No-one likes cleaning toilets, and it's even worse when there are hard water stains (or other types) in the toilet bowl that just won't come off.
These stains look unsightly, and they also make it feel like you haven't done a good job of cleaning the toilet bowl!
Well you probably haven't tried everything just yet, here are a few ways to clean toilet bowl stains that you might not have tried yet.
How To Clean A Stained Toilet Bowl
You may find that one (or more) of these methods will easily remove those stains in the toilet bowl. Then again, you might not! It's worth a try right?
Important Note: It needs to be mentioned that if you have a septic tank you need to be very careful what actually goes down the toilet. Some of the chemicals and methods listed below will kill the good bacteria in your septic system and that causes all sorts of problems.
Toilet Bowl Cleaner Under Flapper
What's a flapper? Well the image below will help you with that - follow these instructions to not only to get rid of even the most stubborn stains, but also to give the parts of the toilet you can't get to a good clean out too - eliminating the source of a lot of future stains.
- Turn off the water to the tank
- Flush and drain the tank and let it dry completely
- Pour toilet bowl cleaner under the flapper until it comes out all holes in the bowl (even the front ones)
- Give the bowl and the stains a scrub with a toilet brush
- Let it sit for 15-20 minutes
- Turn the water back on and flush the toilet
- Continue flushing until clear water is coming out into the bowl
This should remove most of the stains. If you have some stains left over then repeat the process with CLR instead of toilet bowl cleaner.
If you want to further protect your toilet from future stains, then consider installing the Kaboom Continuous Clean system. It really does work wonders and doesn't damage your seals like bleach tablets do.
Muriatic Acid
This method is a bit more extreme, but should help with those really stubborn stains.
For this method you will need muriatic acid which can be quite dangerous - so make sure you read the label and follow all safety directions.
- Open up windows and turn on any exhaust fans
- Mix 1 part muriatic acid to 5 parts water
- Poor it slowly into the toilet bowl (you don't want to splash this stuff anywhere)
- Fill it only to the normal water level - otherwise it will go into the sewerage system and that's bad!
- Let it soak for a few hours
- Do not flush! You will need to manually scoop out the acid and dispose of it as per the product label
- This should soften up or completely remove tough stains in the bowl
Lysol Black Label Toilet Cleaner
If you want an off the shelf solution, then Lysol black label toilet cleaner is about as good as it gets.
It contains Hydrochloric Acid which directly attacks stains cause by hard water and iron in the water.
- Flush the toilet
- Squirt the Lysol Black label liquid into the bowl and under the rim - ensuring all surfaces are covered.
- Let it soak for at least 10 minutes
- Use a toilet brush to scrub the entire bowl surface and then flush
- Repeat if required
With CLR
CLR just has so many uses doesn't it? Well it also can be great for removing stains in your toilet bowl.
- Flush the toilet and then let the bowl completely dry. If the stains are below the water level then you will need to turn the water off and completely empty the bowl
- Soak some paper towel in CLR
- Stick the soaked paper towel to the entire surface of the bowl
- Let it sit overnight
- In the morning remove the paper towel and give the bowl a scrub
Remove Stains With Iron Out
Iron Out is a great stain remover that many people seem to over look. Don't do that here, it does a great job in the toilet too.
- Spray Iron Out on the stains
- Let it sit for 5-10 minutes
- Scrub the bowl
Use a Magic Eraser
Have you tried a magic eraser on the stains? They can do quite a good job and won't damage your toilet.
Simply use a magic eraser to....erase the stains! It might take a few goes but it can definitely help.
Use Coca Cola
What? Coke? Yep - you have probably seen what it does to rust.
But guess what? It can also remove stains from your toilet!
- Switch off the water supply to your toilet
- Flush the toilet and plug the hole in the bottom with something water proof
- Buy 3 x 3 Litre bottles of Coca Cola
- Poor them into the toilet bowl up to the rim (so they cover the stains)
- Let it sit for a couple of hours at least
- Remove the plug and let the coke drain away
- Give it a scrub if it needs it - the stains should be easy to remove now, if not gone completely!
Are Your Stains Gone?
So hopefully one of these methods has worked for you and those ugly stains are gone from your toilet!
If you have any other sure fire ways to remove those pesky toilet bowl stains then comment below!
Pricing last updated on 2020-02-21 at 04:04 / affiliate links - Details
