A toilet ring can significantly affect the look of your elegant bathroom. Even if you regularly clean your bathroom, the ring might just keep coming back. And, unfortunately, using harsh chemicals to try and remove the ring might permanently damage the bowl. To avoid that outcome, let’s see what causes the toilet ring to appear and how to properly remove it.
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What Causes a Toilet Bowl Ring
A toilet bowl ring can appear for many reasons. For example, if there is a constant change between wet and dry conditions, a ring will appear sooner or later. In other circumstances, a ring might appear due to hard water and mold, or even due to bacteria called Serratia Marcestens. If you use well water, you might even notice that your toilet turns black over time. Ultimately, it’s natural for your toilet to develop a ring eventually, but the below solutions will help you remove it quickly and easily.
How to Remove a Toilet Bowl Ring
Usually, a bowl ring won’t appear if you clean the toilet every week. However, if it has already appeared and won’t go away, instead of using various commercial products, you can get rid of it with ordinary household items. In a short time, your toilet will have the same white, shiny look that it had when you bought it. We do recommend that you wear protective gloves when following any of the below options.
Let’s discuss 4 methods to remove the ring from your toilet bowl:
1. Baking Soda and Vinegar
The first method that you should try uses some simple household items. It’s non-toxic, and if used properly, it will remove the toilet bowl ring in no time. First, pour a cup of vinegar into the toilet bowl and spread it around using a brush. Wait a minute or two, sprinkle a little bit of baking soda, then add two more cups of vinegar. Wait around ten minutes, then use the brush and spread the solution around again. Basically, you need to make sure the cleaning mixture has also reached under the rim. Finally, let everything sit for 15 more minutes, rub the remaining stains, and then flush. Don’t flush until the final step or else you’ll risk removing the cleaning solution prematurely.
2. Borax and Vinegar
Borax is an excellent solution for removing stains, especially those caused by hard water. Simply sprinkle a quarter of a cup of Borax into the bowl and swish it around with a brush. Then, add a cup of vinegar and swish again, but don’t flush. Let the mixture sit for half an hour, then scrub the bowl again to remove the remaining stains, and finally flush to clear the toilet.
3. Bleach
Don’t make a mistake and just use cleaners that contain bleach because these can actually make toilet bowl stains permanent. Instead, pour a cup of bleach into the bowl and wait for 30 minutes. Then, scrub the bowl and the area under the rim with a brush to remove any remaining stains. Finally, flush once and the bowl ring should be cleaned.
4. Pumice
If the stains are still stubborn, try using pumice. However, avoid using pumice too frequently, and always be careful when using, because if you use it too often or with too much force, you can permanently damage the surface of the bowl. One option to consider would be using a Pumice Toilet Ring Bowl Remover which is soft and won’t damage the bowl if not overused.
Regular Maintenance
To prevent a toilet bowl ring from happening, you should do regular toilet maintenance at least once per week. Just sprinkle a cup of Borax into the bowl before going to bed, making sure that it covers the whole bowl. When you wake up, scrub the bowl with a brush and flush. By letting the Borax stay on the surface for the whole night, it will loosen all the stains and make for effortless cleaning in the morning. This solution will even keep away toilet odors, making it well worth the weekly maintenance time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Does My Toilet Get a Ring So Fast?
Toilet bowl rings occur for different reasons, but it’s mostly because of hard water. If the ring in your toilet occurs pretty often, you should check the water hardness. If that’s not the problem, your water might have a high concentration of bacteria. You can also think about how often you regularly clean your toilet, and whether your cleaning approach is effective.
Can I Remove the Ring Using Coca-Cola?
Whether or not you can use Coca-Cola will depend on how hard the stains are in your toilet, but you can definitely try. Simply pour the soda around the edges of the bowl and wait a couple of minutes before flushing. While it may not work in serious cases, this could be an easy way to remove minor stains.
Bottom Line
As you can see, removing a toilet bowl ring doesn’t have to be difficult. You don’t even need harsh chemicals – simply follow our instructions using basic household items and you will get rid of all stains in no time.