I have tried CLR. It is not working. I scrubbed vigorously with a brillo pad with little effect. The deposits are hardened and lumpy in a circle around the toilet bowl at the water line.

Uh oh. There are products that work, but it's too late - you ruined the porcelain with the steel wool brillo pad. Someone did that to my toilet before I bought my house, and although I can get off stains with various products (you have to empty the water out, apply, wait, and scrub with a 3M pad), they come right back in a few days because the porcelain is gone. It's a lot of work and not worth doing every 3 days so I just put a little bleach in the bowl every day to keep it down a bit.

Hi Mauricee

A wetted pumice stone using baking soda should make quick work of your mineral deposits. Check out this video for a quick idea of what I am talking about... pumice works on the hardest materials/stains AND WILL NOT scratch the porcelain:



The video starts a little odd, but presents useful information in the end!

Mark

Quote:

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Originally Posted by joypulv

Uh oh. There are products that work, but it's too late - you ruined the porcelain with the steel wool brillo pad. Someone did that to my toilet before I bought my house, and although I can get off stains with various products (you have to empty the water out, apply, wait, and scrub with a 3M pad), they come right back in a few days because the porcelain is gone. It's a lot of work and not worth doing every 3 days so I just put a little bleach in the bowl every day to keep it down a bit.

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The porcelain does not appear to be damaged. I was concerned that it might get damaged so I proceeded carefully. Maybe it was the soap in the brillo pad that acted as a lubricant.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by massplumber2008

Hi Mauricee

A wetted pumice stone using baking soda should make quick work of your mineral deposits. Check out this video for a quick idea of what I am talking about...pumice works on the hardest materials/stains AND WILL NOT scratch the porcelain:



The video starts out a little odd, but presents useful information in the end!

Mark

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I just got finished using a pumice stone that I had but no baking soda. It went slow but worked well. Thanks.

I wonder if it will work for me...
Please answer back if it lasts more than a few days?

There are a number of commercial toilet bowl cleaners that work well. Try finding one at a janitorial supply house. Glossall products makes a great bowl cleaner. If you have scratch marks, like from a brillo pad, try a liquid rust remover!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by joypulv

I wonder if it will work for me...
Please answer back if it lasts more than a few days?

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My mineral deposits were hard and lumpy. I would imagine it will take more than a few days for them to build up again. The pumice stone will clear them. Keeping the build up from recurring is probably just a matter of maintenance.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by scott53715

There are a number of commercial toilet bowl cleaners that work well. Try finding one at a janitorial supply house. Glossall products makes a great bowl cleaner. If you have scratch marks, like from a brillo pad, try a liquid rust remover!!

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This is not just about cleaning a toilet. Hard water causes mineral deposit buildup that is not simply scrubbed away.

I live in a high mineral area. After I bought my house a year ago, I bought a $1300 Pelican hi-tech water softener, which has proved to be everything they say it is. Small, uses no electricity, needs no bags of salt, needs no maintenance. (My toilet problems were here when I moved in.)

Pumice will scratch the finish of a toilet! Acids, like hydrofluoric, or muriatic, will dissolve lime quickly. Just don't let them stand too long. To drop the level of water in the bowl to make cleaning easier, simply get a small bucket of water and pour it down the bowl. The water level will drop. This makes sponging out the water easier if you are removing the toilet too. Find a good commercial cleaner like I've already suggested. I know this will do it, with little effort!

Take regular household Vinegar, put it in spray bottle and spray it twice a day inside the bowl. Don't flush. Let Vinegar work for an hour or two. Before you flush, take a brush and scrub well the area in question. Repeat next day. Depending how bad it is - it could take several days to get rid off it completely. Then, make it a habit to apply Vinegar once a week before you go to sleep. Let sit overnight. Your toilets will be sparkling clean.

You cannot "ruin" porcelain with steel wool. Those steel wool marks will come off too.

Back to you / Milo

Pumice will NOT scratch the porcelain finish of the toilet Scott... have you ever tried a pumice stone? As much as you might think it would scratch the surface it is almost impossible to scratch porcelain! This is how they've been cleaning toilets for decades before they came out with CLR and other fancy calcium/lime/rust removers!

Mark

Quote:

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Originally Posted by massplumber2008

Pumice will NOT scratch the porcelain finish of the toilet Scott...have you ever tried a pumice stone? As much as you might think it would scratch the surface it is almost impossible to scratch porcelain!! This is how they've been cleaning toilets for decades before they came out with CLR and other fancy calcium/lime/rust removers!!

Mark

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Pumice is a neat volcanic rock. Rub it over a piece of glass and see what it eventually does. It is an abrasive. Maybe, besides the fact that old toilets use 3.5 ~ more that 5 gallons per flush, that is why old toilets are hard to clean and get thrown away.

I don't have to rub it over glass... been rubbing it over porcelain toilets and sinks for decades now and never had a bad result yet... ;) Heck, they still sell the pumie stick (100% pumice stone... see pic.) everyday!

With that being said, a pumice stone in the wrong hands could certainly lead to damage... can definitely see that happening, too!