We bought a new-ish house that had been lived in then empty for at least 10 months. Not sure if water was on the whole time, but we are in an area with nasty water service and the toilet bowls were pretty gunked up. Not from us, but from the drip and drain of water over time. We got them better, but not good. I'll attach a couple pics below of current status.

I've tried everything that would work on "normal" toilet/porcelain stains. Toilet bowl cleaner, Comet, bleach and this weekend drained them and rubbed CLR on the stains, let rest and still the same. The pics are after all that.

Any other suggestions besides replacing the toilets? Yeah, they work fine and they don't look nasty, but they are not what we'd normally have our toilet or any other part of our home looking like!

Coke-a-Cola works as well as anything

I've gotten good results taking out mineral build up and such, with a pumice stone.

I use a 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper. Clean the bowl, squirt some more cleaner in there, and then use the sandpaper to gently clean the ring. You don't have to bear down. At first it won't seem like anything is happening and then the ring will slowly disappear.

I clean my toilets once a week but still after a year or so the ring comes back. The water here sucks. Five minutes with the sandpaper and it's gone for another year or so.

Jesus, can't find a way to downsize the massive iPhone pic. Imagine not just a ring, but a dusky trail down from the rim under each and every water inlet under rim at top of bowl.

The wet sanding is a good idea, as is pumice.

Coke, well, not so much given prior efforts that are FAR beyond that.

I had to rebuild one of my toilet innards and fix the closet flange. So while I had it apart, I used one of those magic erasers to remove the staining right under the rim which seems to be the only place I've seen a rust-like ring. Worked like, well, magic.

same problem here, really bad rust and lime deposits, even with a water softener. found out that " bar keepers friend" works really well
and as a last resort,a quarter cup of muriatic acid (the kind used in swimming pools) also will remove the deposits quickly

quote:

Originally posted by Hobbs:
I've gotten good results taking out mineral build up and such, with a pumice stone.

We’ve got hard water that leaves a ring in the toilets; pumice stone is the way to go

Try some muriatic acid. You can get it a Home Despot or Lowes.

If it’s iron, try “Iron Out” available at Lowe’s

If its mineral, try muriatic acid, also available at Lowe’s

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:
If it’s iron, try “Iron Out” available at Lowe’s

If its mineral, try muriatic acid, also available at Lowe’s

Mike , what will the two do to a septic system. Will it kill the good bacteria. Also tried WD 40 and it did not work for me.

400 wet dry sandpaper, 600 works too. Save the Muratic for when the drainfield clogs with grease

Sewer, not septic, so I can get crazy if needed.
Don’t want to kill neighbors fish of course.
Iron, mineral, who knows?

I've pulled the toilets before, taken them outside, and hosed them with muriatic acid. You'll want to invert it as well and use acid in the water holes under the rim. The buildup will clog them and flushing will get bad. Cost me a couple of hours and a couple of wax rings.

Sandpaper on a toilet bowl? No thanks!

Problem using coke, bleach or any liquid is it runs off as you apply it. I've been using 5% cleaning vinegar. Pour it into a small bowl, take several sheets of toilet paper and soak them in the vinegar. Apply to the stained areas for roughly 15 minutes. Remove and dispose as fits septic tank or sewer system. Scrub with a toilet brush and flush; repeat as required.

Try this stuff. Worked great for me.

quote:

Originally posted by SSgt USMC/Vet:

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:
If it’s iron, try “Iron Out” available at Lowe’s

If its mineral, try muriatic acid, also available at Lowe’s

Mike , what will the two do to a septic system. Will it kill the good bacteria. Also tried WD 40 and it did not work for me.

Iron out is A super oxidizer and will expend itsel on the iron...if you use too much it will kill the stuff in your septic...but you can dump some yeast in after a few hours to get more growing

The acid will neutralize itself while dissolving the scale...any excess will kill your septic fauna....you can test the ph of the effluent and neautralize it with baking soda if it gets high, but most septic tank hold thousand gallons of water and dilute the acid ....

I used sandpaper once or twice a year in my toilet bowls. Works like a charm. Put on some good gloves and have at it. It's a LOT easier than taking them all apart in the backyard and hosing them down after an acid wash.

We have big iron problems. Try the WORKS liquid. Blue version for toilets. I buy in Michigan and Florida dollar stores for a buck a plastic bottle. The green version is awsome on sinks and fiberglass showers. Please try it, it really works.

Nothing wrong with sandpaper if it is the right grit.

I've used 800 grit sandpaper (wet) on my motorcycle windshield with fantastic results. Years back I would use 1500 grit (also wet) rubbing out paint imperfections on my 1959 corvette.