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You are here: Home / Fundamentals / Cleaning Hard Water Toilet Stains

by Stacy  72 Comments

Cleaning Hard Water Toilet Stains

At what time in life did I reach the point in which I knew I would be excited to post on the internet how I clean my toilets? I know while I was in college I would not have sat around a table and dished with my friends about scrubbing nastiness off the john. In fact, I don’t even think I cleaned my john in college…except when moving in and moving out. I was too busy. But friends – when I finally got the hard water stains cleaned off my toilet, I had to rejoice!

Is your toilet tank leaking? The water leaking from the tank comes from the supply line. You may consult your plumber if you’re worried it might turn into a bigger problem.

The first thing that entered my mind was “Oh my gosh! I have to blog about this!” See…that’s how my life rolls now. If I do something exciting, I have to blog about it. So, I apologize in advance if you’re not totally excited about this like I am…just shake your head and chalk it up to the fact that Stacy is just bored and nuts.

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So, here they are. I’m not sure how they got there. I feel like they popped up overnight. They were driving me crazy. When I would use the potty, I would attempt to not look directly in the bowl. I’d already tried scrubbing them off with my usual toilet cleaner, Borax. That didn’t work. I’ll even tell you that I tried scratching them off with my fingernails. Nothing.

Did you know that the water in a toilet bowl is really cold? It’s like there is ice in there or something. BRRRRR!!! Don’t try sticking your hand down in that water unless you want a shock. But anyway, I digress. So, of course I had to dig out my awesome book, The Big Book of Hints From Heloise. I got this book when we got married and I use it all the time. It’s a gold mine, y’all. Buy one and save your sanity.

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So, what does Heloise say? Scrub those puppies with a pumice stone! Yes, you heard me…do you know that I had to go out and buy one? I didn’t have one. I don’t have time to scrub the bottom of my feet with a pumice stone to make them all nice and soft – because folks, I’ll be honest – if I get a bath and use some soap, I feel like I’ve really accomplished something.

I found a blue one at the Dollar Tree for…$1. In hind sight, I would rather have had one without the blue tint, because then I had to clean the blue tint off too…but things that are $1 usually make me happy enough to deal with it.

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Now, wet the stone down and start scrubbing. It won’t take much pressure, but you will have to use a scrubbing motion. Some stains will take more work than others, but keep rubbing and they’ll eventually come off. Try not to think about the fact that you’re sitting in the floor, scrubbing your toilet with your head almost in there…..or else you might get a little bit nauseated and you might think about vomiting…or so I’ve heard from OTHER PEOPLE. *Cough*

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TA DA!!! Aren’t you as astonished as I am?! Do you know why it works? I do…because I had to look it up. Pumice is a stone that’s softer than porcelain….so it gets rid of the stain without harming the toilet. Now, make sure you have a porcelain toilet. As far as I know, most toilets are porcelain…..but I know there has to be an exception to that rule. Someone somewhere has a toilet that is not porcelain – so this is my disclaimer.

I cannot believe I took a picture of my toilet and posted it on the internet for the whole free w

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About Stacy

Stacy is a Homemaking and Business Mom Mentor, the author of two cookbooks, creator of multiple e-courses, seasoned life coach, and comedian extraordinaire. Her first priority is her husband and her children - family first. She presses on each day because her calling is to teach, train, and mentor other ladies to have their dreams. She believes if it’s not easy, you won’t do it – because she’s lived it. She’ll bring YOU the awesome so that you can get your home back into control and watch your business soar. For tips and easy strategies, you can follow her on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the content above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase an item, I may receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Comment Policy: I love reading your thoughts and input on what you read here. I'm sure we'll disagree sometimes and that's okay! In those cases, do what's right for you and yours. As with any form of communication, only post comments that move the discussion in a positive direction.

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Comments

  1. Danielle Ramirez says

    March 29, 2016 at 9:23 am

    Well, you did a great job by cleaning the hard water stains out of your toilet. It is not a pleasant job, but there is still no chemical cleaner for that so have to do it in this way. I also was searching for a better way, but the one you shared is the most efficient!

    Reply
    • Stacy says

      March 29, 2016 at 4:02 pm

      I hope it works for you too!

      Reply
  2. deborasmith says

    April 27, 2015 at 7:25 am

    By mixing vinegar and baking soda you can make a green version of a foaming toilet cleaner.
    Greets!

    Reply
    • Stacy says

      April 28, 2015 at 10:45 am

      That’s how I clean my toilets weekly.

      Reply
  3. Marta Ford says

    January 19, 2015 at 11:27 am

    I have really tough hard water. The kind that can turn the water orange.
    Even with an efficient filtration system, hard water always builds up.My
    solution…a pumice stone!! One can find them in most any store cleaning
    department, near the mops and brooms!!!

    web site

    Reply
  4. Laura says

    July 12, 2014 at 1:16 pm

    Our toilets were ruined by pumice stones. Apparently if you don’t keep it wet enough or if you scrub too hard it scratches. My teenagers scratched ours so badly that we eventually bought new toilets (they were 25yo anyway). I think we just need to let our vinegar and baking soda sit a lot longer to get our stains out.

    Reply
    • Stacy says

      July 12, 2014 at 2:32 pm

      I let mine sit overnight and couldn’t get any results – maybe because it was an older toilet?

      Reply
  5. Randy says

    February 7, 2014 at 10:42 am

    I pour a good portion of vinegar in, slosh it around and let it sit a couple hours, if possible and srcub lightly. It works like a charm for me! No serious scrubbing. It amy take a few sessions, but it gets it clean!

    Reply
    • Stacy says

      February 7, 2014 at 3:30 pm

      I tried that – It didn’t work for my stains. It’s how I clean weekly though. 🙂

      Reply
  6. Silkartist says

    December 31, 2013 at 4:04 am

    Seems like I stumbled on your gold mine of goodies! We have well water full of iron, occasionally the de-ironizer fails and everything turns rusty. With time tubs, toilets & sinks are yuck. I am excited to try the pumice trick on the toidies soon. Thanks!!!
    P.S. Sitting in tub, wondering how to remove these long-awaited removal I tried a river rock (an added tub decor from son when he was very young) to rub off rust stain on inside of tub…unbelievably, it took off the rust stains!

    Reply
  7. Debi says

    November 4, 2013 at 10:44 pm

    I tried all the liquids, Comet, etc. I soaked paper towels with Clorox and put them over the ring. Nothing. I was off to the store to buy a pumice stone when I decided to try an Emory board. So I put on gloves, got rid of the water in the toilet, cut the emory board in small pieces to fit the tip of my finger and scrubbed. It worked!! It didn’t scratch. So if you’ve got an old Emory board- try it!!

    Reply
  8. O. Munroe says

    October 18, 2013 at 5:21 pm

    I am so greatful for this post. I live on an Island and the water is so hard! I only clean with naturaI product(Vinegar etc.) I refuse to put anything toxic in my toilet and add to the woes of the planet. So I have lived with it . Not anymore!! I will try this today!
    Thanks again.

    Reply
  9. Tracy says

    September 13, 2013 at 5:13 pm

    I cannot thank you enough for posting!!!!!! What did we do without the internet. We have a pool and use a pumice sponge to clean the tile around the water line to remove the buildup from hard water and it never dawned on me that it could be used on porcelain. I tried every cleaning agent and home remedy I could find (vinegar and backing soda with lemon juice) and they did not do anything but this works and with very little effort. Also you can get a pumice sponge from any pool supply store.

    Reply
    • Stacy says

      September 13, 2013 at 9:40 pm

      Good to know!

      Reply
  10. Sander Tel says

    September 10, 2013 at 5:39 am

    I am excited… but hey I can get excited on many things…

    Reply
    • Stacy says

      September 10, 2013 at 6:52 am

      Me too…I’m boring. LOL

      Reply
  11. Diane says

    August 17, 2013 at 1:21 am

    I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I live in an area that the water is as hard as nails and we went away for a month and the water sat in the toilet not being used. I clean my toilets regularly but those rim stains wouldn’t come off, until I tried your pumice stone method. Now I have beautiful toilets without those ugly stains. Thanks again your site is very informative and well worth reading, I am going to tell all my friends.

    Reply
    • Stacy says

      August 17, 2013 at 5:37 pm

      Hooray!!!! Yay for clean toilets! 🙂

      Reply
  12. Sarah D says

    April 21, 2013 at 2:57 pm

    I just discovered the pumice stone trick a few weeks ago! However, I wore gloves (I’m weird like that… 😉 ) and used a “Pumie”. It’s this pumice stone on a plastic handle that I found at Kroger. It was $7.99, but it’s not blue (or any color really) and I really liked having a handle to hold on to while scrubbing. If I ever need another one, I’ll have to look at the dollar store for a less expensive version!
    Congratulations on being debt free! (I was just reading your “debt free story”; what a great birthday present.)

    Reply
    • Stacy says

      April 21, 2013 at 3:08 pm

      I have never heard it called that! 🙂

      Reply
  13. Shelly says

    January 8, 2013 at 5:32 pm

    The back tank is a new color! Cream with a nasty rim! I need my hubby to drain the toilet this weekend so I can really tackle the job though. The pumice stone has found a better place to help out – my toilet! It rocks (pun intended). Due to the fact that I let the nasty stuff build up so bad it will take an afternoon to get it all done but it WILL get done now. Thanks so much for the tips. I am thinking it’s time to invest in a water softener 🙂 or :-(, I don’t know which.

    Reply
    • Stacy says

      January 8, 2013 at 5:47 pm

      I’m not sure which either. LOL

      Reply
  14. Shelly says

    January 8, 2013 at 1:26 pm

    I just looked in the back of my toilet (the place I hate most) and eek – it is GROSS!!!!! So I turned off the water, flushed and dumped in about half a gallon of apple cider vinegar (old toilet = big tank). Then I let the tank fill up. In a couple of hours I will go flush and see what happens. I will even donate my pumice stone to the toilet if need be 🙁 More people do see my toilet than my feet at this time of year so it’s a kindness to mankind to make the trade. I will let you know how it goes.

    Reply
    • Stacy says

      January 8, 2013 at 5:25 pm

      I hope it works great!

      Reply
  15. Krystle says

    October 17, 2012 at 9:40 pm

    Worked like a charm! Thanks 🙂

    Reply
    • Stacy says

      October 18, 2012 at 6:13 am

      🙂 You’re most welcome!

      Reply
  16. Jacki says

    April 13, 2012 at 10:25 am

    THANK YOU! This has just happened to us recently, too. I am going to go and grab my pumice stone and give it a “whirl!” Love thos Heloise Hints, too. Blessings! J. Smith

    Reply
    • Stacy says

      April 13, 2012 at 1:26 pm

      Heloise should be sainted. 🙂

      Reply
  17. [email protected] says

    April 12, 2012 at 8:46 pm

    YIPPEE. Indiana has the hardest well water known to humanity. My toilets are ORANGE and my tub too. Thankfully…the tub is very old and definitely porcelain. I have a date with a pumice stone tonight. SO excited. now if I can just get it off the corian sinks! If not…I might replace the countertop and sinks in that bathroom…it is worth killing my cheap instincts dead as a doornail to stop having sinks that look filthy. I HATE our water, by the way. It is free, though, which is nice.
    Baking soda works well on ceramic tile shower walls…that is the only example of these stains that I am able to remove and it isn’t even hard. The grout too.

    Reply
    • Stacy says

      April 12, 2012 at 8:52 pm

      What could be more fun than spending the evening getting rid of yucky stains with a pumice stone? I can’t think of much! 🙂 Have a fabulous time and I hope it works great for you!

      Reply
  18. Heather :) :) :) says

    March 29, 2012 at 8:56 pm

    I use Bon Ami and that works well, but I do scrub regularly, so I don’t have to use a pumice stone..although that method works FANTASTIC!!!

    I smiled big when you mentioned Heloise’ book. I remember seeing her give her household hints/tips on tv for many years…and if I remember correctly, her mother (also a Heloise) also wrote helpful household hint books in the 1960s. I found some in my library 🙂 🙂 Now I’m thinking I’ll have to look for those books again 🙂
    Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather 🙂

    Reply
    • Stacy says

      March 30, 2012 at 6:42 am

      Those books are the BEST!!!

      Reply
  19. Rebekah says

    March 26, 2012 at 8:43 am

    Faaaantastic. Thanks so much! You are NOT the only one to be excited about clean toilets… nor the only one to clean said toilets without gloves. I hate gloves!!

    Reply
    • Stacy says

      March 26, 2012 at 1:22 pm

      Whew…I was starting to worry about the glove part. LOL

      Reply
  20. Cheryl says

    February 25, 2012 at 4:51 pm

    Oh wow, I am so excited about this! We moved to Louisiana about a year and a half ago and the hard water marks in the toilet having been driving me crazy. I wash my toilets like every other day so they are clean because of these hard water marks. I have tried so many cleaners and nothing has worked.

    I am off to find a pumice stone at the store to I can finally have the clean toilets I love…LOL, does that sound weird? Can you tell I am excited? I may even blog about it and expose my toilet to the net too. : )

    Reply
    • Stacy says

      February 25, 2012 at 8:20 pm

      Clean toilets unite! 🙂

      Reply
  21. Christy, The Simple Homemaker says

    February 23, 2012 at 3:49 pm

    Three things here, Girl:
    1) I also use pumice stones on my hard water stains in the toidy. I thought I was weird, but it turns out I’m awesome.
    2) I also get really excited about getting rid of stains in my toidy. I thought I was weird, but it turns out I’m awesome.
    3) I also don’t use gloves when I clean natural dirt with natural products. I thought I was weird, but, you guessed it, it turns out I’m awesome.

    How do I know I’m awesome? Because, you, Girl, are awesome, and we’re totally on the same toidy wavelength! Keep being awesome!

    Reply
    • Stacy says

      February 23, 2012 at 4:01 pm

      You know, I’m so glad you posted that. I was starting to think I was the only awesome person in the world who cleaned the toilet without gloves. Whew! 🙂

      Reply
  22. Abbi says

    February 20, 2012 at 10:57 pm

    Thanks for the tip! I think I have a pumice stone already and I know I have orange lines in my toilets. I think I will have to get the two of them together. I had actually been planning to check about using the stone in my tub-I probably had better not as it is not porcelain, but I would like to!

    Reply
    • Stacy says

      February 21, 2012 at 9:27 am

      Yeah…..it’s tempting to use it on the tub. 😉

      Reply
  23. K Lunsford says

    February 20, 2012 at 2:54 pm

    Just a thought, we kept getting hard water stains in the toilet, but no where else. Turns out the parts inside the tank had some rusted parts. Once they were replaced, the ‘hard water’ stains went away for good (after one last scrubbing).

    Reply
    • Stacy says

      February 20, 2012 at 4:36 pm

      That is GENIUS!!! I think I want to hug you.

      Reply
      • K Lunsford says

        February 21, 2012 at 1:00 am

        Hugs ALWAYS welcome! 🙂 I am SO glad you taped your last local seminar. I’m in JC. Each time one came up, so did other obligations. I was always unable to attend. You are so cute and quirky! Very likable!

        Couponing has never really worked for me. For some reason I’d felt bad about it before, but you gave me a giant dose of validation. You teach so many things I’ve already figured out even though it took some years – buy/grow real foods, do from scratch as much as possible, get rid of disposables for items with a much longer life… For a long time I’ve felt like a very odd duck. Several friends have lovingly kidded me for trying to live somewhat like Laura Ingalls Wilder during modern times. When you began the stewardship portion, I started smiling and nodding my head like crazy! I just wanted to say an extra special thank you!

        Btw, I’ve done my own yogurt, after seeing your posts on Kefir, I’m really interested. That’s next on my list of kitchen experiments to try!

        Reply
        • Stacy says

          February 21, 2012 at 9:15 am

          Thanks so much for that lovely comment!! 🙂 It totally made my day. And I LOVE Laura!

          Reply
  24. Yolanda says

    February 16, 2012 at 9:12 pm

    I love kefir too, and I’m headed to the bathroom with my pumice thingie. 🙂

    Reply
    • Stacy says

      February 17, 2012 at 7:54 am

      Good luck! Take no prisoners! 🙂

      Reply
  25. Heather :) :) :) says

    February 16, 2012 at 8:26 pm

    I’ve heard of that handy trick, too. We have hard water in my area as well. One of my older lady friends in my women’s Bible study using a combination of baking soda/apple cider vinegar in the toilet…I’m not sure how she does it, but the apple cider vingear, in general, is the perfect foil for hard water, whether it be the toilet bowl, washing machine, dishwasher etc 🙂 🙂 Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather 🙂

    Reply
    • Stacy says

      February 16, 2012 at 9:01 pm

      I’ve heard that too….but it didn’t work in my toilet. Maybe I was just too impatient. LOL The pumice stone works FAST.

      Reply
  26. Becca C says

    February 16, 2012 at 7:45 pm

    Oh lordy, honey, you need gloves when you clean the pot! Lowe’s has non-latex ones (I have to wear those because I don’t enjoy rashes) and they’re not tight-fitting at all. Get some, woman!

    Reply
    • Stacy says

      February 16, 2012 at 9:03 pm

      Nah. 🙂 I like giving on the edge.

      Reply
  27. Becca C says

    February 16, 2012 at 7:14 pm

    *panic* Where are your cleaning gloves? Your hand is almost touching the bowl! *barf*

    Reply
    • Stacy says

      February 16, 2012 at 7:21 pm

      🙂 I hate wearing cleaning gloves…I just wash my hands. Something about having a child and getting poop on my hands regularly made me think different about stuff. 😉

      Reply
  28. Susan says

    February 16, 2012 at 1:39 pm

    I am extremely excited! Just had an iron trap installed to catch all of the nasty stain causing hard water. Your blog could not have been more timely, since now I have to clean those stains from not 1 but 3 toilets. Thanks so much. Love your site (found it yesterday while looking for Kefir info).

    Reply
    • Stacy says

      February 16, 2012 at 3:39 pm

      Ooooh, I love talking kefir! 🙂 Welcome to the group!

      Reply
  29. Suzanne says

    February 16, 2012 at 1:28 pm

    LOL!! Love you Stacy Myers! Thanks for t his tip! I’d never heard of using pumice on my toilet. but I HAD wondered if you had the same problem and if so, how you took care of it.. I was, however, “reluctant’ to ask! Thanks for sharing.. Now.. about the well water (which I love but is hard water) how do you get the stains off when the
    shower isn’t porcelain? I’ve tried LOTS of things… but most are so time consuming…Thanks ladybug! You rock!!

    Reply
    • Stacy says

      February 16, 2012 at 3:41 pm

      I would think a paste made from baking soda and water might work if you let it stay on there a while….or if it’s low enough, you can just soak it in white vinegar and see if it will wipe off.
      I like scrubbing stuff with baking soda…it relieves any stress I might have. 😉

      Reply
  30. Kimberly Parry says

    February 16, 2012 at 10:29 am

    We moved to a new house a few months ago. This place has well waater. That means the toilets are always nasty looking. So are the sinks and the tub. I have tried all I know. I am VERY excited to try this!

    Thanks!!!

    Reply
    • Stacy says

      February 16, 2012 at 11:26 am

      Make sure you stick with porcelain or surfaces that are harder than pumice! 🙂 Good luck.

      Reply
  31. Anne @ Quick and Easy Cheap and Healthy says

    February 16, 2012 at 9:47 am

    I have used those stones before for cleaning the oven and I just found out very recently that they also work for toilets. They even make them in stick shapes so that you don’t actually have to put your hand in the toilet water! But I don’t think those ones cost $1. Now that I know they work on toilets too, I will have to invest in some more!

    Reply
    • Stacy says

      February 16, 2012 at 11:27 am

      I’m pretty cheap….so, are we talking big bucks here?

      Reply
      • Anne @ Quick and Easy Cheap and Healthy says

        February 16, 2012 at 2:53 pm

        Well I just looked on Amazon, and the ones with handles are $10 :O I don’t think the handle is worth $9, lol. They do have longer stick shaped ones, though, for about $5.

        Reply
        • Stacy says

          February 16, 2012 at 3:36 pm

          DUDE! Makes the Dollar Tree look a tad more appealing. LOL

          Reply
  32. Kelli says

    February 16, 2012 at 9:09 am

    Pumice does work great. It worked for me after nothing else did.

    Reply
    • Stacy says

      February 16, 2012 at 11:42 am

      Preach it sister!

      Reply
  33. Jen says

    February 16, 2012 at 8:38 am

    I cannot tell you how happy I was to see this post this morning!! Really and truly! I was just telling hubby yesterday that I needed to find a way to clean the hard water stains. Then Voila! There was your post in my inbox this morning!! It was a Godsend! lol We have hard water and there is buildup at the bottom of our toilet and it drives me CRAZY!!!!! It’s embarassing when we have company because it looks dirty, even though it’s not. And I have tried many things (I also do not like to use lots of chemicals in my cleaning supplies), and nothing has worked. So I guess I will be getting myself a pumice stone and giving it a whirl! Thanks again!! 🙂

    Reply
    • Stacy says

      February 16, 2012 at 8:42 am

      Jen, you make sure and let me know how it works for you! I hope yours come as clean as mine!

      Reply
  34. Mary Beth Floyd says

    February 16, 2012 at 8:15 am

    I’m excited! Were we separated at birth?

    Reply
    • Stacy says

      February 16, 2012 at 8:42 am

      🙂 Mary Beth, I can always count on you to be excited with me!

      Reply
  35. Dawn says

    February 16, 2012 at 7:53 am

    Once I got my stains off (the Works toilet bowl cleaner works well, but I hate the chemicals and smell), I got a FlyLady toilet brush, which works better than anything to KEEP those stains gone! And yes, I found myself raving about my new toilet brush at a social gathering. Lots of odd looks. Need a better filter on my conversation topic generator! Thanks for the tip, I’ll be watching for a cheap pumice for the next time…

    Reply
    • Stacy says

      February 16, 2012 at 8:02 am

      You don’t need a better filter…you just need to take me with you to parties. LOL

      Reply
  36. Carole says

    February 16, 2012 at 6:55 am

    I hope you used throw away plastic gloves for this job. Yes I said the nasty word “plastic”, but sometimes you have to take the bull by the horns. I enjoy your blog and the fact that you are consistent and have a blog every day.

    Reply
    • Stacy says

      February 16, 2012 at 7:52 am

      Nah. No gloves. 🙂 I don’t mind getting down and dirty…..it washes off. 😉

      Reply


Hello! I’m Stacy!

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