If you have hard water in your home, then the scale from the minerals in the water can build-up within the toilet. This may cause a number of problems ranging from staining to weak flushing. With regular care and cleaning, many of these issues can be prevented.
Even if it has been some time since the toilet was cleaned, hard water stains can still be removed from most toilets. Here is what you can do to work on the toughest stains you might encounter.
1. Create a Borax Paste
If the stains aren’t too set-in, you can add ¼ cup of Borax into the toilet bowl directly. Use a toilet brush to mix the Borax into the water. Then add 1 cup of white vinegar into the toilet bowl. Close the lid and allow the mixture to sit for about 15-20 minutes. Open a window or turn on the exhaust fan before leaving.
When you come back, do not breathe directly over the toilet bowl as you lift the lid. Give any fumes a minute or two to filter out. Then scrub the stains with the toilet brush. Repeat as necessary.
If the stains won’t come off, mix ½ cup of Borax and a little vinegar to form a paste. Spread that onto the hard water stains and let it sit for another 20 minutes before scrubbing it off.
2. Sandpaper
Some stubborn stains are set right into the porcelain of the toilet bowl. Should this happen, you need to get into the pores of the porcelain to remove the stain. A fine drywall sandpaper is your best option here. Only use an extra-fine grit because anything else will scratch the porcelain and create future staining issues. Keep the stains wet as you sand as well.
3. Baking Soda and Vinegar
For light staining issues, baking soda can be mixed with vinegar to remove stains as well. It takes about 1 cup of vinegar and 1 cup of baking soda to create enough of a reaction that will work to remove the stains. Give the reaction about 10-15 minutes to work deep into the stains.
Then you’ll need to take your toilet brush and scrub the stains until they are gone.
You may need to repeat these steps daily for 3-5 days, depending on the age and severity of the stains in question.
