You can purge your porcelain of hard water rings with your toilet brush and a simple mixture of borax and vinegar. For really stubborn stains, you may want to use a borax and vinegar paste and break out a heavy duty scrub brush.
Sprinkle baking soda liberally onto the toilet bowl stains. Use your toilet brush to scrub the stains and create a paste all over the inside of the bowl. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes to work on the stain and whiten the porcelain. Pour 2 cups of distilled white vinegar into the toilet bowl.
We recommend using a mixture of ¼ cup of vinegar for every 1 cup of water. This ensures your toilet tank is being disinfected without causing damage, which the use of bleach or chemical cleaners can do.
Our favorite, editor-approved toilet bowl cleaner is the Lysol Power Toilet Bowl Cleaner. It's an easy-to-find cleaner that works great on tough stains, has a clean scent, and lasts for a long time.
For a toilet that just needs a refresh, Goldzweig recommends a homemade formula of one cup of white vinegar and one cup of baking soda followed by two more cups of vinegar to create a fizzing cleaner. Use the toilet brush to get under the rim and over stains above the water line.
For example, applying white vinegar or lemon juice and scrubbing with a toilet brush typically works on newer stains. You can also try mixing white vinegar and baking soda if you need a stronger scrub. For older stains, using an industrial-strength cleaner like CLR should do the trick.
Allow the baking soda and vinegar mixture to sit in the toilet bowl for about 30 minutes to overnight depending on the clog. This waiting period gives the solution enough time to work on softening and dislodging the clog. While you're waiting, carefully add hot water into the toilet bowl.
Using this method regularly can help keep your toilet clean and hygienic. Additionally, you should use bleach or other cleaning products for tougher stains or odors. However, it's important not to leave the vinegar in the toilet overnight as it can damage the porcelain and reduce its lifespan.
Use a pumice stone: For particularly stubborn stains, you may need to use a pumice stone. Cleaning a toilet with a pumice stone is straightforward, but you need to be careful not to scratch the porcelain. Wet the stone and rub it against the stains lightly. Don't scrub too hard, or you might scratch the porcelain.
Who knew that dishwasher tablets could help keep your toilet sparkling clean? Just drop a dishwasher tablet in toilet bowl and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. Then, use a toilet brush to scrub the bowl and flush it. The tablet will help to break down any stains or buildup in the bowl, leaving it fresh and clean.
It is widely claimed that adding aluminum foil to a toilet tank helps to achieve a clean and shiny toilet, but critics challenge these claims due to a lack of scientific evidence.
Flush the toilet to wet the surface of the bowl. Fill a spray bottle with white vinegar and heavily mist the bowl surface. Allow the vinegar to sit for half an hour. Use a toilet brush to scrub away any stubborn stains.
Add a cup of white distilled vinegar to the tank once a month. Leave it to sit overnight and then flush it in the morning. Check for sediment buildup and staining every month or so. This may be especially important if you have hard water or if you have a toilet that doesn't get used very much.
Baking Soda and Vinegar
Baking soda is also a mild abrasive, so it will remove stains and grime from your toilet bowl. To clean your toilet, use one cup of baking soda with two cups of white vinegar. Brush it into the bowl, let it sit for five minutes, then flush again with the water on full force.
A considerable number of these cleaners fail to generate the foam they promise. Even when they do foam up, the cleaning efficacy is often limited to lightening stains and partially lifting mineral deposits, failing to deliver a comprehensive clean.
Make a Citric Acid Solution: Don't forget the gloves! Mix citric acid powder or crystalline citric acid with warm water to create a solution. Apply the Solution: Pour the citric acid solution into the toilet bowl, ensuring that it covers the stains and reaches under the rim.
Baking soda, borax and tea tree oil combine to make a heavy-duty toilet bowl cleaner. Baking soda, borax and tea tree oil combine to make a heavy-duty toilet bowl cleaner.