Mix half water and half white vinegar in a spray bottle. Spray the entire sink or tub until it's saturated. Let the vinegar and water work on the hard water stains for 20 minutes. Respray the stained areas and scrub them with an old toothbrush.
Hydrogen peroxide can work to remove tough hard water stains from your plumbing fixtures, bathtub, or shower. Spray a hydrogen peroxide solution onto the surface and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. After that, scrub the area with an old brush or sponge.
Calcified hard-water stains, or limescale, can be particularly stubborn. To effectively remove them, soak the affected area in white vinegar for 15-20 minutes, then scrub with a brush.
Hydrogen Peroxide & Cream of Tartar
Ordinary hydrogen peroxide works wonders on stubborn soap scum and water stain combinations that accumulate on bathtubs and metal fixtures. For added cleaning power, make a paste using cream of tartar, a type of baking powder, and apply it to the stained area.
Soak the item of clothing in warm water, then apply a few drops of dish soap on the stain. Hold the material around the stain and start rubbing the sides against each other to work up a lather. This will help the fabric absorb the soap. Let it sit for about an hour or so before putting it through the washing machine.
Removes Stains
Vinegar is a great solution. "Especially on white fabrics, vinegar can tackle stubborn stains by being added directly to your laundry or used as part of a pre-treating soaking solution," says Morgan LaLonde, laundry brand manager for Whirlpool.
Final Verdict
The best overall hard water stain remover is CLR Brilliant Bath Foaming Action Cleaner. It was highly effective at giving our kitchen and bathroom surfaces a shiny and smooth finish, without requiring a lot of hard scrubbing.
The acidity in white vinegar eats away at the mineral deposits. The trick is to let the vinegar sit on the hard water long enough to work its magic. Grab a spray bottle and mix equal parts water and vinegar (you can also add a teaspoon of Dawn dish soap for more clinging power).
"Simply pour a mixture of half water and half vinegar in a spray bottle and you are good to go." Note that you shouldn't use vinegar or acetic products on soft stone materials, such as marble, granite, or soapstone. Hydrogen peroxide: Using hydrogen peroxide removes not only hard water stains but also soap scum.
It really depends on what kind of cleaning you need to do. If you're dealing with really tough, built-up mineral deposits, especially in your bathroom or kitchen, CLR might be the way to go. It's strong enough to handle stains that vinegar might struggle with.
STEP ONE: WET YOUR MAGIC ERASER.
Water activates the tough micro-scrubbers, so they can dig deep and remove hard water stains from glass and the toughest soap scum, making cleaning shower glass easier than ever.
Let the acid of the vinegar do its magic for 30 minutes; the vinegar will dissolve the calcium. Then flush.
If CLR Grease & Oil Remover is left on a surface for too long it begins to dry and can be very difficult to remove.
White Vinegar and Water
Let the solution break down the stains for 15 minutes. Scrub the surface with a soft, damp (non-abrasive) sponge. Remove the soapy residue with a damp cloth, then buff the surface with a dry microfiber cloth.
OxiClean™ Bathroom Cleaner is non-abrasive, so it can remove hard water buildup and stains and clean soap scum on toilet bowl exterior surfaces or in your glazed porcelain tub without damaging the surface when used as directed.
Apply liberally, let sit for 10 minutes, scrub with a sponge, and rinse with a damp cloth. Spray directly on soap scum, wait 10 minutes, scrub with a brush, and rinse off. Soak a cloth in the solution, wrap around the fixture for 15 minutes, then rinse and dry.
Specialized Tools and Techniques: To keep shower glass clean, hotels use soft cloths to dry the glass after each cleaning session, preventing water spots. For tougher grime, a mixture of liquid dish soap and baking soda can be applied, especially in the shower door tracks, where buildup is common.
HG limescale remover concentrate is the ideal strong limescale remover for removing stubborn limescale. This heavy duty limescale remover also removes rust and urine stains as well as verdigris.
Here's how it worked for her: Ann was thrilled to find that CLR Calcium, Lime & Rust Remover, easily recognizable by its iconic grey bottle, is specifically engineered to dissolve tough mineral deposits and surface rust stains.
Professional window cleaners like Window Genie are trained and experienced in this battle. Window Genie uses a polishing paste specifically designed to fight the minerals that create these stains. The paste is applied to a non-abrasive cleaning pad and the window is lightly scrubbed.
We prefer distilled white vinegar as our cleaning condiment of choice because it doesn't have any coloring agents that might stain surfaces (Stay away from balsamic or red vinegar). We also like white vinegar because it only has about 5 percent acidity, so it's on-par with other common cleaning products.
If the stain is already dry, apply liquid laundry detergent or stain remover and let it sit for 10-15 minutes before rinsing. If the stain persists, apply a paste of vinegar and baking soda for 30 minutes. Rinse again with cold water before laundering.
Before going further, we have to warn you: adding vinegar or baking soda to the wash along with your laundry detergent increases the risk of poorer cleaning performance, as detergents are optimized for a specific pH level, which is altered by the presence of these two household additives in the wash.