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I would like to get some help cleaning and disinfecting the toilet that the dog drinks from. I have hard water stains which are only getting worse, because I cannot find a product that actually works.
By Debby from San Diego, CA
Have you tried a pumice stone yet? I found out about using it on toilet stains from that BBC show (? I think it's called "How Clean is your House?"). The toilet bowl is harder than the stone, so it won't get scratched. You just wet the stone and start rubbing it against the stains. I had a problem with one of my toilets, and it worked like a charm. And no chemicals!
I found mine in the cleaning area of my store, near the sponges and other scrubbers. Best of luck!
I have tried many, many products on our toilet. The only one that worked is called "The Works" and you can buy it at the Dollar Store. It works like a charm. Plus it's only a dollar!
How do I remove or keep hard water stains from my toilet?
By Edith
For hard water stains in the toilet, I use a piece of pumice and really scrub. It has always worked without scratching. Give it a try.
I had purchased some toilet bowl cleaner at the Dollar Tree. I had some hard water and rust stains in my toilet, the immediately disappeared! Since it did so well I decided to try it on my old cast iron tub that had spots. It cleaned it, too.
Try denture cleaner tablets or Lime Away, that always works for me.
I have extremely hard water and had lime deposits that would not come off no matter what I tried. I found "The Works" at Dollar Tree, it works wonders, no excess scrubbing.
Lime Away or SLR both found in grocery stores, hardware stores, big box stores.
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Does anyone have a tip as to how to get really bad hard water deposits out of a toilet bowl?
Gwen Smith from Palatka, FL
Have you tried CLR and let it soak? It is great for removing tough stains. You may have to scrub some with a pumice type scrubber to aid in removing the stain. (07/29/2008)
By Linda
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. (07/29/2008)
By tedsmom
When I can't stand looking at mine for awhile, what I do is sit on the edge of the tub and just use a good old SOS pad. It works all the time. (07/30/2008)
By Barbara
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. (08/03/2008)
By Nicole, PA
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. (08/10/2008)
By Karla
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 vinegar to water tank to get the rim on the next flushing of the toilet.
Thanks for all the tip on hard water and toilet bowls (09/10/2008)
By Crystal
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 or 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. (01/15/2009)
By Nicole
Flush your toilet and pour bleach into the "back" of the toilet let it set for 3 hours and then flush. No scrubbing needed, how great is that. (10/20/2009)
By sandi65
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
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 can't 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 Barkeepers Friend, kinda like Comet! (02/07/2008)
By KimmyLynn
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)
By KimmyLynn
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)
By PICO
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
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
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
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
Use Lime Away or lime remover, it works!! (04/24/2008)
By Claire
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
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
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)
By Har
We live in a community that has some really hard water. I use a pumice stone to clean the hard water stains.
