Using bleach will just exacerbate the problem if you have rust.
The Works and Iron out are the BEST cleaners to use on your toilet/ shower for hard water and iron staining. They work almost immediately without scrubbing too much. A water treatment system will only do so much to remove the iron in your water, unless it is seriously heavy duty.
As for the sulfur smell, you can chlorinate your well with pool shock powder. Pour about a pound in your well, run it into the pipes in the house until you can smell the chlorine, then let it sit for 24 hours. Run off the chlorine from a garden hose (never into your septic system!) This will also kill any bacteria in your well.
After reading Kris's advice on "The Works" found at Dollar Tree I went out and bought a bottle. THANK YOU! "The Works" works! I followed the directions; actually drained both of my toilets and applied "The Works". Let it sit for 10-15 minutes and my toilets look like new! The best is that buying the product at the Dollar Tree only cost one dollar, I would have spent much more for the result I have received. I am going to go back to buy more bottles to have on hand so I am ready for signs of the next lime buildup.
After trying several things, I went out today and bought The Works. The whole bottom of my toilet was stained brown from the deposits. I drained most of the water out of the toilet and put in roughly 1/2 the bottle and let it sit for several hours. I couldn't believe how this stuff worked, my toilet now looks brand new. I am amazed!
I am going back to Dollar Tree tomorrow to stock up.
Out of all I have read, I have heard no one mention vinegar. My research on the internet mentions a drained toilet bowl and 1 liter of vinegar in the bowl/scrub and add 1 liter of pure vineger to water tank to get the rim on the next flushing of the toilet.
Thank for all the tip on hard water and toilet bowls
I just purchased a pool stone (found with the pool supplies at Home Depot) and used it on my toilet and finally the stains are gone. It took little effort to do this and now my bowl is clean again.
I've been having a battle with yellow stains in 2 of my toilets for months. I've used everything and nothing has worked. I just bought and used The works and the stains were gone with out me even scrubbing. Praise the lord, I can stop obsessing about my toilets now.
All those chemicals are great, I'm sure, but when I tackled the toilet at my Mom's house, nobody had bothered with it for decades. The buildup was half an inch thick. I used a blunt table knife, sat down on the floor and had gloves on, and carved and pried chunks loose. Now they use a thingie in the tank for prevention, but it's building up anyway. Mom is saying she likes the method where you shut the lid and say "what buildup?"
Don't know if it will work or not, but I read recently that plain old soft drink (Coca Cola was recommended by writer) will dissolve hardwater stains. It's worth a try! Good luck and God bless you.
Have you tried CLR and let it soak? It is great for removing tough stains. You may have to scrub some with a pumis type scrubber to aid in removing the stain.
Login using the form on the top of the page to post feedback (if you are a registered user). If you have not yet registered, click here to do so. It's FREE!.
Archives:
Request: Hard Water Stains In Toilet
Archived on 07/28/2008
We just bought a newer home, only 5 years old. The toilets and tub/showers have awful hard water stains. I have tried CLR, toilet bowl cleaners, Easy Off Bam and even oven cleaner. Bleach dulls it. Any ideas, we have a water softener that we use, but the stains have been there awhile. Thanks!
PS-Any ideas on chlorinating our well if that would help. There is a rotten egg smell to our water.
Sarah from Indiana
Answers:
RE: Hard Water Stains In Toilet
Have you tried Clorox with teflon for toilets? It comes in a bright blue bottle. We used to live in a house that was on a well and that's what I used. It's worth the extra money. I swear by the shower cleaner with teflon too but haven't been able to find it anywhere in a while.
The toilet was really stained and it didn't take it all the stain away but it did help. We put the shower in and about 6 month later was when I found this product and it took 6 months of hard water stain out that nothing else had been about to touch. (02/07/2008)
By kjbeckstead
RE: Hard Water Stains In Toilet
Try Mr. Clean Magic Eraser... it works wonders! (02/07/2008)
Use the works from the dollar store. Use the tub and shower. Do NOT mix with anything this contains phosphoric acid so cant be mixed. My sister inlaw ignored and almost knocked herself out. lol she passed out! It works miracles. I use it on whites sometimes for rust or hard stains. If that doesn't work, I will be amazed. If it does not, try bar keepers friend, kinda like comet! (02/07/2008)
I use the works all the time and my toilets sparkle. I use nothing else; works and a toilet brush. I swear by the works! I keep 2 bottles in all my bathrooms! Nothing is 100 percent with out scrubbing, that's like hoping for a miracle! (02/07/2008)
Try Bathroom Cleaner Plus, it is from Amway(It has a big plus sign on the bottle). It may seem expensive at @ 15.00 a bottle, but it works especially on set in hard water stains. You only need a little, the bottle goes a long way. Just drain your toilet and spray on the stain. You won't be disappointed. (02/08/2008)
Please get a lab test done to ascertain whether or not you have coliform bacteria in your well water. About $250.00 will get you a full testing battery. Please post the results, or ask the thrifty.com people to put you directly in touch with me. I'll be happy to help once you have results. There are things you can do for very little money that pros will charge a fortune for. The stains are cosmetic. It's the symptomatic sulfur smell that you need to be concerned with. (02/09/2008)
By Doggy
RE: Hard Water Stains In Toilet
WalMart carries a product called Iron-Out. They have it in two sizes. I use it to clean my toilets, and also add a little to my whites when I do laundry, because bleach turns my clothes orange.And my dishes get rusty stains, too, that disappear if i soak them in water with Iron-Out.
Sarah doesn't say if she has well water, but if she does, she might think about putting a charcoal filter between the pump and the holding tank. That will take care of most of her water staining problems as well as the sulfur smell which is what the rotten egg smell is.
Harlean from Arkansas (02/09/2008)
Put in two denture cleaning tablets and let sit overnight. Amazing how clean it will become! (02/11/2008)
By Ronda
RE: Hard Water Stains In Toilet
I can along with some of the others vouch for the Works. I clean houses on the side and we cleaned some apartments that had been abandoned for ten years. You can imagine what those toilets and tubs looked like. I used it not only in the toilets, but tubs and sinks as well and it's only $1 a bottle. You don't have to do anything but wipe and rinse and you are done! It was something short of a miracle! The owners thought for sure they would have to replace everything in the bathrooms! (02/11/2008)
By suzi_homemaker01
RE: Hard Water Stains In Toilet
Please think about the chemicals that you are flushing into the water sytem or ground. Very scary stuff to use just for a hard water stain. A little pumice stone made for toilet bowls works like a charm and does not remove the porcelin if done softly.
Thanks for reading. (03/06/2008)
By Linda
RE: Hard Water Stains In Toilet
Use Lime away or lime remover, it works!! (04/24/2008)
By Claire
RE: Hard Water Stains In Toilet
Aaron, you have iron that the bleach is oxidizing. get yourself a filter with "KDF" media (google it) and the problem will vanish (04/25/2008)
By
RE: Hard Water Stains In Toilet
I tried all of those other items and none of them worked...UNTIL I purchased Zep's Professional Strength Calcium, Lime & Rust remover at Home Depot for about $5. The hydrochloric acid knocks it out...quick! Just drain your bowl and pour it in. Within 10 mins. this hard caked on crap was gone. No scrubbing period!
One more bathroom tip: The Easy Off Bam (in the toilet bowl dispenser "bleach jell") removes the hardest tile grout stains. Just be careful, the fumes are rough. It removed my hard to clean shower in SECONDS. What took hours the last time I did it only took seconds. This stuff is gold!
I ran a bead down 2 grout lines and walked away. 5 mins. later the lines were winter white! I've NEVER had anything work this quick. NO SCRUBBING! After that...it was on! I finished the whole shower in under 15 minutes. I can now return the never used "As seen on TV" grout pen. (05/18/2008)
By Ella
RE: Hard Water Stains In Toilet
Any brand of carburetor cleaner will take mineral stains off. Just drain bowl, spray the affected area liberally, let sit 20 minutes. Turn water back on, flush. That simple. (07/11/2008)
Hello frugal family! We live in a community that has some REALLY hard water. I use a pumice stone to clean the hard water stains. I was told those commercial tablets you put in the tank are bad for the toilet so what's a tightwad... er I mean frugal hubby to
do?
Any suggestions appreciated (SMILE)
Jim in FL
Answers:
RE: Hard Water Stains In Toilet
I just discovered that a paint scraper tool works :) (05/05/2005)
By Bygraceandmercy
RE: Hard Water Stains In Toilet
Hi,
We got some ChemFree Mineral Magnets for the toilet tanks. These attract the minerals that make the hard water stains. You first need to clean the toilet and the tank, then put it in. They seem to work very well and cost about 5-6 dollars. You can easily spend that much on cleaners in the 5 years that they last. They are also safe for septic tanks, pets and kids.
We got ours through Myles Kimball but there are other places on line that carry them. Google "Impex ChemFree" and you will find some sources.
Susan from ThriftyFun (05/05/2005)
The ChemFree Mineral Magnets are now sold in Home Depot. I saw them there just this weekend. I have used them for over 15 years now and they work great! (05/05/2005)
I had this same problem.. the toilet upstairs was AWFUL!! It hadn't been used in years. I drained all the water out and put CLR in it.. came right off and looks like new. Believe me.. it's worth the $5 the CLR costs. I get mine at Wal Greens.
Hope this helps! (05/06/2005)
We have extremely hard water here to and the product that works like magic is called "The Works" toilet bowl cleaner. Be sure and get all the water out of the tank, make sure the surface is dry and put The Works on it, let it sit for couple minutes and poof the rust and hard water stains are gone. (05/06/2005)
By Dawn
RE: Hard Water Stains In Toilet
Hi Jim; Family Dollar Store has a product called Sno Bol. I paid 1.50 for a 24 oz. bottle, and it saved me the cost of a new toilet. Follow the simple directions, and in minutes you'll have a wonderful surprise~! I usually try to avoid harsh chemicals, but I was desperate (05/07/2005)
Try Bring-It-ON water spot remover. It's a paste that you wipe on, leave on for a few minutes to dissolve the minerals, and wipe off. Invented by a gal that got tired of trying things that didn't work!
(09/04/2007)
Just so everyone knows, The Works does not work. I drained the bowl and put the super thin blue just in the bowl and waited 45 minutes. Nothing. The only thing it did was turn water stain blue, so now it's worse than it was before. At least Easy-Off BAM will bleach the mineral stain so you don't see it as much! NEXT. (10/28/2007)
