Toilets are designed to flush away body waste which means they tend to harbor quite a bit of germs and bacteria. With that waste, comes staining. Toile bowl stains can occur over time, especially in areas with hard water.
Whether they are in a business or home, clean toilets improve you and your guest’s comfort AND helps preventing the spread of illnesses. If your toilet bowl is looking at little worse for the wear, it’s time to get scrubbing!
Here are some tips on how to clean toilet bowl residue and stains away.
Essential Toilet Cleaning Tools & Supplies
To get the job of cleaning a toilet done quickly and efficiently, you’ll want to start off with the right tools. It’s a good idea to keep these items in a carry tote that eases the job if you have multiple bathrooms to clean.
- Top quality toilet brushes
- Waterproof rubber gloves
- Face-mask
- Cloth & paper towels
- Scrub spong
- Disinfecting cleaner
- Vinegar, bleach
- Pumice stone
Step by Step Guide: The Right Way to Clean Your Toilet
Keep that bowl clean as well as the outside with these easy steps.
- With your gloves and mask on, apply your chosen toilet cleaner to the bowl, do a light quick swish with your toilet brush for full coverage, and allow the solution to soak.
- While the cleaner soaks in the bowl, spray the exterior of the toilet using the all-purpose spray. Should the outside be extra dirty, do a preliminary spray and wipe the excess with paper towels. You’ll likely need a couple wipe downs if there’s dust accumulation.
- After your first spray and wipe down, do a second spay and wipe with the scrub sponge – this makes the exterior sparkle!
- Give the toilet base and floor immediately around the toilet a spray and wipe down with your all purpose cleaning solution.
- If you have a toilet with a toilet seat that’s easy to remove, do so, and give it a good cleaning on its own and replace it.
- Finally, use the toilet brush to briskly clean the bowl, paying close attention to the underneath rim and water ring area.
Pro Tips to Clean Toilet Bowl Stain
If you have hard water stains or rings that are resistant to routine scrubbing, you can use a pumice stone to remove these. Be aware that this could potentially scratch the porcelain if too much pressure is used. Another approach is to mix 1-2 tablespoons of bleach with a gallon of water and add it to the bowl for a 15 minute soak.
Borax or baking soda can be combined with 1 cup of vinegar and added to the bowl. Scrub it in and then add another two cups of vinegar and the powder cleaner of choice and let it sit 10 minutes before using the toilet brush again, focusing on the ring. Let it sit another 30 minutes and do a final scrub to get rid of water rings and hard water stains.
These same solutions should also be effective approaches to tackling the area under the lip where the water drain holes can easily get clogged and stained. Use a top-of-the-line toilet brush to ensure that it will reach deep into the lip area for optimal cleaning.
Wiping down the seat and lid is much easier when it’s detached from the toilet, and it allows access to the areas behind the lock-in mechanisms for a deeper cleaning. Wipe these with a disinfectant and use small batches of bleach, borax or vinegar solution to remove tough stains.
Clean Toilets Make Better Impressions
Not only does a clean and sparkling toilet free of stains or smells give users a good impression and a sense of comfort, clean toilets harbor less bacteria and pathogens that can result in illness
