How to Get Rid of Toilet Bowl Ring
It's not the most elegant question I get, but certainly one of the most common. "I've tried everything I can think of, but that stubborn, ugly toilet bowl ring won't go away!" Or "It goes away, but just keeps coming back!"
Toilet bowls develop discolorations for many reasons that have nothing to do with the quality of the housekeeping. In most cases, the toilet ring is the result of hard water conditions together with water standing in a toilet that doesn't see a lot of use.
While there are lots of commercial products out there that promise to remove hard water stains in the toilet, ordinary household pantry items you have already can be just as effective—and much cheaper!—to rid your toilet of the dreaded toilet ring without harsh chemicals.
What are those stains, anyway?
Toilet bowl stains that look like rust are likely due to mineral deposits and hard water. Green, orange or black streaks or rings may be mold. A bacteria called serratia marcescens shows up as pink.
In some cases, yellow stains in toilet bowls are due to a lack of maintenance. When your toilet bowl is exposed to urine for an extended period, yellow staining is bound to appear. You can prevent this by making sure the toilet is flushed after every use.
Under most conditions, regular weekly cleaning prevents heavy stain buildup and reduces the appearance of any existing stains so the bowl can look pristine and white again.
And when none of that works? Don't worry, I have the mother of all solutions for that too, in a bit. But let's start with the easiest.
Baking soda and vinegar
These two common, non-toxic, and harmless edible items when used together strategically, are powerful to clean things, including hard water stains and toilet rings.
- Pour 1 cup of ordinary white vinegar into the toilet bowl. Using a toilet brush, swish it around. Let it sit for a minute or so.
- Sprinkle a cup of baking soda into the toilet bowl followed by 2 more cups of vinegar. Get ready as this is going to create a fizzing action. Leave it be for about 10 minutes.
- Using the toilet brush, swish some more because you want to make sure this solution reaches stains above the waterline and under the rim. Still, do not flush.
- Let the solution sit for 30 minutes, swishing occasionally until the stains are gone. For any stain that remains, scrub it with the toilet brush or scrubby sponge. Flush the toilet to rinse.
Borax and vinegar
Borax is a stronger, yet common, household multi-purpose cleaning product that can be used to clean hard water stains in the toilet. You can find borax in the laundry aisle of most supermarkets, online or in stores like Home Depot and Lowe's.
- Sprinkle 1/4 cup of borax into the toilet bowl and swish it around with a toilet brush.
- Add 1 cup of vinegar, swish around again, and let the mixture sit in the bowl for about 20 minutes.
- Finish by scrubbing the bowl with a toilet brush to remove the stains. Flush to rinse.
- MORE: 13 Reasons to Keep Borax in the House (and Why It's Safe!)
Dishwasher pod
Drop an automatic dishwasher pod (any brand) into the toilet bowl, allow it to sit for a few minutes. Scrub the stains away with a toilet brush. Quite amazingly, I've discovered that a pod will dissolve in the room temperature water of a toilet bowl. Experimenting with automatic dishwasher powder, however, did not prove as effective for me because unlike the pod, it didn't dissolve well.
Denture tablet
Porcelain fixtures respond well to the cleaning agent in denture tablets. Drop a denture tablet into the toilet bowl. Allow it to fizzle away for about 30 minutes or even overnight. Use a toilet brush to easily remove tough stains, flush, and enjoy that sparkle!
Bleach
- Carefully pour 1 cup of liquid chlorine bleach into the toilet bowl. Let it sit for 30 minutes if you are trying to get rid of mold or bacteria. Do not use cleaners containing bleach because, believe it or not, they can make this kind of stain permanent.
- Scrub the inside of the toilet thoroughly with a toilet brush. Make sure you get the space up under the rim.
- Flush the toilet to rinse away the bleach.
When all else fails
Sadly, they've become permanent. But I have a solution for even those stains, so dry your tears! Here it is, the mother of all solutions because some stains and toilet rings are so stubborn, they're beyond baking soda, borax, vinegar, or bleach—pumice. Just be very carefully. Overuse, or using the wrong kind of pumice product, can damage the surface of the vitreous china, which that toilet bowl is made of. Careful use, infrequent use, however, is like magic!
This solution is a pumice stone. I recommend Pumie Toilet Bowl Ring Remover. As pumice stones go, this one is soft and when used infrequently, will not harm the surface of the toilet bowl. Pumie comes with a handle that makes it easy to use.
Clean regularly
You do not need to use strong and costly chemicals to prevent hard water toilet stains. Borax, baking soda, and vinegar do a great job of cleaning and disinfecting—and preventing hard water stains from building up when used regularly.
Easy maintenance
For regular maintenance and to help keep your toilet clean and free of hard water buildup, do this weekly, or as needed:
- Sprinkle 1 cup of borax into your toilet bowl before you go to bed. Get it on the sides of the bowl, under the rim, and inside the bowl itself.
- In the morning, scrub quickly with a brush, and flush. The borax loosens up everything you can see and not see, making scrub time much faster. Toilet rings, odors, and stains will flush away easily and with hardly any effort at all!
Septic systems
Ammonia products are safe for use in septic systems, in reasonable amounts. Vinegar (both white vinegar and apple cider vinegar), Borax, OxiClean, and baking soda are septic-system safe. Oxidized bleaches are septic-system safe alternatives to chlorine bleach.
Warnings
- Make sure you protect your hands with rubber gloves.
- Never mix bleach with anything that contains vinegar or ammonia because doing so can cause dangerous chemical reactions!
Updated 8-9-21
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How to Get Rid of Toilet Bowl Ring
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