How to Get Stains Out of a Porcelain Toilet Bowl

Do you have a stain in the bottom of your porcelain toilet bowl? Is it still there after you use the classic long-handled brush? It happens in the best of families. I’ll tell you how I tackled this chore, but I warn you, this task is not for sissies.

I noticed that the toilet bowl in our rarely used extra bathroom seemed unusually dirty, and I couldn’t imagine why. I first attempted to clean the bowl with a stiff toilet brush and a bleach based cleanser. I tried it more than once, using all the muscle I had. Nada. The stain sat there taunting me. The local hardware store clerk gave me two ideas that I might want to try: a pumice stone and Zep Calcium, Lime and Rust Stain Remover, a chemical cleaning compound.

First, I grabbed a pair of disposable cleaning gloves to protect my hands from bacteria and chemicals. I dressed in a really old shirt. I wanted to try the pumice stone before I resorted to the chemical compound. I turned the toilet water off and gave one last flush. The problem was, there was still too much water in the bottom of the bowl. Hmmmmm. My sister suggested that I try to remove the excess water with a turkey baster, and it actually worked pretty well. I soaked the pumice in water to soften it and started scrubbing the stains with it. Most of them came out, but there was one small black stain that was persistent. For that, I scrubbed the bottom of the bowl with a microfiber cloth and the chemical compound, and all of the visible stain disappeared.

After a fill and a flush, the bowl looked pretty darn clean. Finally, those stains were gone. Everything that I had used to clean the bowl went straight to the trash can. I’m an avid recycler, but I couldn’t stomach the thought of using any of those items again.

I almost got a new toilet because I thought the stains in the old one were permanent, but with a little elbow grease and a few tools, the old bowl looks almost new again!