 stores.) Don rubber gloves, keep it wet and scrub away. Toilet looks like new! (I'm in LA where we have very hard water and it works like a charm.)

BTW, they also work great in ovens if you have baked-on yuck plus there's no odor, etc.

ETA...lots of 'pumice-related' posts online if you google but one here

cam

Becky Morgan · 07-01-2008, 04:00 AM

Regular toilet bowl cleaner won't hurt your septic tank (it's the same acid we have in our stomachs.) If you can find The Works, which is a cheap brand, it's about the strongest on the market and it works best in our hard water. The rings are mostly calcium, after all, so the acid will dissolve them.
Another possibility: if you have flat soda around, you can pour it into the toilet bowl and leave it overnight. Denture cleaner tablets also work, once again best if they're left overnight. I'd only do one toilet at a time, for obvious reasons

bailsmom · 07-01-2008, 04:02 AM

I second the Pumice Stone post. I used to work for Merry Maids (and no, we did NOT dance while we cleaned

) and that's what we used to get the junk out of the toilets. Works like a charm.

As for keeping the rust from coming back, I have no clue. We didn't have well water. Sorry.

Jan in CA · 07-01-2008, 04:37 AM

Have you tried CLR? We used it on a used washer once and it got it nice and clean. Safe for septic systems, too.

I've also heard that vinegar works. Maybe try that first by pouring a couple cups in the toilet and letting it sit overnight or while you're at work.

Lighting57 · 07-01-2008, 04:28 PM

I have been told that a can of Coca-cola will eat away this stuff, but I haven't tried it. I too have a toilet with this problem and it looks so nasty. Quess I'll try the pumice stone since I have one.

cam90066 · 07-01-2008, 05:12 PM

Not sure what happened to my comments regarding vinegar but I tried that and it didn't remove the rust stain but it does help with maintenance...once the stain has been removed... if you splash in some and swish it around every once in a while.

For those new to the pumice, plan on a sound that's worse than fingernails on a blackboard.... and it does take quite a bit of elbow grease... but when you see the stain disappearing it's motivation to keep scrubbing.

cam

Sunshine's Mom · 07-02-2008, 02:42 PM

The pumice stone is a good idea. Also, try lemonade and leave it in the toilet for a few hours or overnight. It has citric acid in it that will eat at the stain.