How to Remove Rust From Bottom of Toilet Bowl?

Rust stains on your toilet, sink, and tub can occur for various reasons. For instance, they can appear if you don’t clean your bathroom appliances regularly or the water you use is from the well and has a high iron concentration. The stains could also be caused by a leaking rusty water pipe or other plumbing difficulties. So how to remove rust from bottom of toilet bowl?

The brown hue of rust stains has an undesirable resemblance to other forms of stains, giving the impression that you keep your bathroom in a filthy state. But, of course, it’s not your fault. Rust stains are almost unavoidable in any bathroom, especially one with hard water.

As unsightly as they are, rust stains can be removed with suitable materials. The eco-friendly methods are both economical and straightforward to use. You could even find that you already have these materials on hand and can start removing the stain straight immediately.

Before you begin cleaning, make sure that the bathroom door and windows are open for ventilation. To avoid direct contact with germs and cleaners, wear rubber gloves and protective glasses when cleaning. Also, make sure that others in the house are aware that they will not be able to use the restroom for a while.

What causes rust in a toilet bowl?

Many people are perplexed as to how rust might develop on porcelain toilets. Isn’t it the case that rust forms on metal? The problem isn’t the toilet bowl itself—it’s the water. Rusting occurs when iron and oxygen react with water, as you already know. If your water contains too much iron, the dissolved particles may be exposed to oxygen in your toilet bowl, resulting in rust stains. [1]

Iron in the water oxidizes to generate iron oxide, or rust. It wouldn’t be a problem if it only landed on your toilet’s porcelain surface because it would wash away with each flush. But unfortunately, it develops a chemical bond with the surfaces, causing it to stick to them.

That bond is strong enough to withstand scrubbing with ordinary cleaners. To break this bond, you’ll need an acid, and the two most common acids used by homeowners are vinegar and lemon juice.

How to prevent rust stains in toilet bowl

 

Here’s the deal: There are numerous remedies on the market that claim to eliminate toilet rust stains and rings permanently. But, unfortunately, they are nothing more than a white lie. No product will ever be able to erase toilet stains.

Toilet stains from hard water, particularly toilet bowl rings, are prone to repeat. This is because the issue isn’t with your cleaning skills, lack thereof, or toilet, but with the water flowing through it. Rust and other hard water stains will form again as long as hard water continues to run through your toilet. [2]

What you can do is to take precautions to prevent stains from forming in the first place. As a result, this is an ongoing process rather than a one-time event. Regularly cleaning your toilet bowl with vinegar and baking soda can ensure that brown rust stains do not appear. But it is safer, easier, and less costly to prevent stains from appearing in the first place.

Installing a water filter system or softener in your house or company is the only way to prevent rust stains from reappearing.

Look for a model that is built specifically to remove iron. Otherwise, you’ll be subjecting yourself to scrubbing until you find a new place to live.

Proven Chemical Solution For Rust Removing

If you are dealing with a bad iron stain, we highly suggest using Iron Out Rust Stain Remover. Just dump 1/2 cup of it and wait for 5-10 minutes. Raise after that, and you will be amazed by the results.

How to Remove Rust From Bottom of Toilet Bowl with Vinegar

The pungent odor and sour flavor of distilled white vinegar are due to the 4 to 8% concentration of acetic acid in the bottle you undoubtedly have in your kitchen cupboard. It’ll get the job done, but horticultural vinegar, with an acetic acid content of up to 20 percent, will get it done faster [5].

 

Protective Measures

Wear goggles and protective gloves if you use it because it’s a strong acid that should be dealt with with caution.

• Drain the water from the bowl’s bottom. Instead, we want the vinegar to take up that space and attack the stains immediately. Push as much water down the toilet with a plunger or toilet brush. There will be a small amount of water left. Soak it up with a sponge or a towel.
• Slowly pour vinegar into the basin until the waterline is reached. It’s okay to use cleaning or distilled vinegar. Cleaning vinegar is usually stronger than distilled vinegar, although both work well.
• Gradually pour a cup of baking soda into the mixing basin. Because baking soda is alkaline and vinegar is acidic, a fizzing reaction will necessitate slow pouring. If you pour a significant amount of baking soda into the bowl all at once, it will cause a violent reaction that will fill the bowl and cause it to overflow.
• Using a toilet brush, swish the solution around the bowl, paying particular attention to the rim. Ensure that all of the stains in the bowl are in touch with the solution. For the following 2 hours, swish the solution about the bowl now and then. You can let the solution sit overnight if the stains are severe.
• Scrub the toilet bowl with a firm-bristled toilet brush, concentrating on the stains.
• Flush the toilet and observe the contents. This approach works well for removing rust stains. However, you may not be able to remove all of the stains at once, in which case the entire process will have to be repeated.

Turn off the water and flush halfway to empty the toilet tank if you wish to eliminate rust stains. After that, fill it with vinegar. Wait a few hours before switching the water on and flushing the toilet.

How to remove rust from bottom of toilet bowl with lemon juice

Citric acid, which is found in lemon juice, is another home cure for rust removal. It’s not quite as potent as vinegar, but it works best when used at full power.[6].

If you wish to use it in the toilet bowl, turn off the water and flush the toilet bowl to empty it before pouring in the lemon juice.

Making a paste with lemon juice and applying it directly to the stains is probably the best method to utilize it. It should not be used with baking soda, which is basic and will combine with the acid to produce salt and water.

Although the fizz is enjoyable and appears to be cleaning, it will have little or no effect on rust. Instead, combine the lemon juice with a non-reacting powder.

If you don’t have any borax or powdered laundry detergent, you can use salt instead if you don’t get it on the toilet’s metal parts. Alternatively, a pinch of flour could be used. 

Remove rust from toilet bowl naturally

• Using pumice stone

Although vinegar and lemon juice are good rust removers, the darkest stains may require scrubbing. This can be carried out using a pumice stone, a volcanic rock that won’t scratch the porcelain.

A pumice stone is among the best tools for exfoliating dry, dead skin and can be found in almost any beauty clinic. It’s a porous, abrasive rock that’s low in weight.

The pumice scouring stick will be your greatest friend if rust stains in your toilet bowl have created a brown ring around the waterline. The pumice stone, unlike vinegar and baking soda, provides immediate results.

Allow 15 minutes after dipping the pumice stick in the water. The porosity of the pumice stick allows it to absorb a lot of water. As a result, the water will soften, making it less likely to scratch the bowl. Pick up the pumice stick after 15 minutes and scrub the rust streaks away. Start at one location and make your way around the toilet bowl.

You must be delicate while beginning because you do not want to scratch your bowl. Starting at the front side of the bowl, which is less visible, is a nice trick. Stop immediately if you don’t know how to remove rust stains from porcelain toilets and observe that the pumice stone is scratching the toilet porcelain. You should consider other options if this happens. After all, toilet bowls are not all the same!

Using Shaw’s pad

An Arizona plumber invented shaw’s pads to remove rust and other hard water stains from toilets and other fixtures without using chemicals. It is secure, environmentally sustainable, and cost-effective.

Put on your gloves, soak Shaw’s pads with water, and begin scrubbing the spots away. A detachable handle is available for purchase separately. The handle makes it possible to push the pad into tight places, such as the rim of the toilet bowl.

You’ve probably heard that Coca-Cola can remove nails, so it’s safe to assume that it can also eliminate rust. Because it contains phosphoric acid, it can. It can be poured into your bowl or tank, but it won’t function well as a paste.

Finally, a harsh cleaner may be required to remove really stubborn stains. Do not use bleach. Bleach will serve to fix the stains, making them more challenging to remove. Instead, a commercial rust and lime remover, such as CLR, is required. It includes not one but four distinct acids, and it works swiftly if you follow the directions on the label.

How to Remove Rust Stains From a Toilet Tank

Most people focus on scrubbing the toilet bowl and totally disregard the toilet tank. Even those who remember that the tank needs to be cleaned will simply want to toss in some tablets and forget about it.

Unfortunately, most toilet tank cleaning tablets contain chemical chemicals that eat and wear down the tank’s rubber components, such as the flapper. With time, you’ll notice that your toilet tank is leaking or running.

It’s critical to clean your toilet tank since most of the minerals collected there will begin to seep down into the bowl if you don’t. Scales form on the bowl due to various minerals, including iron, manganese, and calcium.

Calcium deposits can clog the toilet’s rim jets and siphon. Consequently, water flow from the tank to the bowl will be slowed, resulting in a toilet that flushes slowly and weakly. Therefore, the importance of cleaning a toilet tank cannot be overstated.

There are various methods for cleaning a toilet tank. Some of them are efficient while others are not. Cleaning the toilet tank is not the same as cleaning the bowl. To begin, the bowl is entirely made of porcelain and is extremely simple to clean. The inside of the toilet tank, on the other hand, is made up of a variety of components, some of which are composed of rubber.

When cleaning a bathroom tank, make sure you use a cleaner to get the job done without harming the sensitive areas. You don’t want to use a cleaning agent that will chip away at the tank’s rubber seals and other parts. You’ll wind up with a leaking toilet if you do. If you have a septic system, it’s also good to use an environmentally friendly and septic-safe toilet cleaner.

Before attempting to clean the toilet tank, switch off the water supply and drain the tank. Fill the tank with vinegar to the top of the overflow tube and let it sit for 12 hours. Flush down the vinegar, spray a disinfectant inside the tank and use a brush to scrub it. Avoid using chemicals like bleach and acids.

In conclusion

Cleaning your toilet bowl is crucial for keeping it rust-free, but it won’t solve the problem of hard water, which causes rusting in the first place. You may need to upgrade elements of the plumbing system to prevent stains from forming in the first place. Replacing old iron tubes with new PEX or Copper piping is a common component to upgrade.

To filter ferrous and other particulates from the main water supply, you’ll need to install a water filtration system. Similarly, using a water softening system to remove a range of minerals from your toilet bowl will be helpful in preventing rust from forming.