stained toilet bowl

6 years ago

The toilet bowl at our cabin stays stained at the water line. I don't know why. But we're building on the same property - with the same water lines (spring water) and I'm concerned about our 3 bathrooms. Should I get a dark (black?) toilet to hide this? I've just been reading about the toto with sanagloss. Would the Sanagloss possibly provide a solution or help? Ugh. (as in ugly!)

Featured Answer

User

6 years ago

Until you know WHAT the stain is, you won't know what the answer is. All of the speculation about hardness and iron, while it could be correct, could also be far out in left field and it is irresponsible to proscribe a solution without some water analysis, or, at the very least, picture of the buildup of concern. If the problem is, indeed, iron, a water softener is only the answer if it is a very tiny amount of iron. It's a cabin so if it isn't used often enough, the stain could simply be due to water evaporation and infrequent cleaning.

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Comments (32)

della70
6 years ago
It's rust in the water.
kasykd thanked della70
Joe
6 years ago
Have you ever tried a pumice stone?
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hummingalong2
6 years ago
Water softener for the whole house.
kasykd thanked hummingalong2
PRO
JAN MOYER
6 years ago
Sanigloss won't deter rust. It simply makes a flush...........ahem.......cleaner. And even that is mostly myth. ( flush as you go kids......., flush again ) A water softener may help.
kasykd thanked JAN MOYER
virginia lynn
6 years ago
You can use a pumice stick to remove the line easily. If you have stain below the line The Works works great. I would not let this keep you from having a white toilet very easy to remove. While you are away from your home put some vinegar in the toilets before you leave for long periods of time.
kasykd thanked virginia lynn
PRO
JAN MOYER
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Agree, The Works is a super product. One of those things you hang in the tank would help too. Clorox whatever.....: ) The only "color" for toilets is white.
kasykd thanked JAN MOYER
hatetoshop
6 years ago
If you do have hard water, it will leave not-so-nice looking white scale deposits and water spots on a black toilet. So, buy another white toilet, but stay on top of the stains. Good luck!
kasykd thanked hatetoshop
Angel 18432
6 years ago
My friend put one of those bleach thingies in her toilet, and came back to a flooded house. The bleach had corroded the washer/screws and they had leaked. Must have been in there for a period of time to do this.
kasykd thanked Angel 18432
Diane@426
6 years ago
Zud is the best cleanser I've ever used for rust stains. A water softener is probably the only long term solution however.
kasykd thanked Diane@426
Elle
6 years ago
Willing to bet it’s iron in your water. Use iron out, and be aware that bleach makes iron stains worse.
kasykd thanked Elle
Elle
6 years ago
Do NOT use the drop in bleach things if you won’t be flushing the toilet regularly. The bleach dilution gets too strong and corrodes everything. Plus, it will make iron staining worse.
You can tell if it’s iron by opening the tank and inspecting for slimy red coating on the rough surface.
kasykd thanked Elle
PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
6 years ago
A water softener is really the answer along with daily cleaning.A black toilet will look 10x worse
kasykd thanked Patricia Colwell Consulting
chiflipper
6 years ago
Brush bowl. Turn off water feed to toilet. Flush. (The water level will be below the "nasty line".) Apply The Works and let sit 5-10 minutes. Brush. Repeat if necessary. The Works will take out any stain / calcium deposit. Never buy a black toilet...unless it's for a powder room...and you have a live-in maid.
kasykd thanked chiflipper
PRO
Carolina Kitchen & Bath
6 years ago
Put in a water filtration system and use Super Iron-Out rust remover.
kasykd thanked Carolina Kitchen & Bath
della70
6 years ago
Some parts of the country have hard water and I would surmise that you will have a similar problem in the new building if you are using the same water source.
kasykd thanked della70
sofaspud
6 years ago
We have a well, a softener, and a charcoal whole house filter. Doesn't matter a whit. We have rust rings in all 3 toilets, and nothing will touch it, though the toilets are 17 years old. I have used every cleanser known to man and even wet sandpaper. I've resigned myself to the fact that I will have to replace them all fairly soon. Maybe you'll have better luck if you clean them every other day.
kasykd thanked sofaspud
quirkycabin
6 years ago
We have a well as well, ha ha, and after trying everything available I ended up with Kaboom for toilets. For whatever mineral we are contending with Kaboom is my answer. Would love a water softener system here. Good luck.
kasykd thanked quirkycabin
kasykd
Original Author
6 years ago
Aww, sofaspud! Man that's awful news! That's gonna be me, I'm sure. I did have a degree of success with barkeeper's friend (or helper, can't remember which). Thanks so much for your input, everyone. Great ideas for going forward.
saratogaswizzlestick
6 years ago
Don't do a black toilet. Black shows everything. Try pumice stone on your water line stain.
kasykd thanked saratogaswizzlestick
cobalt21
6 years ago
if you have rust stains that usually is the result of iron in the water. There is a system that looks like a water softer but uses potassium permanganate to treat the iron and prevent rust. You may still have hard water in addition to iron or sulfur,
kasykd thanked cobalt21
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BeverlyFLADeziner
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
If you have really hard water with lots of iron, you need the water analyzed. It's likely you will require a two-part water conditioner. Water softener and Potassium Permanganate, if I remember correctly. In the meantime, the pumice stick will get rid of the rust stain and water line.
kasykd thanked BeverlyFLADeziner
User
6 years ago
You need to know what kind of minerals are apparent in your water in addition to the hardness. No one can give you correct advice without essential information. All poster are speculating here. Most importantly NEVER take a pumice stone/powder or abrasives to a glazed surface, it ruins the finish. Care should be taken regarding chemical solutions if you are on a septic system.
kasykd thanked User
Irene Morresey
6 years ago
Coke cola is the best, try getting rid of most of the water and tip in coke, amazing
kasykd thanked Irene Morresey
Marigold
6 years ago
if you are building on the same property, perhaps you should invest in a water filtration system. If you use spring water, I am guessing you also have a septic system, and most of the remedies suggested are not septic friendly.
We had a similar problem and called in an expert. Our water was tested, he put a back-flushing filter in, and our water is terrific.
If I remember correctly, it was around $1800 and it cleans itself, so is maintenance free.
kasykd thanked Marigold
kasykd
Original Author
6 years ago
Thanks, Helen. Could you send a link to your system?
Marigold
6 years ago
this is the system he installed for us http://www.novoproadvantage.com/downloads/465BIFIronFilter.pdf
kasykd thanked Marigold
User
6 years ago
Again - if you don't get water analysis done, you don't know what the problem is. You're going about this backwards.
kasykd thanked User
Marigold
6 years ago
I agree. We had the analysis done, and it was only a couple of hundred dollars. Not very expensive, given the potential of faulty remediation.
kasykd thanked Marigold
kasykd
Original Author
6 years ago
Thanks so much. And yes, water analysis is part of our plan. We did it many years ago and plan to have an updated analysis soon.
PRO
Simple Water Softeners
6 years ago
You need a certified water technician to analyze water. For the test that needs to be done a local water filtration company should be able to do for you and recommend correct equipment. If the cabin is way out you should be able to take water to them. For Iron you need a Iron Breaker. What they put inside is determined by water tests. One is for just iron, they have one for iron and sulpher ect... The system works completely on it's own. You add nothing, do nothing. It just works. Around $1800 installed. Now if you have sediment they will put a big blue filter before it, and that you will have to change. Get the water tested.
L H
6 years ago
I'm on well water and the toilets stain. I wash as normal and then spray with water/bleach and let it sit. Eliminates the stains.

stained toilet bowl

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stained toilet bowl

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