Magic Eraser is a sponge-like product designed to remove tough stains from surfaces, including walls, countertops, appliances, and sinks. It can be used to remove toilet bowl rings, but only when used as intended. To use the Magic Eraser, wet it slightly and scrub the ring, then flush it away by placing it in the toilet.
Morgan Brashear, scientific communications manager at Procter and Gamble, states that while Magic Eraser is a great solution for cleaning dirt around the toilet bowl and the exterior of the toilet, it won’t actually prevent unsightly stains. Instead, use a combination of baking soda and vinegar, a pumice stone, borax and vinegar, or steel wool to remove stubborn toilet bowl rings. No-scrub methods include white vinegar and CLR.
Harsh cleaners can remove sealant in toilet bowls and cause permanent rings. Instead of purchasing a market toilet bowl cleaner, pour a cup of bleach into the bowl and let it sit overnight. If you have a stubborn toilet bowl ring, cut off a piece of a Mr Clean Magic Eraser and let it sit in the bowl overnight.
To keep your bowl clean, drop a magic sponge (aka Magic Eraser) in the tank, making sure to place it as far away from the drain as possible. The Magic Eraser is a great solution for cleaning dirt around the toilet bowl and the exterior of the toilet, but it won’t actually prevent unsightly stains.
In summary, Magic Eraser is a sponge-like product that can be used to remove stubborn stains from surfaces like walls, countertops, appliances, and sinks. However, it doesn’t prevent unsightly stains and should be used with caution.
📹 How to Clean the Inside Toilet Rim with an Eraser Sponge
You know that muck that gets trapped under the toilet rim where the water flushes out? Well, it’s difficult to clean. Over the years …
How do I get rid of yellow streaks in my toilet bowl?
To clean a toilet, a solution of one cup of baking soda and one and a half cups of white vinegar should be prepared. The mixture should be allowed to bubble for approximately 30 seconds, after which the bowl should be flushed to ensure a hygienic result. In the event that the stain is particularly deep, it is recommended that the solution be left to sit for up to several hours before flushing.
Where not to use Magic Eraser?
Magic Eraser should not be used on surfaces that are shiny or easily scratched, such as wood, stone, marble, granite, and technically painted surfaces. It is important to exercise caution and conduct a patch test before using a Magic Eraser on these surfaces. It is not recommended to buff marks from car exteriors with a Magic Eraser, as it can result in more damage and higher repair costs. Screens, cell phones, and laptops should be protected with a screen protector.
Non-stick cookware, particularly non-stick frying pans, should be avoided as the chemicals from the coating can leak into food. Stainless steel should also be avoided unless there are minor scratches.
What not to use Magic Eraser on?
Magic Eraser should not be used on surfaces that are shiny or easily scratched, such as wood, stone, marble, granite, and technically painted surfaces. It is important to exercise caution and conduct a patch test before using a Magic Eraser on these surfaces. It is not recommended to buff marks from car exteriors with a Magic Eraser, as it can result in more damage and higher repair costs. Screens, cell phones, and laptops should be protected with a screen protector.
Non-stick cookware, particularly non-stick frying pans, should be avoided as the chemicals from the coating can leak into food. Stainless steel should also be avoided unless there are minor scratches.
Is Magic Eraser safe on toilet bowl?
Procter and Gamble’s scientific communications manager, Morgan Brashear, posits that while Magic Eraser is efficacious for the removal of soiling around the toilet bowl and exterior, it is not an effective deterrent for the formation of unsightly stains and rings within the bowl. The issue may be attributable to the disabling or blocking of JavaScript by an extension.
How do I get my toilet bowl to sparkle white?
In instances where limestone is present in the water supply, the use of white vinegar or citric acid may be employed for the purpose of cleaning the toilet.
How to get a toilet bowl white again?
To clean a toilet bowl, one should first wet the surface with water. Then, a solution of white vinegar should be sprayed onto the surface, left to sit for approximately 30 minutes, and then a toilet brush should be used to scrub away any stubborn stains.
How to get mold ring out of toilet?
Distilled white vinegar is a natural and eco-friendly solution for removing mold in toilets. Its acidic properties kill mold spores and prevent further growth. To use, spray undiluted white vinegar onto affected areas, let it sit for a few hours or overnight, then scrub with a toilet brush. Rinse thoroughly with water. If the vinegar smell is bothersome, add essential oil like tea tree or lavender oil.
Baking soda can also be added for increased effectiveness. Baking soda paste is another natural cleaning agent that has mild abrasive properties and can help scrub away mold stains without damaging the toilet surfaces.
What is the best cleaner for toilet bowl rings?
To remove toilet bowl rings, turn off the water valve and flush to empty the water bowl. Apply a cleaning agent to a wet sponge using powder cleaners like Bon Ami or Bar Keepers Friend. These products create a thick scouring paste when mixed with water, which can be applied to a wet sponge, mixed in a small bowl with water, or directly to a wet surface. The Pink Stuff is a cream formula that can be applied directly to a wet sponge. This method effectively removes stains caused by mineral buildup.
Can I use a magic eraser on a toilet ring?
Procter and Gamble’s scientific communications manager, Morgan Brashear, posits that while Magic Eraser is efficacious for the removal of soiling around the toilet bowl and exterior, it is not an effective deterrent for the formation of unsightly stains and rings within the bowl. The issue may be attributable to the disabling or blocking of JavaScript by an extension.
Does Magic Eraser damage porcelain?
Magic Erasers® is a cleaning solution that can safely be used on ceramic tiles and porcelain, but it may scratch surfaces that are painted, varnished, polished, or easily scratched. These surfaces include faux marble, acrylic surfaces, plastic surfaces, linoleum floors, wood floors, stone, kitchen and bathroom cabinets, furniture, and highly polished or shiny items. Magic Erasers are used for cleaning and removing soap scum, marks from flat paint, splatters inside the microwave, dried paint from baseboards and stair risers, sticky/dusty range hoods, limescale buildup from faucets/fixtures, stains from the underside of toilet seats, melted plastic from glass stove tops, tile and grout, hairspray build-up on countertops and vanities, and soap scum and gunk from bathtubs.
What removes toilet water ring?
To apply borax paste to hard water stains, start by draining the toilet and shutting off the water valve. Mix half a cup of borax and one quarter cup of vinegar to create a thick paste. Spread the paste onto the stains, ensuring they are completely covered. Allow the paste to sit for 15 to 20 minutes before scrubbing it into the toilet bowl. Focus on areas with significant buildup. Rinse the bowl by turning back on the water valve and flushing.
To prevent and remove hard water stains, practice regular weekly maintenance, deep clean the toilet biweekly, install a water softener, and consider stronger chemical cleaners if necessary. However, these products can be harmful to the environment and health. Non-toxic cleaners like baking soda and vinegar, Bon Ami or Bar Keepers Friend, and borax can also be effective in removing hard water stains from the toilet bowl.
📹 Recurring Toilet Ring – Top 3 Solutions tested – Problem Solved
We tested the top 3 recommended solutions to resolve this nagging problem faced by home owners and cleaning companies.
I used LIME-A-WAY from your article on my toilet bowl over two weeks ago. First of all after applying it and letting it sit there for about 15 minutes, I took the SCOTCH BRITE Blue scouring pads and the stain ring around the water line wiped off as if it was a spill. Tomorrow will be three weeks since I cleaned it with this miracle product and still no recurring stain has returned.
I have 2 toilets. One is 50 years old and the other 15. The 15 year old toilet developed similar problems and my blame is the newer toilets do NOT have as good of a porcelain coating. The newer toilets are designed to develop these problems as you stated every 10 years for the purpose of a need to replace them more often. My advice, keep the 50 year old toilets if you can. The 50 year old toilet is not only painted better, but is also insulated and will not sweat in the summer.
We had a summer rental and the toilet was always dirty even with in the tank additives. It was very old so I asked a plumber he suggested to use hot (not boiling) vinegar soaked paper towels to line, penetrate and disinfect ring area. Then let dry overnight. Next day use silicone for fish tanks (use gloved finger to spread over ring area.) It fills the crevices but, is clear and won’t show. We never got rings again. The owner even called us about it when we left and was very grateful as her whole house had same issues.
The pumice stone can actually badly scratch a toilet bowl (happened to 3 of mine). Only thing that improved the bowl surface was an automotive windshield glass sealer (not RainX – you’ll need a ceramic coating designed to bond to glass). Applying the sealer to my bowls has dramatically reduced their tendency to create water rings. Optimum GLASS coat is available directly from Optimum Technology.
As a car detailer, car paint has microscopic pores in it, that end up doing the same thing, catching dirt. So what we detailers do is to close up those pores by using compounds that wear down the paint so the pores are shallower and then polish it over. So in this application, I would add bleach to the water and let it sit for about 10 mins with water at level, then flush and clean as normal, that’s just the cleaning part, now you need to fill in those tiny pits, my guess would be a some sort of ceramic filler or a ceramic coating that coats the entire bowl. Just a thought from a detailer’s perspective.
We have three toilets in our home. One has been there since the home was built in 1989. It has NO stains or pits. One is about 20 years old and has NO stains or pits. The third one is about 4 years old and HAS stains AND pits. So I think it’s also the quality of the material in the toilet. The stained toilet is one from Home Depot and it’s very hard to keep it clean…
I do understand the hard work that went into this article and appreciate you showing us the cause of the ring. My solution to getting rid of the ring and cleaning my toilet is so much easier without ever using a brush. The ring is common for all of us unless you are using a whole house filtered water supply that removes all of the lime and hardness in the water. I do not have that and use a very simple solution. So there are a few general toilet bowl cleaners and they work if you allow them to work. So before I go to bed at night I use the toilet bowl cleaner and all around the inside of the toilet bowl lip and let it sit over night and into the next day when you get ready to use it again. You will find the toilet bowl completely clean, no scrubbing is required.
Interesting life lesson to share. Anything more than a ring in a toilet, such as excessive mold, is often a sign of high blood sugar in the occupants. My husband is diabetic and when he went off his meds, I kept having a big mold problem and could not figure it out until he got his blood sugars corrected. Just a little FYI. Thanks for the solutions to the problem.
I had a ring like this that kept returning again and again after a couple of days, I used the WalMart Great Value Mold & Mildew Remover on this ring and it stays off for a lot longer. It does eventually come back but this is the best stuff so far that I have used and would strongly recommend it to all.
I had a friend who had a car detail business come in and he drained my toilet and applied a rubbing compound to the bowl to clean it then he applied a ceramic coating to it and let it cure overnight. Ever since he did that nearly three years ago nothing sticks to the bowl and no ring appears at all. It was the best $35 I spent.
I had that going on and we bought a new toilet. The black ring came back on a new toilet. So when my plumber was here to follow-up other pluming things he had done, I showed him the black ring. He said I had a hard water issue and said he could install an additional part to my water softener that would cover Iron build-up. It worked like a charm. No more black ring.
I am a ceramics instructor. I make dolls and various other things. The worst thing for your toilet is to use cleanser and scrubbies. Instead, use the cleaner for glass top stoves and a “cleaning erasure”. You wont pit the toilet, or remove the glaze. Also, after cleaning the toilet, put some olive oil or any liquid cooking oil on a soft cloth and rub around the water line.
I’ve been a cleaner for 30 years and have been through this whole routine I’ve also tried clorox cleaner, the problem is hard water in the home I have clients with brand new toilets that got this way immediately. Don’t you love the way 90% of the clients have toilet bowl brushes right next to the toilet and they can’t manage to swish that bad boy out between cleanings 🙃
The VERY best solution is the Kaboom cleaning system. It is a small container that you hang in the tank. Not in the water, but hangs on the back edge inside the tank. You take the flush valve tube and connect to one end of the container. Then from the other side of the container you run another tube into the overflow pipe. Then you add a bleach tablet to the container. When the toilet flushes the refill water travels through the container, picks up bleach from the tablet and runs into the toilet bowl. By doing this you do not damage your rubber gaskets in the tank. I have been using this system for years and it works perfectly ! The kit comes with the tubes required.
I was cleaning a Dr’s house weekly. At least 3 people used one toilet. Always a black ring. My boyfriend is a diabetic who let his sugar run wild. His toilet always had a black ring too. I mentioned to the Dr maybe someone was having high blood sugars. 4 months later she got checked out and was running 700 to 800 blood sugars!!! All that sugar in urine promotes bacteria growth in the toilet and needs cleaned more than weekly.
i use that ZEP on my toilet…keeps it clean for a loooong time…walmart sells it, but you generally won’t find it amongst regular household cleaners…look over by the hardware/paint area as this is industrial strength stuff…they have other ZEP products there too, but i just use the toilet bowl one…cuts through shower soap scum fast, and easy, along with those rusty hard water stains
It is mold (black) and sometimes bacteria (reddish). One way to prevent this is to simply spray a little shower cleaner, soap, or bleach in the bowl after each flush. Another may be to use one of those hanging bowl cleaners that release cleaner with each flush. That will serve as an antimicrobial to prevent growth. This will also prevent you from having to get so physically intimate with your toilet as this guy did.
Great article. Cleaned my toilets this morning and the one has had a rough ring since the day we bought it. Hmm, why would there be roughness at the water line of a new toilet? We did not notice it until hubby had installed it and he was not going to take it out to return it, thinking we could just clean it off. Now, once a week, it turns yellowish, I scrub with Comet, spray with a bleach cleaner and it lightens it but as long as it is rough it will never be nice and clean looking. I think I will try the Bar Keepers Friend and a scrubby now. Even when I know the bowl is clean that ring is staring at me and thumbing its nose. Fortunately, it is in the master bath that is only used by us. The old toilet in the main bath is fine.
Great article, thank you! I watched another one that poured distilled white vinegar into the toilet fill valve and it worked. I’m not sure how often it needs to be done. I think scrubbing hard makess things worse by contributing to the pits in the ring. I had a cleaning person who scrubbed the heck ot of my kitchen sink and stripped off the protective top layer.
Since all three of my “water saver” toilets had the “recurring rings”, I purchased flush kits that had adjustable components (“flapper” flush valve and bowl fill tube valve). By adjusting the “flapper” for a short interval flush time and the bowl fill valve for a more limited fill time, I achieved a “random” bowl water level result, thus rarely allowing the water level in the bowl to remain at the same level. After months now, the rings gradually faded with each cleaning and are now gone. It SEEMS that the rings MAY have involved organisms that live in the pitting. It SEEMS that they can’t survive without the CONTINUAL critical balance of air and water that apparently occurs only with a consistent water line. It SEEMS that having a water line that is inconsistent destroys the “habitat” for the “little microbial monsters” accordingly. (Note: This adjustment requires “skillfully” holding the flush lever a bit longer when you do a “big job” & shorter for “little jobs”. It also seems to save water & thus $$$.)
Some of those solutions have long term consequences and you ruin your porcelain … ask me how I know …. (6min) I do not think you got to the source of the problem ….MODERN TOILETS are poorly made / shape is wrong … hard to clean…. I never had a problem with my old porcelain toilet —- it is the new modern ones that have the problem of pitting… the porcelain is poorly/ cheaply made.
I had this problem for quite a while, then realised that the water in the cistern also had a ring plus small black debris on the bottom. I found out that the inflow hose had started to decay and was shedding tiny black rubber particles. I changed the inflow hose and solved the problem. No more bowl ring.
In older toilets, the glaze on the porcelain develops micro-cracks and mold spores that are invisible to the naked eye live in those little cracks and grow to become visible mold. Also if you have well water and have no chlorine in your water, the mold will thrive in that. A chlorine tab for a swimming pool dropped in the tank may help in that case, however, too much chlorine in your water can reduce good bacteria in your septic system if you have a septic tank. One of the best solutions is to shut off the water supply to the toilet and use a penetrant such as WD-40 and leave it sit for a while to kill the mold and it just might keep the mold away for a long time.
One thing that has worked for me to extend the period before a ring develops: last flush of the night as the bowl is refilling, add a small squirt of environmentally friendly dish detergent, and the action of the water will swish it around. I think it helps bacteria or whatever it is from clinging to the sides.
I cleaned homes and Businesses for years and I cleaned a store once a week..when I first started cleaning there, they had an ugly ring in the Ladies toilet in the restroom…I cleaned the toilet and got rid of the ring but to prevent the ring from coming back, I would drop by a couple nights a week after the store closed…you know what a package of powered Kool-Aid is…you know what the kids drink mixed with water…No sugar added….Get the Lemonade flavored…Pour 2 packs in the toilet and do not flush…leave overnight…someone will flush the next day…The owner asked me what I did and as long as I cleaned the store, the ring never came back…it does work!!
I never had a problem with toilet bowl rings in my old toilet and it was 10 to 15 years old. After I had my bathroom completely remodeled with all brand new fixtures, I began to have problems with toilet bowl ring. It will come off with the cling type bowl cleaner and toilet brush, but it is still annoying.
Using a spray cleaner that has chlorine bleach in it will keep the ring from ever coming back after you have scrubbed the toilet. Spray every other day without rinsing, including under the rim, works like a charm. Been doing this for years and it works. The black ring is mold and mildew (sewer organisms) caused by hard water. You will find the same residue mold inside drain and sewer pipes. It’s not just pitting that exasperates the problem, new toilets can also get the same ring, know this as fact. I would tell my customers to continue with spraying after maids had cleaned, they were happy with the results. Don’t use that pumice stone, it eventually will sand away the protective enamel coating, making it more porous where mold and mildew have an easier way to hide in nicks and crannies and it will grow quickly.
If you do not have a shut-off valve: To keep the water from refilling in the bowl, don’t flush the tank. Get a bucket of water (1.5-2 gals) and pour it into the bowl. It flushes the water down BUT because you didn’t empty the tank, it won’t refill the bowl. The float in the tank is what refills the bowl! Easy-pezzy!
I remember seeing a story about dock piers, the things that keep the dock above the water. It said the part of the pier that degraded was the area washed by waves. Above or below the wave area, basically significantly less comparative deterrioration. The wave area water had its oxygen constantly replenised. Therefore, I think it microbial and the criters want a place to hang their hat, the shoreline of the porcelain lake. Maybe this helps.
!!VINEGAR!! I reasoned that I have hard water (alkali), so when the sitting water slowly evaporates over time it will leave that “ring” of “hard alkali” behind. What reacts with/neutralizes alkali? Why acids of course. What’s a really cheap & readily available acid? Plain old, cheapest 5% vinegar you can find at some discount stores & all grocery stores. Try 1/2 a cup, wait maybe 10 minutes, then try just brushing should make it disappear. If not, wait longer. If not that, try a whole cup of vinegar. (If really horrible, scrub with vinegar & scrub (not scratch) pad.) See what works best because it’s CHEAP, not harmful if used with standard vinegars, and HANDS FREE. I remember a commercial, “And away go troubles down the drain!”
Once you get the calcification of mineral off. Keep a brush close by, flush bowl a couple times, and put a couple drops of Dawn..in. Swirl around to degrease and let it sit. The body produces grease that clings to the sides. Minerals like Iron cling to the grease eventually hardening. Using Dawn, a couple times a day keeps it from accumulating….and building up.
HAD a 40 yr old toilet, and NO probs. The building owner of my apartment decided I needed a new toilet. Now after a few months with a NEW toilet, I find I need to scrub every 3 days, and …..NOW I have a ring! The old toilet I scrubbed about once a month, but only cause I imagined it a necessity. Same manufacturer, but new toilets are now made in Mexico. Need a new toilet? Buy an old one from ‘American Standard’.
ok….i was ready to get a new toilet 3 years ago…tried everything…finally found acid toilet bowl cleaner at 17 dollars a gallon…worked great….then covid slowed down transport…my hard water buildup was killing me so i searched hard on net….low and behold….last thing at nite…put bottle of vinegar on lid so no one uses…simple, pour a dollor bottle of vinegar, use commode brush and swish around a little bit of liquid dish soap, guarantee next morning…GONE…do once a month…no caustic chemicals, clean toilet….BABAMMMM
Lived in an 100 yr old house before downsizing, never had a water buildup issue. Moved into a 5 yr old condo, not only had this happening in the three toilet bowls, but also had build up on shower head and kitchen faucets. Dish drain and dishwasher had lots of funky staining. Had water analyzed and got a whole house water treatment/softener system. Within a week all bowls and faucets clean, worked like a charm! No need to often scrub, just drop a cleaner in tank and maintains bowl clean with every flush.
I struggled with nasty toilet rings for years because we such have very hard well water. My husband scraped the calcium ring off with the pumice stone. To maintain the sparkly porcelain finish, I put a cup of powdered dish detergent in the toilet tank (not the bowl) once a week. A swish with the brush only once a week, keeps the toilet sparkling clean. If dish detergent keeps your porcelain dishes clean without scrubbing, it will also keep your porcelain toilet bowl clean.
A) You can’t use ANY of these harsh chemicals in a septic system. B) They will kill the microbial function of your system. C) Pumice stone removes the porcelain glaze and makes the problem worse by improving the “grip” zone for the stain. D) Stain goes to the molecular level and can be removed by a topical chemical application with the water drained from the bowl and a rag to plug the hole during application, much like bleaching out a stain in clothing or fabric. E) If your water is hard or otherwise contains high degree of minerality, probably nothing with keep the ring from reappearing short of adjusting the bowl water level to alter the water-to-oxygen contact area. If you notice, rings only form at the water-air-level contact area, or bio-zone, not above or below. Consequently, an ideal environment is created for the mineral-stain to thrive in the media the water and air provide. Altering this zone (discussed below by Franklin Thomas) deprives the staining microbes of the environment or “habitat” they require to leave their mark. However, my staining problem is compounded by the fact I have a well which is pure water, but untreated with city chlorine which otherwise destroys several bacteria which develop a slight yellowish, surface coating under the water surface in about 3 days and becomes darker over time. But, it easily washes right off, unlike the “ring” water line stain.
I appreciate the article and the effort you put in the experiment. I’ve been using pumice stones in my toilets due to hard water for over 25 years. They work well with no etching, and we’ve never had to change a toilet because the surface was pitted or scratched. One of the main reasons for the pumice stone is our septic system. Pumice stones clean nicely and don’t hurt it. Everyone needs to make sure what type of system they’re on, septic or sewer, before using cleansers on their toilets. You need to make sure that any products used are safe for the system you have. Check the labels and search the internet. With our septic system, we have to be very careful with the microbial balance in our septic tank. The wrong types of products flushed down the toilet affect that balance and the parts of the system itself causing costly damage.
Good job – thanks! I have used all these products with similar results. However, you will speed things up by using circular scouring pads chucked to a power drill. My problem toilet is an American Standard circa 1997. Yes, I’m sure the glazing has failed at the waterline, for reasons beyond my capacity to understand. The question that remains for me is, does the glazing hardness on various brands of toilets differ? I think it does vary, since the other two toilets in my home – that were replaced around the same time – are not American Standards. Neither of the other two have this problem. So, let’s all get together and bring a class-action suit to American Standard for selling toilets with sub-standard glazing…:)
Great article, I have a toilet that is about 70 years old, and I have very hard water here in Whittier, Ca. It does get a ring at water level sometimes. But, I brush it every time, after I use it. It is very clean, so far. I have used every thing, under the sun, to clean it, including (Coke a Cola), which works well, by the way. But, I brush it every time, after I use it. Just the toilet brush and water is all that it needs. Keep up the good work!! BOB R
I am Soo glad no you did this article! Even though I doubt seriously if any of my customers past or present will see it and and apologize to me! I have been a cleaning lady for over 20 yrs! I have tried all the things you did! One lady has the scouring bar she asked me to use..and was furious when she realized it scratched! For some folks when I explained that their toilet needed replacing..well that was the last straw and they let me go!😄Goodbye I said to the toilet that I had tried to keep clean for many years! So yes I see the lovely cleaning crews with their cute little uniforms! I started that way and they look so young! I truly feel for you and wish you the best! I retire next year! I hope I can finally be rid of toilet nightmares!👍🙋♥️🕊️🕊️🕊️🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
I had this happen. If the water sits in the bowl too long then mineral deposits form a ring stain. I poured CLR liquid into the bowl and let it set overnight and then lightly scrubbed the bowl in the morning and flushed toilet and ring was gone. No fuss no mess and no pumice stone scratches. Be sure not to use the CLR spray as it is diluted and infective.
As others have noted, I tend to put the main cause on the quality of the toilet itself. Older toilets were made with higher quality, while the newer versions tend to focus on cost control, giving up the quality aspect. Even with water differences, it still seems that those made with higher quality material and care have less issues than those newer and less expensive versions. I chalk it up to the turn to being a ‘disposable’ society. Generally speaking, products are made with the ideal that it shouldn’t last long, and designed to be replaced with ‘newer version’ items. Sad, in my opinion. I’d rather pay more up front, for a high quality product, then deal with the added expenses of trying to make a cheaper version last as long or have to be replaced more often.
The pumice stone does not scratch the porcelain because it’s too hard. I have been using the same kind of stone for years and it gets most of the hard water and calcium and mineral stains up pretty well. Never ever put bleach in with Comet or any other chemical because you can end up being overcome by the toxic fumes. I don’t know where you come up with that idea but that was a bad idea. The black ring that you are seeing is either mold, bacteria or mineral deposits. Often the water is the culprit that’s why it keeps coming back. The only way to stop it is to have your water treated prior to it entering your home. A water softener will help with hard water staining.
I have an old toilet that kept doing that so I poured a while box of baking soda and added about a half a gallon of vinegar and let it foam up in the ring where the water comes in them scrubbed up in there there was so much black stuff came out needless to say I went back to regular toilet cleaner After but the ring stayed gone for about three months so did the baking soda and white vinegar again and still do now about once a month to keep it away. My fiance has diabetes and I’m on a well water but I also had the black ring with him on city water. So I think it is the diabetes because I was married for 11 years no diabetic in the house and never had the black ring on city or well water.
My very 1st apartment eons ago had a horror show of a toilet. Literal seaweed looking mold had grown. After months of scrubbing there was a blackish ring much like this would recur. My grandmother swore the best way to kill it for good was hydrigen peroxide! Turn off the water to it. Flush. Bail and use a towel to empty the bowl completely. Pour in the hydrgen peroxide up over the ring. Leave it for a minimum of 30 minutes. Flush it down. Use another towel to help completely empty it. This time use white vinegar. Fill up over the ring. Slowly sprinkle baking soda in until the foam is level with the under rim of the bowl. Leave it until the foam is almost dissipated. Glove up and scrub scrub scrub! Turn the water back on and flush until the water is clear.
Nice presentation, and your analysis was very useful! The micro-pitting WAS on the toilets in my home, and I used a glass-polish compound (from an auto-parts store) after drying the toilet out and that helped. I noticed that “Coaching with Kelly” suggested wax and that made me think about the polish. We have well-water and the iron/calcium was getting stuck in those pits and hardening like little diamonds.
I had the same thing.what I DID was shut the water valve off to occlude the water flow, then I flushed the toilet to get more water out of the tank.i then had gone to the .99 store and bought 2 liters of cola and let it sit. It did desolve the calcium HOWEVER….. someone had used that stupid Pumas Stone on the Ring so what that did was leave fine cuts into the ceramic toilet and that’s where the bacteria rested until the next cleaning. The cola did a great job but, again, the scratches on the bowl was the game changer for me. I went down to Lowe’s and for less than $100 I switched out the toilet. I use the old toilet in the yard as a recessed fountain.its whimsical!!
When I came across your article I was super excited to hopefully help my daughter. She recently built a home about 2 1/2 years ago. I always stop by her home to visit and noticed both commodes had the same ring as your article. (BTW, Great article). I immediately told her she needs to clean more. Lol. She mentioned the whole story as in your article about how the ring keeps coming back. She had researched and already uses the stone. Since she has a new home and new toilets I can only conclude there must be something in the water. I may put some kind of water filter at the valve. Do you have any suggestions? (Or you’re subscribers can see it in your next article. Hint! Lol. Thank you
This was a very interesting article…particularly because several of my viewers asked about the ring in their toilets and I was doing a little research about how to handle it. I like the Bar Keepers Friend idea with the green pads because when I’ve tried the regular cleaners, it fades the ring but doesn’t completely get rid of it. I’ll also recommend that they clean their toilets more often. Maybe every couple of days or possibly try vinegar in the toilet bowl overnight. Thank you so much for this information. It was really nice to see your scientific approach!
The only way to prevent this is easy. Put a water filter to the Toilet water inlet, perhaps a water softener, or use both. No more “Hard Water Stains”. It can also help in preventing Serratia Marcescens, but will not eliminate it on its own. Sometimes an additive to the tank can help delay the rings, but when you have a high concentration of minerals in the water (Hard Water), it will always come back. The reason lime-a-way works so well is because it is an acid. Bleach is a base (an alkali). Both can be effective in their own ways. To prove that by eliminating contaminates from the water the ring won’t come back, try using only filtered water in the toilet for 2 weeks (I know, a pain in the butt) by pouring the top tank by hand from something like a Brita, Pure or Zero filter pitcher. Serratia Marcescens loves phosphorus rich damp environments. it can feed off of fatty substances such as soap and shampoo residue. Kill it with bleach, rinse, ensure the area is completely dry then spray an acid (like Lime-a-way)and use a course (like 3m scrubby) to remove the rest. spray again with the acid. Let that sit for 3 to 5 minutes, rinse again, then dry. Gone until the next time you leave the area damp with a “Food Source” ( phosphorus-containing materials or fatty substances such as soap and shampoo residue).
The trouble is more up in the rim, where the water comes out. Some toilets will actually have dark lines coming from 1 or more of those holes. These holes are very tough to clean thoroughly but does help quite a bit. DO NOT put bleach or bleach products in the tank of your toilet, as it will destroy the parts in it. I did watch a article that put vinegar into the overflow. This is what I will be trying next.
Our toilet ring problem was actually in the tank! It had moldy mildewy stuff in it along with red algae. We just scrubbed it good and followed up with a couple of toilet tablets. The tank was clean and it also stopped the reoccuring ring in the bowl as well. It’s been months since, but now we know what to look for if it returns again. Usually happens in the summer when the incoming water is warmer etc. We have a treatment system/softener on our water supply and there is no chlorine left afterwards. We started putting a cup of bleach in our toilet tanks every couple of months. Seems to work very well.
Thanks for this article. We have toilets that are over 90 years old and they do not have this problem. We have a toilet that is about 20 years old with this problem. I think as you observed, the porcelain on the new toilet is pitted and the pits form a nucleus for mineral precipitation. I think our new toilet porcelain did not have the quality of the porcelain on our old toilets and so mineral ring deposits (mainly CaCO3) form more quickly. One thing that will damage porcelain is NaOH (lye). Often you can observe tubs that have been etched by using drain cleaners that containing lye that was allowed stand in contact with the tub.
My biggest question is, how often is the toilet used? I have 4 toilets and i have this problem in three of the four, the one i don’t have this issue with is the one i use constantly. the others are used once a week at best, so those are the ones that i keep getting the ring in. My cure for this is, a 1/4 cup of bleach or Clorox clean-up in them, especially in the ones not used often.
Here’s a small issue you may also wish to consider (especially in older homes or rentals): We all clean our toilet bowls, mind you the frequency varies, but have you ever cleaned the tank? After I sold my house and moved into a retirement apartment, the toilet bowl would get brown algae insanely fast. Popped the tank lid off and…. EWWW ICK! It looked like slow stagnant pond growth. Like brown ‘hair’. So a few cups of bleach into the tank, wait 30 minutes, then a good scrub brush. I didn’t have this problem in my home, but with 2 kids (and all their constant friends), the toilet got flushed way more often. So I think the less frequent use of a retired couple was the bigger contributor? Also the previous tenant was an older senior. *another contributor was the ‘half flush or full flush’ feature on the toilet.
That is very helpful; thank you! I’ve got toilets that are 40 years old; they flush great, BUT the one in the guest bathroom has a ring that doesn’t go away no matter how hard you scrub (or with what). And yes, I have hard water of pH 8.5 and have tried pretty much everything out there, including vinegar/baking soda. Luckily for me, I don’t care about it enough to waste my time scrubbing the toilet every few days. Oh well…if guests are disturbed by it, they can go find another toilet! LOL
I bought my house several years ago. It’s a 70-year-old house. One of the toilets had a terrible looking ring that I could not get rid of. I bought everything under the Sun to attempt to get rid of this ring. I finally came across some stuff, about a year ago, called “Restore 4”. Plunged the toilet out and brushed the stuff on. The ring disappeared. It looks like new and the ring has never come back. Two stores that I know have this “Restores 4” is Ross’s Dress 4 Less and Menards. Periodically you can also get it at Big Lots. It’s also great for sinks and tubs.
If you have floor ac/heat vents in your bathroom, these vents will blow dust and debris in the air. It will settle in your sink, tub toilet and on other things. When it lands in the toilet it disperses to the side of the water line and sticks there. Try closing your the toilet lid and see if that helps.
We have the same problem in Gilbert, Az ( suburb of Phoenix). I used a pumice stone for several years until I discovered an easy way, labor free. Squirt the Clorox gel toilet bowel cleaner along the rim where water comes out, because it builds up there too and then another squirt all around the ring right above the that appears and leave it for an hour or so, even longer if you want and it disappears completely. To prevent it coming back, do it wants a week .. Once it id gone you can also use a brush and then squirt around the ring and leave it . .
I would try using the porcelain touch up kits that they make to fix chips in your plumbing fixtures. You can get it at any hardware store. Clean the ring really well .Dry it well and then apply. I would guess that if its pits in the porcelain then this would fill the pits and keep mold from growing in those pits.
Been using Pumice for decades, it has never ever scratch our porcelain, never. So this guy says it is likely to scratch the toilet… that ain’t gonna happen. The stuff if cheap and it works. About 5 to six months down the road, use the same bar that was remaining from the first clean. I get about 3 t0 4 uses out of each bar. The stuff is so cheap, I usually buy 10 at a time. Home Depot has a bunch of it. Bar Keeps cleanser is good on stainless steel, copper and other metal, but never ever use it on brushed nickel. Ain’t good for that kind of texture. The other stuff my wife uses for the bathroom sinks and toilets, but nothing else. This is from learning over the past 40 years.
This article revealed the secret, but fails to connect the dots. The porcelain is porous . All you need to do is use a porcelain tile sealer on the inside of the bowl. And any place it is hard to clean. If you do not happen to have tile sealer. Car wax, or Car polish will work. I coated our toilet with car polish back in the first week February. It is now May 12. Still working! Makes it a lot easier to clean in general. A combination of the tile sealer coated with the wax are polish may even work better than by themselves. Hope this helps.
That line is due to a mineral build up from the water. Since that is the water line it accumulates since it sits at that level. A mild sandpaper works too. It’s the same abrasion level. Nothing will stop it except a water softener. Ask subscribers that live in a soft water area if they have a milder or even no building up. Comet type powder will cut into the porcelain over time. Look at old homes and you’ll find sinks that have worn off porcelain areas. Remember the way to repair a foggy headlight plastic lens is to sand it down, usually using two grades of sand paper BUT A MUST is to spray a clear sealer. Each time it’s cleaned with any abrasive will eventually wear away the clear coat and back comes the material buildup
We have 4 new Toto toilets and you are correct, about 1 or 2 weeks it gets a ring. Our old toilets did not do this over the 25 years they were here. Under a magnifying glass I can see little tiny pits. Our water tests show soft water. We were told to not to use abrasive brushes or cleansers because of a Special coating. Hmm, I think all the new toilets have an inferior porcelain coating to the old real ones. Good old USA products back then. So we are testing a glass coating on one of ours call Cquartz that is used in the automotive paint detailing world and see if this stops this problem. Let me know what works for you.
Here’s a cheap answer. Clean with white vinegar every few days. Keeps it very clean. Sorry had read other reply to vinegar too. Vinegar by it’s self. Not dangerous. Putting tablets in back of toilet can possibly erode inside pieces of toilet tank. I’ve had them do that. I just clean every 2-3 days with a little amount of vinegar, leave in over night and always clean
I haven’t laughed this hard in years. Tears streaming down my face. Woke up my husband (and he is very hard of hearing). Thank you so much. The combinations of the talking head, the toilet bowl, the magnifying glass, and most of all the posted comments was hilarious. And I’ve got a toilet with the same problem. So I CLEAN IT!!!! BTW what is Monkey Butt? See 14:04 and comment above….
About 6 Apple Cider Vinegar tablets per week, in the tank, will eliminate calcium build-up that is a major cause of toilet ring. They will also eliminate calcium build-up around the flapper valve seat, a big cause of a toilet that runs for a few seconds every few minutes. The tablets are cheap, available from Puritan’s Pride.
Very interesting and informative. I have a question and a comment: First, I am convinced that my toilet has mildew growing in the water website inside the toilet rim. Is there a way to clean that area? Second, my experience is that a plain washcloth works better than a scrubbing pad when using powdered cleanser because the tight weave keeps the powder from slipping away and keeps it on the surface of the porcelain. A scrubbing pad allows the powder to slip through and off into the water.
Simple advice.. Clean your toilet bowl regularly ( once a week) and your whole house… Depending on how many people live in your home is the times you should vacuum. 2 people 2x week etc. Better yet but a Romba and set it for everyday when your out of the house. It’s amazing what come out of your carpet everyday especially if you have pets…
You need to check the tank. Something is growing in there to allow the ring to come back so soon. Once you clean the toilet ring, you need to do something on the inside of the tank. Even putting 1 gallon of cleaning vinegar in it over night (or for a day or two) will clear a lot of that black gunk out of the tank…which can be some sort of a petri dish for organisms.
The reason none of them work is because it’s hard water stains it’s minerals in the water that accumulates where the water line is. We have well water that has a high mineral content oh, we got a whole house filter put on our water system and all the water rings disappeared after we scrubbed them off initially which we did use the pumice stone but the filter was the ticket it’s the water not the toilet
Sometimes the mold is because of urine with high sugar levels – granted this isn’t always true. But I’ve found that sometimes the issue – again sometimes – stems from mold spores washing down from the tank/water websites. But hard water leaves that crust that holds onto deposits, so unless the homeowner buys a water softener these rings will happen.
The solution I have been using is brominating tablets. You can get a dispenser from Kaboom which goes in the tank. It connects to the little house that fills the bowl while the tank is filling. You put brominating tablets (from a home improvement store) in every few months. It makes a hostile environment in the bowl, so mold won’t live. It does smell a bit, but you dont have this issue until the tablets fully dissolve. It’s a tradeoff.
Most people are not aware that toilets are made of hard baked clay ( with a little sand and or granite – but mostly clay.) And then a ceramic coating is sprayed on. If you use pumice, eventually you’ll grind your way down to the dark clay. I use a denture cleanser tablet every night before bed so it’ll sit for several hours. Nine months now, and not a sign of a ring.
To totally prevent the hard water stain from returning, you have to have a soft water system installed in your home. Yes, this is the most expensive solution. Salt, which is what is in the soft water system, softens the water. Most water has calcium ( and other minerals ) in it that hardens, which creates the line, causing bacteria and mold to stick to it. Salt also kills certain types of bacteria and mold. This would most certainly fix the problem completely. Realistically and sadly, most of us can not afford this solution.
Pumice stone absolutely leaves scratches in the porcelain; now you have crevices for algae and molds to form all over your bowl like I experienced. The black/gray is mold and bleach does not kill it; check your tank and you will find it there where it comes from. This guy failed to look under the rim where I suspect he will find black mold ringing the openings of each of the water outlets. The bowl ring is the least of the problem; it comes off easily with just a brushing with no product of any kind. It re-appears from the existing mold around the openings and from the tank. I’ve heard only vinegar will actually kill it, but I doubt it.
Finally… an honest professional! Yay! You know, in Germany they use much less water per flush… 1.2 gallons. And there’s a brush next to the toilet that every person, both women AND men, are expected to use with every flush. And by the way, in Germany, men sit down just like women, which means much less “splashing.” And because the water level is lower, less “splashbsck” on women! Apparently, men there find better ways to express their masculinity than by making women clean up after them the way it is in the U.S.
42 years as a cleaning lady, here in Southern CA, where we are told to “only flush if it floats” to save water during our latest drought? Many of my people would not flush anything over night to prove how compliant they were! Good citizens! You know, helping us to save water! Every 2 weeks I had to use a screw driver and hammer to remove the crust in the bottom of their brand new expensive Kohler toilets! I wonder if the medications they were taking? …… refusing to flush …… ??
I just found your article. We live in an older home. I can’t tell you how many years we’ve struggled with our yucky toilet. I tried the sponge using the scrubbing side (plus bleach & ajax). The nasty ring came right off!! It looks like a brand new toilet! You are amazing & thank you so much for helping us!!!
How about you tell your customers to clean in between you coming out every two weeks. That’s what it takes. If they have time to poop in the pot then they can clean it. Mother and grandmother cleaned houses for years. Always told the customers, if you want the toilets to stay clean then we come more often or clean behind yourself. I can’t stand people that can’t do normal cleaning in their own house. This does not go for the elderly or handicap. (They always get weekly cleaning at biweekly prices) Cleaning services are there to do the heavy cleaning. Just my opinion. I’ve cleaned some really nasty houses in my time. Toilets/bathtubs, flooring and air filters that don’t get changed are our worst enemy in the house cleaning industry. This article just proves the point that you have to clean in between the cleaning.
Keep a pump spray bottle with a mix of water, bleach and some sort of liquid detergent on top of the toilet tank. After the last use of the toilet at night, spray all around above the water line and let it sit overnight, or just before you leave for work in the morning. Keeps the toilet clean for weeks.
A good test would be to adjust the water level in the bowl to a new level. this is usually done through a adjustment screw that controls the flow of water through the tubing that sits in the fill tub. With a different level line, see if the ring still forms, if it does, it is not from pitting. Suspect the that the water filling the toilet bowl may be collecting mold from a build up in the fill cavity of the bowl rim. This is how I solved my issue, Use full strength white vinegar to clean the inside walls of the tank then pour about a half gallon of the white vinegar into the fill pipe. It will begin to pour out from the holes underneath the rim so to ensure that the entire rim cavity is treated, apply some white Gorilla tape to the holes under the rim before starting the application. This will help the vinegar works its way around. Let it sit for about two hours, remove the tape, then flush. Repeat the treatment at lease every 3 months or sooner if needed.
I clean a house with 3 toilets. They all had to have the pumice stone taken to them at first. I noticed the toilet that was used the most did not get the stains as fast as the ones that were the least used. This place is cleaned by weekly. I placed the hang on the side of the toilet “freshioners”. They dissolve a little with each flush. This slowed down the accumulation of the minerals at the water line which I believe is formed by the toilet sitting too long, evaporation and not cleaning often. I house sat for almost 3 years, when I go back to my place I had a ring that was about 1 in of white flaky crust cause by the minerals left behind from evaporation in the toilet. The pumice stone was the only way to remove it.
I have owned 4 houses in US and one in UK which was in a high lime area. I had never experienced a toilet ring like the one in this article until the house I purchased in 2016 back in the US. It was 20 years old and yes there was the ring which I had never encountered before and puzzled me. We added a granny flat with a brand new toilet and within two weeks a ring also started to appear on that toilet, so pitting can not be the culprit in my case. In the past as well as the UK I have always used a toilet cleaner that removes lime until my latest house. After putting up with the ring for 6 years, I have recently gone back to a cleaner with lime remover gel that requires leaving it on for about 10 minutes before using the brush. It’s been a month now and I haven’t noticed a ring yet on the new toilet, so finger’s crossed…. BTY, I don’t know if the spray lime away would have worked if it was left to do it’s work for about 10 minutes.
I had a house built in 2018 and it has two bathrooms. One of my toilets has had this recurring ring issue since new. I tried various cleaners on it, including the ones you show on this article – nothing worked. Finally I used my fingertip and felt a definite ‘edge’ in the area where the ring is. So if I agree with your assessment of the problem, my builder sold me an old (10 years+) toilet as ‘new’. I am going to send him and his plumbing subcontractor a link to your article and let them know what was done.
I love this article. So I figured after your inspection with the magnifying glass the issue is mold. So I scrub and scrub, used the pumice stone and wala a sparking bowl. Then I coated the bowel with Graphene ceramic wax, then I installed sparkle and flush-(system)with BLEACH, plus a bleach tab in the tank. After 2-weeks the bowl is staying sparkling clean. I think bleach works best as a maintenance additive to kill the sticking mold and bacteria. I’ll wax the bowl with Graphene ceramic monthly to see if this is in fact the solution plus continue to use the sparkle and flush system.
I pour a good splash of bleach in the bowl followed by a cup or so of vinegar, then sprinkle in a few tablespoons of baking soda, that makes it bubble up. Then I swish the bubbles around up under rim and everywhere then I walk away and let it sit for 20 to 30 minutes. When I come back it’s clean, no scrubbing and I don’t have to put my hands in the bowl. I just it and go away with a clean toilet.
OK, I am over perusal this. Here’s the real solution. Take the lid off of the tank and scrub the insides good, ALL OF IT. Clean all of the plastic and rubber parts, especially the flapper seal. This ring is caused by offloading of the plastic parts because as we know, it is all made from petroleum. Also, clean all of the holes under the rim of the toilet. There will be plenty of black gunk under there and it is not urine or poo, it is a bunch of the crap from the tank build up. Once you get all of that cleaned your problem will be solved. You will still have to do the regular cleaning because of what goes into the toilet by the humans, but……….. clean the entire toilet. Heck, go one better, remove the seat and scrub under the place where it attaches, take it apart and scrub those hinges. take the lid off of the seat and clean where they join, take the caps off of the floor bolts and scrub the lid and the bolts. Put the whole damned thing back together and pat yourself on the bak because you finally have an actual clean toilet.