Toilets can be an actual mess, especially when you have those pesky stains developing around the toilet bowl or the toilet seat.
What do you think causes these stains to build up?
The toilet stains are caused by excess deposition of minerals in HARD WATER. Hard water is rich in minerals.
The hard water affects the sanitary of the bathrooms and deposits in the pipeline and results in clogged pipes.
How Are Blue Stains Formed?
If the process prolongs, the calcium builds up, but calcium deposited will form the rocky hard structure that is very tricky to get rid of.
On the other hand, blue stains are formed, with water, acidic PH with a concentration of copper. The copper with the water oxidizes. Hence, it is deposited in microscopic crystals that appear in the form of stains in the toilet bowls.
Now, this DIY blog is here to help you through those nasty stains that give you that gruesome feeling. The blue stains can belong to some shades of green, giving it a collective teal effect.
However, I wouldn’t want to discuss shade cards here because that is a color I do not want to see in my toilet bowl. It would rather seem like an alien used my bathroom.
How To Get Rid Of Blue Stains In The Toilet?
There are two situations to deal with such stains: the toilet bowl is filled with water, and the toilet bowl is without water.
Both of the situations can be dealt with separately. Some of the most commonly used ingredients to deal with blue stains or any stains for that matter are fizzy pops, baking soda, vinegar, and borax.
For those desperate to get those sticky stains off the toilet bowl, you will be pleased to know that this is not much of a hefty task if you know the right procedure to follow.
Let’s walk through different sets of procedures with different ingredients to see how it is done:
Procedure 1 – Using Baking Soda
You can start by sprinkling the baking soda or lime powder on the stained area. Be mindful that you want to use baking soda or baking powder with a relatively stronger bicarbonate percentage.
Once sprinkled, let the baking soda sit for a while. Approximately 15- 20 minutes (the more, the better).
You should have your bristle brush handy. It is advised to use a hard bristles brush to help scrape off the tough stains and the other mineral deposits from the toilet bowl.
You can repeat the step if the stubborn stains retain their position. Sprinkling the baking soda on the surface again. Rinse the surface with clean running water to see if the stains have been removed.
Two thumbs on the effort if the stains are gone. If not, you might want to get your gloves on and move on two the next procedure.
Procedure 2: – Coke Anyone?
If that vigorous scrubbing of the toilet bowl didn’t work out for you as planned, I think a can of cola will be able to do the job then. No, you drinking the cola and then using the bathroom is not the plan here.
As delectable as it is, coke’s chemical composition is secret. Still, it can do wonders in the cleaning process (You should know how coke works on tires – you can thank me later).
You can grab a bottle of coke or cans of fizzy pop (Coke would be better). Here is the painful part, pour down all the coke/ fizzy pop in the toilet bowl. Leave the cola in the toilet bowl until it starts to fizz up.
Once you feel that the fizz is starting to fade away, grab that sturdy old brush, and scrub those stains away.
This will work out fine, as the fizz is the compressed CO2 that targets stains well. Coke can also be used to unclog pipelines.
Procedure 3 – Borax!
Borax is a type of mineral found deposited on the beds of lakes when the water has evaporated. There are many households uses of borax:
- Cosmetics
- Toothpaste
- Paints and ceramic glazes
- Skincare products: moisturizers, sunscreens, etc
- And that putty-like slime we all like to play with
You can take ½ cup of borax and mix it with water to make a thick paste, or you can sprinkle borax over the stained surface.
Leave the powder over the stained toilet seat long enough that you start seeing stains being faded away. Take your hard bristle brush and scrub those stains. Wash the surface with cleaning running water, and voila! You have the stains disappeared from the toilet bowl.
You can repeat the steps as you like if you want a striking result. However, other combinations can also be used to deal with tough stains.
This would require you to turn off the water valve so that the mixture stays on the stains long enough that it helps to remove the stains.
Using Vinegar With Baking Soda
We all know that carbonates react with acid and produce CO2. CO2 creates the bleaching effect and helps getting rid of the tough stains. Sprinkle the baking powder or baking soda.
You can take vinegar and add it to water (dilute it). Spray it over the baking soda and leave it for a while. After some time, take your brush and scrub the mixture.
Using Isopropyl Alcohol With Oxygen Bleach Powder
This would require you to get your chemistry set out. You need to make a thick paste of Oxygen bleach powder. It would work fine with water, but you should use Isopropyl Alcohol.
You need to be very tough and swift in this process because alcohol is a volatile liquid and tends to evaporate very quickly. Make sure the paste is thick, more like peanut butter consistency (apologies for the similarity).
Apply the paste on the stained area covering the whole toilet bowl. After some time, the paste will start to dry up, forming a powdery structure that symbolizes that the alcohol has evaporated. You can take your brush scrub away the oxygen powder deposited on the stains.
You will see that the stains have faded away. You can turn on the water supply and flush away the paste, as required. If you think the stains have not been removed, you can repeat the process.
When all else fails, it’s time to bring the big guns out When all the methods mentioned, do not work out for you, and it seems that you need help.
This is where you should use chlorine bleach or hydrochloric acid. Both of these chemicals require major handling as these can damage your skin if not dealt with properly.
Use gloves while dealing with such chemicals. You can simply pour chlorine bleach or hydrochloric acid over the stained surface and wait for the magic to happen.
Please note: Make sure there are no other chemical substances on the stained surface as the chemicals can react and cause an adverse effect.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to get rid of rust stains?
You can get rid of the horrid, rust-stain ring in the toilet seat by using baking soda with a mixture of vinegar. Vinegar helps to enhance the process and also serves the purpose of disinfectant.
How to prevent toilet bowl stains?
The truth is, there is no such prevention, and toilet bowls tend to get stained very quickly.
The best that can be done is vinegar treatment every night and leave it overnight or for a few hours. This will not only serve as a disinfectant but also will wash the sturdy stains away.
Why does my toilet bowl get stained quickly?
There can be two possible reasons for frequent stains. One is that the water running through your house is hard water and higher chlorine concentration, which causes the minerals to be deposited.
The second reason is that the outer layer of the toilet bowl – enamel, has been washed away by excessive stain treatments. Hence, ceramic is porous and open to water and minerals being deposited.
How can I keep my toilet bowl clean all the time?
The best solution to this problem is by adding toilet cleaner to the flush tank. The liquid cleans the bowl instantly every time you flush, giving it a fresh and odorless feel.
Conclusion
Cleaning the toilet bowl is not much of a difficult task, but it does require care and maintenance. You can mix and match all the [procedures, but the Chorine bleach and Hydrochloric acid need to be used in isolation.
DIYs are good, but as long as you don’t harm yourself. To save your bathrooms sinks, basins, showers, and toilets from future stained menace, it is advised that you get the pH of your water checked so that you can decide how to deal with the hard water problem.
There are many chemical stabilizers present in the market that helps neutralize the water’s effect.
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