Comments on: help! our new (old) toilet bowls are black!

By: shelterrific » Blog Archive » five things we learned last week

shelterrific » Blog Archive » five things we learned last week — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 15:25:59 +0000

[...] 1. How to clean a toilet like a professional. Katrina shared these tips: “I’m a professional cleaner and with really bad toilet stains: First, use brush and a hefty squirt of Soft Scrub with bleach. Brush thoroughly, let sit, then flush. Follow with a good hand scrubbing ( using gloves) with Scrub Free. Let sit, then flush. Finish with a hefty shake of Barkeeper’s Friend powder, let sit. (I leave in toilet water) Good luck, hope that works! Learn more about camode cleansing here. [...]

By: Katrina

Katrina — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 16:57:09 +0000

I’m a professional cleaner and with really bad toilet stains:
First, use brush and a hefty squirt of Soft Scrub with bleach. Brush thoroughly, let sit, then flush.
Follow with a good hand scrubbing ( using gloves) with Scrub Free.
Let sit, then flush.
Finish with a hefty shake of Barkeeper’s Friend powder, let sit.
(I leave in toilet water)
Good luck, hope that works!

By: Jenn

Jenn — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 18:04:25 +0000

Try a Magic Eraser! They’ve cleaned stains off of my enameled bathtub that I thought were impossible to remove.

By: Vespabelle

Vespabelle — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 17:47:57 +0000

I say replace it with a low-flow toilet. You can get a new toilet for about $200. Like Anna says it’s an easy thing to DIY. (no need to hire a plumber!)

By: Portia

Portia — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 17:45:41 +0000

I know this is weird, but we live in Italy with the hardest water possible. To get the stains out, fill the toilet bowl with a liter of coke (real not diet) and let sit overnight. Depending on how bad the stain is, you may have to do it a few times. This works scarily well.

Alternately, vinegar will work as well.

Portia

By: iloveupstate.com

iloveupstate.com — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 17:43:37 +0000

Use denture cleanser (yes, really).

By: julie.

julie. — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 16:31:26 +0000

As Vanessa said, the bleach really works for me. And I’d tried everything else before resorting to bleach - comet, BKF, QNB, and every type of regular toilet cleaner out there.
I only have to do it about once every year or two. Get all the water out of the bowl (bail it out with a cup or push it all down the trap with a toilet brush. Then sponge up the rest.) Then pour in straight bleach and let it sit overnight. I only have to use about a cup or less of bleach since the stains are just confined to the very bottom of the bowl. Close the lid to keep the awful toxic bleachy smells at bay. In the morning, flush and hopefully bowl will look like new again.

By: Vanessa

Vanessa — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 16:06:44 +0000

Has she tried just leaving straight bleach in there overnight? I know, not great for the environment but it does work…

By: lekkercraft

lekkercraft — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 14:23:55 +0000

My parents live in an area with high mineral content in the water. They took care of some mineral buildup just using CLR. It worked really well and took care of all of the buildup that they had been fighting for years. Might be worth a go.

By: Anna

Anna — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 13:39:02 +0000

I would drain the water and try using Barkeeper’s Friend (the powder is best — you can find it at Bed, Bath & Beyond and Williams-Sonoma) and a toilet brush.

If the toilets are really old, it’s possible that the porcelain is really badly etched, and that the stains have permeated too far to be removable. As you said, it may be best to take this as an opportunity to switch to more efficient toilets — you can get a good one fairly cheaply, and installation is usually quite easy.