Do we really have to clean toilet stains?
Everybody wants a clean toilet, an absolute comfort room, or a restroom, but nobody wants to clean it. When doing house chores, toilet cleaning is dreaded the most. When it’s your turn to do it, you suddenly feel sluggish or under the weather. You probably have used all the excuses you can think of to get a rain check.
Your toilet won’t clean itself. And you’re not the only person wishing for a self-cleaning one. You keep telling and promising yourself that you’ll clean your toilet tomorrow. Until one day, when you flip the toilet lid, the ugly truth slaps you hard in the face. Your toilet is a big mess that you can’t force yourself to sit or even take a second look at it.
So YES! You have to clean toilet stains before it gets seriously dirty!
Housekeeping Tips River Forest IL: Types of Toilet Stains and Removing
Hard Water Stains
The number one culprit for this type of toilet stain is excess minerals from your water supply. When the water source is the problem, other toilet fixtures, clothes, and anything the water touches are all prone to staining. Installing water softeners or any water purification system can help address this issue.
Avoid using cleaning solutions with bleach for this type of stain because it will only solidify them, making them permanent. A better option for removing hard water stains is with the use of diluted hydrochloric acid.
Red Toilet Stains
The rust-like or reddish stain in your toilet means excess iron in the water supply. This stain is typical for homes that use well water. The rust-like stain is a result of iron oxidation. When iron is exposed to water for long periods of time, it starts to oxidize and turn reddish.
Combine 1:2 lemon juice and borax until they form a paste. Put the paste on the stain and let it stay for an hour or so. Remove the paste, and the stain should be cleaned.
Blue Toilet Stains
Your water needs to have a balanced pH level. Too high pH levels or too low may start corroding your copper pipes, creating blue stains in your toilet. Neutralizing the water’s pH level can help prevent your copper pipes from corroding. It’s best to call professionals dealing with water purification to fix this for you.
Sprinkle a generous amount of baking soda on the stain and let it sit for a few minutes. Give it a good scrubbing. If the stains remain after scrubbing, pour soda and let it fizzle with the baking soda. Scrub again until the stains are no longer there. If the stains are too stubborn, apply some borax and leave it overnight. The stains should be gone in the morning.
Brown Toilet Stains
The icky brown stains are caused by excess manganese in your water source. Aside from causing brown stains to develop in your toilet, manganese can also affect the consistency and taste of your water. Manganese is not hazardous, though. Reverse osmosis, water softener, and other water purification systems can prevent the stains from coming back.
Use undiluted vinegar on the sides and around the rim of the toilet bowl. Let it stay for at least 3 hours before scrubbing away any stubborn stains using white vinegar. Flush to remove the residue and repeat as needed.
Black Toilet Stains
This toilet stain is caused by both iron sulfides and manganese. Iron sulfide is nasty because, aside from the stain, it also has a pungent sulfur smell. A good iron filtration water system and reverse osmosis prevent this stain.
Turn off the water supply and flush your toilet to reduce the water level. Soak up the remaining water in the bowl using a sponge or cloth. Make a paste using 3% hydrogen peroxide and cream of tartar, enough to cover all the stains. Make sure you apply the paste on all the black stains, even under the rim. Let it sit for at least 30 minutes before scrubbing. Turn on the water supply and flush the toilet.
Yellow Toilet Stains
The faint or dark yellow discoloration on your toilet bowl is because of tannins. If your water source is from swamps or rivers, there’s a high chance that your water has tannins. These are from decayed organic matter from plants and animals dissolved in the swamps and rivers. Although hard to filter, you don’t need to worry about it posing any health risk to you, just the unsightly stains in your toilet bowl.
Pour a mixture of 35% hydrogen peroxide with ammonia directly on the stain, letting it sit until the bubbling stops. Be careful not to use ammonia alone because it will make the stain permanent.
Pink Toilet Stains
Airborne bacteria cause this type of toilet stain. Pink stains are typical on toilets using deep well water low in chlorine. Adding more chlorine to the water supply can do the trick, or you can do regular cleaning using bleach.
Use chlorine bleach, a brush, and some elbow grease. Scrub the stain away until it fades and disappears.
Black, Green, or Orange Toilet Stains
The toilet stains caused by mold and mildew can appear as rings or downward streaks inside the toilet bowl. The stains spread due to moisture and poor ventilation in the toilet area.
You can solve this mess with a good toilet cleaner that can kill mold and mildew. Squirt it in the rim of the toilet bowl and leave it for a while. With a soft brush, gently scrub the toilet bowl surface and wash with water before flushing. Doing this regularly will prevent mold and mildew from growing back and the stains from reappearing.
Indulge yourself in cleaning your toilet stains with DIY tips or store-bought cleaning products. Or save your energy and let the experts handle them for you. Contact us at Helping Hands Cleaning Services. We will be more than happy to clean everything and anything for you.
Hire a Housekeeper in River Forest IL
Helping Hands cleaning services in River Forest IL has been voted #1 in Chicago. We are one of the best teams to handle all your decluttering needs. For appointments or to request a quote, call (630) 530-1324.