Hard water stain in Toilet Basin

Julie Piggott
by Julie Piggott
Hi, I live in a suburb of a rural township. Our water was very brownish when we first arrived here and for many years. Now after 26 years the toilet basin has a brown stain in the bottom of the bowl that wont come off, even with regular brushing. Any suggestions to how to clean this stain? Thanks
Jules
  19 answers
  • N J Gross N J Gross on Mar 03, 2014
    Have you tried CLR? It works on a lot of iron/rust stains.
  • Moira Moira on Mar 03, 2014
    Any toilet bowl cleaner with Hydrochloric acid or Muriatic acid will address your issue. Have you tried Rust Out?
  • Judi Alexander Hill Judi Alexander Hill on Mar 03, 2014
    Be careful with chemicals such as CLR because if left too long on the porcilin (SP?)it will etch it....and what a mess thereafter....it happened in my tub...thought I'd never rectify that one. Once you do get it clean, I've heard that False teeth cleaning tablets are good as well as Alkaseltzer (good lord, where has my spell check gone?) tablets. I've been using Peroxide. I add it to the water if I'm going to be gone very long (such as a vacation) and spray it in the stool when I clean. So far, so good!
  • Felicity Woodruffe Felicity Woodruffe on Mar 03, 2014
    remove all the water pour a large bottle of cola into the toilet bowl and leave if possible overnight then flush clear in the morning should shift every mark
  • Eileen S Eileen S on Mar 03, 2014
    efferdent- the stuff you use to clean dentures. Drop one or two tablets in the bowl and let it dissolve then brush.
  • Theresa Theresa on Mar 03, 2014
    The Works is amazing, on tubs, toilets, sinks, so is Kaboom.. I used to clean resorts and we had to use all kinds of stuff to help take those stains away. Barkeepers Friend (kinda like comet) works really well also.
  • Pam B Pam B on Mar 03, 2014
    I had the same problem....struggled with it for over a year. Tried bleach, CLR, denture cleaner,, cream of tartar paste, etc. Bed Bath & Beyond has a pumice stone for $3.99 called Bath Stone. Works like a charm with little effort and no scratches. Wish I'd seen this 16 months ago!
    • See 1 previous
    • N J Gross N J Gross on Mar 04, 2014
      @Julie Piggott If you can't find it in Australia, Bed Bath & Beyond can ship it to you. Don't have a clue about the costs involved.
  • Sharla F Sharla F on Mar 04, 2014
    I use a Scouring Stick. WM used to have them but finally found them again @ the 99¢ store. It's a pumice stone. Comes in a long shaped blue and white box. You can scrub as hard as you want and it won't scratch porcelain. I've used it on many things. You will love it! I bought some for my son who owns rentals. He was thrilled. If you can't find it, Google it. Might find it online too. I know this works!!!!
  • Stevey lupo Stevey lupo on Mar 04, 2014
    Tarnex works great
  • Janet Smith Janet Smith on Mar 04, 2014
    If the buildup is calcium or lime, vinegar will dissolve it. We have very "soft" well water which has a high sodium content. It leaves a rough film that has to be removed frequently. I have had great luck with toilet bowl cleaner containing lye. I'd remove all the water (turn off water underneath and flush) Then apply cleaner and allow to sit. I've used Lysol which is a gel and doesn't run. Also, my son and DIL had an old house (over 100 years) with a horrible brown ring in one of the toilets. They were considering replacing it. I used straight Clorox which removed some of the stain and then Lysol gel. It looked like a new toilet after some work.
  • Wendy Wendy on Mar 04, 2014
    Scouring stick or pumice stone which are available at hardware stores. I get mine at True Value stores.
  • Adrianne C Adrianne C on Mar 05, 2014
    The Works Toilet cleaner you can find at a dollar store, it works really well. Helps clear out any clogs too. Iron Out is good too.
  • June June on Mar 05, 2014
    About getting merchandise in other countries--have you tried Amazon.com? I recd. a gift from a friend in England and she did it through Amazon.
  • Sandy F Sandy F on Mar 05, 2014
    Muratic acid is what I used on our cabin toilet. It was black from not being used for several years when we bought it. It cleaned it perfectly. I wouldn't use The Works because I used one of their cleaners on my bathtub, and it ate pits into the chrome ring in the tub!!
  • Kathy Kathy on Mar 06, 2014
    What I have done in the past is to drain toilet, saturate paper towels or old clothes with vinegar and place it around and over the stain line, leave for several hrs, ck periodically for activilty,you can always pour more liquid over towels to keep it saturated, then use your toilet bowl pumice stone, about once a week. you have to remember living outside the city and using septic tack, any chemicals can kill bacteria that help the enzymes working in the septic tank. good luck
  • Janine Barker Janine Barker on Oct 10, 2015
    little brush for cleaning sliding glass shower enclosures of window frames fits in there to scrub
  • Felicity Woodruffe Felicity Woodruffe on Oct 11, 2015
    Remove water from toilet pour oven cleaner down and leave after leaving overnight if possible flush then scrub with toilet brush flush again should be good as new
  • Constance G Constance G on Jan 19, 2016
    use a pumice stone.
  • AndradeTea AndradeTea on Mar 02, 2016
    I used Lysol Power Toilet Bowl Cleaner with Lime & Rust Remover and had huge success. I thought we were going to have to replace our two toilets! The dark brown (seemingly impossible to remove) stains came out using the product according to the directions. I can highly recommend it.