As above, trickles of water has left scale on the bowl. A sponge and Lime-a-way is too slow. Can fine grit sandpaper be used? How effective is that pumice stick? TIA.

I do it about once a year with 600 grit, works perfectly.

Remove toilet to outdoors and use hydrochloric acid,) (muriatic acid) to clean the bowl. Hose off thoroughly and reinstall with a new wax ring and valve guts.

Sandpaper sounds a bit much. Plus, your putting fine scratchets in the ceramic that allow water deposits to cling more easily.

I would think the acidic etching is about as "damaging" to the finish as really fine sandpaper...

I would agree - either way - you probably are asking for more stuff to stick to the bowl...

How about replacing the whole thing ?

I've done it, so yes.

Steel wool may be less abrasive yet capable of scouring the crap, I mean scale, off of the bowl.
Mike

A pumice stone has worked well for me

Not sure if it would work but I use bar keeper’s friend to clean up a variety of surfaces. Might be worth checking out and it’s super cheap at places like Target.

+1 for the pumice stone

quote:

Originally posted by mcrimm:
Steel wool may be less abrasive yet capable of scouring the crap, I mean scale, off of the bowl.
Mike

This makes more sense to me than sandpaper. That is based on no experience.

Jim

Fine grit sandpaper works very well. Bar Keepers Friend doesn't work well at all. Sandpaper doesn't even remove the gloss, but takes care of the ring.

Never tried pumice stone, but it sounds like it might work as well.

In the business and use hydrochloric acid all the time, even at home. Doesn't harm the finish, but removes rust stains and excess calcium wonderfully.

I typically remove all water from the bowl, and then pour the acid down the overflow pipe in the tank. This helps clean the flush rim as it flows through.

Then I use a toilet brush to scrub the stains, stinks to high heaven, but does the job.

The product I use is called Sizzle, made by Hercules, and usually only found in plumbing distributors.

Use the pumice stone, not steel wool or sandpaper!

The ceramic glazed finish is more akin to glass and I have done all 3 of my toilets in the way described earlier with great results. Steel wool will likely leave steel residue behind that will possibly cause rust streaking.

If using acid, pouring it down the overflow to cleanse the holes around the rim is smart but may take a fair amount of acid. Then consider where it goes when it's flushed. I am on septic and would not put that down the drain in any large quantities. If done outdoors, you can use minimal acid and roll the toilet on its side to work the acid into the holes, rotating every few minutes to allow the acid to work. Also for anyone who has stored pool acid indoors you have likely seen what the fumes do to any metallic objects or finishes.. It's not good.

this stuff works great Zep Acidic Toilet Bowl Cleaner
https://www.homedepot.com/p/ZE...er-ZUATB32/203487312

Don't think too deep about this one:

"Barkeeper's Friend" powder and the normal toilet brush and 5 minutes of time. Worked on my well water and 4x bowls.

Would ordinary CLR work?

flashguy

I asked the same question just a bit ago - go figure!

Linky

I just checked and Bar Keeper's Friend does say it works on bath surfaces. I'm certain as to it's superb results on stainless and counter top stains. For $2 it's hard to go wrong. Very useful stuff.