Say Goodbye to Stains: The Best Ways to Clean a Toilet Bowl Naturally in 2023
Table of Contents
Toilet Bowl Stains: What Causes Them?
How often should I clean my toilet?
7 Eco-friendly solutions for cleaning toilet bowls
You're likely dealing with mineral stains if a quick cleaning doesn't remove tough stains from the toilet bowl. The surface of your toilet bowl may become coated with grimy stains due to the greater concentration of dissolved minerals in hard water, such as calcium, magnesium, and iron.
However, creative (and accessible) home cleaners like baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, and vinegar may remove stains from the toilet. Regular cleanings should stop that ominous stain accumulation after a good scrub, leaving you with a dazzling throne. On the other hand, if you don’t trust natural ways to whiten your toilet bowl, read our article regarding sustainable cleanser brands to eliminate toilet bowl stains.
We understand if you believe your bathroom cleaning routine is up to par, but you still struggle to remove toilet bowl stains. You may still end up with unattractive stains when cleaning the toilet, no matter how much effort you put into it. But try not to be too hard on yourself. Not understanding how to properly remove toilet bowl stains is more likely to be to blame than poor cleaning techniques or weak scrubbing muscles.
Understanding what causes those unsightly stains and which cleansers perform best is essential to learning how to properly clean toilet stains. While using the most potent commercial cleaner to remove difficult toilet bowl stains may be tempting, we have a better solution.
The finest toilet bowl stain removers are probably already present in your home, which may surprise you. Starting with the most natural, risk-free stain removers is what we advise, and you can always resort to more extreme tactics afterward. A little patience, the appropriate stain remover equipment, and this helpful advice are all you need. Continue reading to discover the proper way to eliminate all toilet staining.
Toilet Bowl Stains: What Causes Them?
Aside from the obvious suspects, there are several origins for various toilet bowl stains. You should thus understand how to remove all types of toilet stains. While many stain removal techniques in this tutorial are effective for ordinary toilet bowl cleaning, some stains call for particular techniques.
Serratia marcescens, an airborne bacterium, is responsible for specific stains. Others may be brought on by the accumulation of mineral deposits from hard water, which has a high concentration of minerals, particularly magnesium, and calcium, by dissolved and decomposed organic matter known as tannins, by an excess of iron in the water, by high levels of copper in the water supply, or by just plain mold.
Let's take a closer look at their causes before moving on to cleaning tips for toilet bowl stains. Knowing what you're up against makes choosing the suitable stain remover and avoiding future stains easier.
The four most typical stains on toilet bowls are shown below, along with their causes:
1. Mineral Stains
When learning how to clean stains out of a toilet bowl, your main adversary will be minerals. High calcium content, limescale, and other naturally occurring minerals in your water supply—often referred to as hard water—are what produce mineral stains. These minerals accumulate, causing yellow and brown colors that are frequently resistant to routine cleaning.
Once you discover them, mineral accumulation might be challenging to remove, so you'll need to know how to proceed. Consider installing a filter to catch the pollutants, stop future mineral stains, and lessen the harm to your water pipes.
2. Rust Stains
Stains in the toilet bowl that are dark brown or red typically indicate a future rust issue. High amounts of iron in your home's water supply or water pipe corrosion that contaminates the water might be to blame. Rust stains, in contrast to mineral stains, could be easier to spot because of how vividly the natural red hue contrasts with your white porcelain.
The difficult-to-remove red tint and the chemical process that produces iron oxide can ruin porcelain since rust is also corrosive. However, even if you've been putting off the task for some time, we can still teach you how to remove rust-related stains from your toilet.
3. Copper stains
Even if your water pipes are not copper, you can still notice copper stains in your toilet bowl. Your toilet may be where copper deposits build up at the end of a line when your water supply is very acidic and rich in copper. Copper stains can be removed, but they'll merely come back if the underlying problem isn't addressed.
If you have copper water pipes and discover copper spots, pipe corrosion may be blamed. You can install a filter that cleans the water entering your home if the issue is acidic water. Before they worsen, get your pipes examined by a professional if corrosion is the problem.
4. Mold Stains
Mold stains on bathtubs, sinks, and toilets not only smell bad but may also harm your health. Because of the characteristic dark green and black dots, mold stains are simple to identify. If you notice a musty, unpleasant stench in your bathroom but don't see any mold, you could already be experiencing the early stages of a mold problem.
If you see mold spots in your toilet bowl, it's critical to deal with the mold as soon as possible. After removing the stains, keep mold and mildew at bay by opening the bathroom window after a bath or a shower.
How often should I clean my toilet?
While some people need to wash their trousers in soapy water after wearing them just once, others wear their pants four or more times each week without wiping them down. But cleanliness reigns supreme in the world of restrooms. We all know that cleaning isn't exactly the most exciting task, but the best approach to prevent unpleasant stains is to clean your surfaces frequently.
It's not like you always have to clean the toilet like Cinderella, but if you do it at least twice a week, that's more than plenty. Some people believe that washing it once a week is sufficient, but if you have a big family or small children, you should do it more than once to prevent stains and—more importantly—to reduce the transmission of germs.
Unfortunately, most people overlook one crucial aspect of zero-waste living: maintaining a clean, germ-free house without throwing cleaning materials in the trash. In the following, we aim to guide you all to have a zero-waste bathroom.
Though it entirely depends on you and how frequently your toilet becomes dirty, other folks clean it daily. If you had planned a Mexican cuisine night and you and your family continued to eat the leftovers for a few days, the spice would have done its job, and you may need to clean the toilet every day. In the interest of your health!
What most people use, a very caustic chemical that is dangerous to aquatic life, to whiten their toilet. Additionally, it can react with other cleaning agents and generate harmful gases like chlorine, so it's best to stay away from it as much as possible.
The best thing you can do is grab the bottle of vinegar you have in your pantry, the box of baking powder you used to make those numerous loaves of banana bread while we were still in quarantine, and load up on patience if you want to get your toilet as white and shiny as the day you installed it in your home. While you might need to scrub for many minutes to achieve flawless results if your toilet is anything but white, you're guaranteed to succeed with these items, which I go into more detail about below.
7 Eco-friendly solutions for cleaning toilet bowls
The manufacturers of toilet cleaners are to blame for indoctrinating us with the false notion that cleaning a toilet requires using extremely caustic materials. You may obtain a spotless bathroom with the materials you likely already have at home without endangering your health or the environment by using harsh chemicals and don’t forget to use biodegradable garbage bags and reusable paper towels. Here are the best natural solutions for cleaning toilet bowls:
1. Baking soda
To whiten and thoroughly clean the toilet bowl, baking soda is a fantastic ally. In addition to being a natural deodorizer and being quite effective at disinfecting surfaces and getting rid of stubborn stains, it is also entirely safe to use and may be used with other all-natural products like vinegar and lemon.
2. Vinegar
This is a typical eco-friendly household cleanser that, of course, cannot be lacking from your natural cleaning toolkit – vinegar will quickly become your closest buddy. This liquid is a potent cleanser that can remove stains, grime, and mineral deposits, whiten teeth, combat offensive odors, and, most importantly, stop mold growth and mildew on surfaces. What more could you possibly want?
3. Fresh lemon
Guess what? Citric acid works wonders to get rid of toilet bowl stains. Citric acid levels in lemons are high. They create incredibly efficient cleansers with other materials like vinegar and baking soda.
4. Hydrogen peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide is beneficial for more than just disinfecting cuts; it may also eliminate mildew and stubborn dark stains from manganese. Just take your 3% solution bottle and start cleaning. Peracetic acid, which is highly caustic, will be produced if you combine it with vinegar.
5. Tartar cream
You are prepared to take on those dark stains if you have tartar cream in your kitchen. Potassium bitartrate, an acidic ingredient that can help you erase stains without harming waterways, is all that this powder is made of. Who would have guessed that this essential component of baking is also necessary for kits for cleaning natural toilets?
6. Coca-Cola
Sounds more like a party trick than a practical cleaning tip, but Coke will work if you want to flush your priceless soda drink in the name of stain removal. Due to the presence of phosphoric acid, Coca-Cola has a pH of 2.6 to 2.7, making it moderately acidic. Theoretically, it can be used to clean, just like vinegar.
7. Borax
Another typical home cleanser, borax, interacts with hard water minerals to stop them from deposition on surfaces. Similar to how baking soda and vinegar work together to clear toilet rings.
If you have severe toilet stains, apply a paste of vinegar and borax straight to the obstinate rings.
DIY toilet bowl bomb recipe
Need a fast remedy for toilet cleaning? Or simply an immediate change of clothes? Place one or two of them in the mixture and watch it sizzle. Scrub it or merely let it sizzle before flushing. You will need the following ingredients to prepare this killing bomb for your toilet bowl:
2 cups baking soda
1/3 cup citric acid
2 tablespoons hydrogen peroxide
15 drops of lemon essential oil
5 drops of peppermint essential oil
silicone ice cube tray
Mason jar – I used two
Baking soda and citric acid should be combined with stirring in a glass basin. Hydrogen peroxide should be added gradually, fizzing as usual until the mixture becomes a thick paste that is practically crumbly. Add the essential oils and thoroughly combine them.
Put the mixture into silicone or ice cube trays and let it cure for at least 24 hours; it works best outside in the sun. Remove the cubes or bombs from the tray after they are completely dried (they should be extremely hard) and place them in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid.
Use one per toilet for a fast clean or a freshening up between cleanings.
Last but not least…
Smooth white porcelain doesn't mix well with hard water, corrosion, or mold. Your bathroom will only look its best if you know how to remove toilet stains. Use this helpful guide to get rid of stains once and for all and prevent them from reappearing.
Families with small children are conscientious about using common home detergents due to the dangerous compounds in off-the-shelf products. Although many companies try to sell more "green" products, these cleansers are frequently more expensive.
You don't need to use bleach to get your porcelain seat dazzling white now that you know that natural and eco-friendly cleaning agents may remove toilet bowl stains just as well as store-bought ones. You should never forget that while a clean toilet is pleasant, a naturally clean bathroom is even happier.
Frequently asked questions
How do you clean a toilet that is really stained?
Is the toilet so disgusting you want to throw it away? Bring out the heavy weapons: To remove tough stains, apply a mixture of borax and vinegar, let it soak for an hour, and then scrub with 0000-grade steel wool.
Why is there a yellow spot on my toilet seat?
Mineral stains may be left on the toilet seat after a flush due to water splashing over it. Iron, calcium, magnesium, and other minerals can all leave a yellow stain behind. A yellow coloring might also develop from stray urine droplets.
Why is there a green or brown spot on my toilet bowl?
Green or brown stains are most frequently caused by limescale accumulation due to calcium and magnesium deposits. Whatever you flush into, the layers of goop are drawn into the crusty things.
Do WD-40 toilet bowl cleaners work?
Although you would believe that WD-40 is useful for lubricating noisy doors or freeing up stuck nuts and bolts, its manufacturers claim that it can also dissolve toilet stains. Spray it on rust stains, wait a few minutes, and then scrub away for the best results. Just be aware that the restroom will have an auto shop odor.
Do I have to use chemicals to clean my toilet?
Of course, you don't! Baking soda and vinegar are the most frequently suggested all-natural and non-toxic methods for cleaning toilets. Pour one cup of baking soda and two cups of vinegar into the toilet bowl. Use a toilet cleaning brush to apply the solution to the bowl once the solution has stopped fizzing. Rinse after 10 to 15 minutes.
