Having a clean and shiny bathroom can bring a feeling of comfort and happiness whenever you are visiting this room. On the contrary, having a stained toilet can bring unpleasant feelings and shame, especially when you have visitors who wish to use your bathroom. The staining of your toilet bowl and sinks can happen regardless of how hard you scrub them; this can be a nightmare!
The main reason why your bowl is stained with that tough scale is because of highly present minerals in hard water; many of us live in areas with hard water. How do you save yourself from the embarrassment of having a hard water-scaled toilet? Here is what you need to know about hard water scales and how to remove them quickly.
What Is hard water scale?
Any water with minerals such as calcium, lime, iron, and magnesium in excess is referred to as hard water. These minerals are naturally found in rainwater that has passed through rocks with the said minerals; this is how hard water is formed. Hard water scales or limescale are a build-up of calcium compounds around a surface that uses or holds hard water with excess minerals. Toilet bowls are common areas where the hard water scale is vivid since the bowls hold standing hard water.
How do hard water scales form? When this hard water evaporates, it leaves traces of mineral s accumulation behind. As the traces of minerals are drying, they easily pick up any dirt elements even from the air, and that is how the scale starts building up, layer by layer.
How do you identify hard water scale on your toilet bowl?
You will recognize hard water scales in your toilet bowl as brown or orange streaking stains. On other surfaces such as bathroom tap water, mirrors, or showerheads, it appears as a white powdery substance. Additionally, you can differentiate hard water scales from common stains. If the stains have a rough texture and are resistant to normal toilet cleaners even when there has been a vigorous scabbing, it symbolizes hard water scales.
Why you need to remove hard water scales
Most people are uncomfortable with the sight of hard water scales on their bathroom; it makes the room unhygienic. Besides the unhygienic reason, a high accumulation of limescale on your toilet bowl can hamper the normal flow of water in and out of your toilet. This may greatly affect your toilet’s flushing, which will worsen the appearance and hygiene of your house. This is the same way you remove hard water from a humidifier. This is by learning the various steps of cleaning a humidifier.
How to remove it
Numerous commercial toilet cleaning products on the market can remove hard water scales. However, these products can be harsh on the environment and yourself as well. There are several household products that are effective in fighting this tough stain off your bowl. Here is how to use eco-friendly materials to clean your toilet bowl.
Use white vinegar
White vinegar is a common ingredient for preparing salads, among other things. It is one of the best home remedies for getting rid of the tough stains caused by hard water scales on your toilet. Here is what you need to do:
- You should first ensure that the toilet bowl is dry; use a plunger to push out water from the bowl. This step is essential since you don’t want to dilute your cleaning solution with the water already in the bowl.
- Spray your vinegar everywhere on the bowl. Moisten a piece of cloth with the vinegar and use it to wipe hard-to-reach areas, including under the rim of your toilet, and leave it for about 4 hours. Consider applying it on the outside of the toilet bowl for the best results. The acidic nature of vinegar can easily dissolve hard water scales, especially if the scales are mild.
- Using a soft brush, scrub the toilet bowl, and if the stains are still vivid, you can scrub using white vinegar. It is advisable to use warm water to rinse away the stains and any residue that may have been left. However, you can also flush the toilet, and it will still work. Remember to clean the toilet seat. If the goal is not achieved, repeat the exercise. Keep away toddlers and pets from the toilet when doing this exercise.
A combination of white vinegar and baking soda
This combination makes one of the best homemade cleaning solutions for your home. This how to go about it:
- On a dry bowl, pour a cup of vinegar, ensuring it gets to all areas of the bowl, use a brush to swish it around. Allow it to settle for about 10 minutes.
- After allowing it to sit, add a cup of baking soda to the bowl, followed by another cup of vinegar. This will result in a fizzing reaction, don’t be surprised!
- Use a soft brush to ensure the solution gets to all stained areas in your toilet bowl. Allow the solution to sit for like 10 minutes. Avoid flushing your toilet at this point.
- After the waiting period, scrub the toilet using your toilet brush until you not a significant disappearance of the hard water scale. If there are stubborn scales, add some lemon juice, this should fasten the hard water scales’ removal. Flush the toilet to see the results. You can repeat the process if need be.
Borax and white vinegar
While borax is a good multi-purpose cleaner that can remove hard water scales by itself, mixing it with white vinegar improves its efficiency. How do you use it?
- Pour about a quarter a cup of borax into a dry toilet bowl, evenly spread it to cover all areas of the bowl. A toilet brush or an old piece of cloth can help you with this.
- Follow it up with a cup of vinegar; you can choose to spray it instead of pouring it into the bowl.
- Allow it to settle for about 30 minutes before brushing the remaining stains with a toilet brush. Rinse the toilet by flushing it.
Make borax paste
The borax paste is excellent for stubborn hard water scales. Here is what you need to do;
- You have to ensure that your toilet bowl is dry; this ensures that all hard water scales are exposed.
- Make the borax paste by mixing half a cup of borax with a considerable amount of white vinegar to come up with a thick paste. This paste can quickly harden, so waste no time.
- Quickly cover all the hard water scales with the paste by ensuring you have spread it all over the bowl, under the rim, and outside if need be.
- Allow the paste to sit for approximately 20 minutes before using a stiff-bristled nylon brush to scrub off the paste around the bowl. This should come out with the hard water scales. Lastly, flush the toilet.
Scrub with a steel wool
Steel wool is also an option where there is a chronic hard water scale. This is not any other steel wool but the finest grade of steel wool (0000-grade). Use this soft steel wool to scrub off the tough hard water scales present on your toilet bowl. This fine grade is not going to leave scratches on the porcelain of your toilet.
Use a sandpaper
You don’t have to replace your toilet bowl because of the stubborn hard water scale. Get yourself medium grain sandpaper to remove the major scale builds up and fine grain to buff the remaining scales. This how to do it;
- Using the medium grain sandpaper, gently scrub the hard water scales in your toilet bowl until the majority is removed. Take care not to scrub too hard otherwise. You may scratch the bowl.
- The fine grain sandpaper is for buffing the soft scales and any other stain on your bowl before flushing it to rinse away any residues left.
If the above methods do not yield much, you can consider introducing commercial toilet cleaning chemicals. This may, however, be harsh on yourself, tiles, and even to the environment.
A professional cleaning company is ideal if all your efforts of removing hard water scales from your toilet have proved futile. The company has professionals to help you restore the beauty of your toilet.