RUST CLEANING PROBLEM

Rusty stains in toilet bowl:

Any suggestions beyond what I've already tried, with very little success: Clorox, straight bleach, Clorox tile cleaner, several kinds of Harpic, Ajax cleanser... (and plenty of elbow grease)?

Pre-covid, I had a bi-weekly housecleaner who used something that worked. But WHAT?

Any ideas much appreciated.

Pumice stone. Available at Super Lake.
Press only hard enough to remove the stain. You want to preserve the porcelain.

I bet your housekeeper was using Sarricida (pink and available in most hardware stores in a 1 litre bottle).
Or you can use pumice as Heem states. This is not the same very hard pumice stones that people use on their calloused heels. It is softer and volcanic in origin and comes in various sizes and shapes. Works great. I used to find it on the beach in San Pancho. It floats.
Or you can use wet/dry 220 grit sandpaper. It is black in colour and you use it WET.

Thanks! I now have hope!

Pumice should be safest.  I used it on a talevera toilet for 10+ years at our Bisbee house (toilet purchased in  Nogales).  I use it here on one purchased in Dolores Hidalgo in 2017.  

I buy the pumice sticks from Amazon---once you start using them they conform to the round surface.  I tried the "natural" ones here but they were too bulky for me (I have hand issues).  

When we lived in DC-Metro we bought a home with a beautiful bight red Kohler kitchen sink..we swapped out the faucet set and it exposed some previous unexposed surface.  I was afraid to buff it (had white well water stain), so I contacted Kohler and was told pumice was the answer and wouldn't harm porcelain.  It didn't.

We recently purchased a high toilet from Cato. They say they are now sealing their ceramic toilets with a liquid plastic spray. They say do not use abrasives because this will remove the protective anti stain coating. Other than that, I dont know what to say. The water here in Chapala Haciendas is clear and abundent.

Our maid has used Bartender's Friend....but she attacks the stain when it first begins so it has never been very noticeable. The wells in Jocotepec are very poor right now and we are also seeing light gravel in our shower heads.

The secret to Bar Keeper's Friend is oxalic acid. Oxalic acid will bleach the rust stains while cleansers with other bleaches will not. Another cleanser with oxalic acid is Zud.

My wife uses Lysol Advanced toilet cleaner, it will take the rust off if it isn't too bad.

If it is too much for the Lysol, I use "Res Care" which is the resin cleaner which I use in my water softener tank to clean the resin of my water softener. The main ingredient is phosphoric acid, so you need to use precautions such as half mask, eye protection and hand protection. You can dilute it with water. I use a sponge and just wipe it on, it takes off the rust immediately. Then just flush. I also use it to clean the rust off my shower. Again just wipe on and flush it off. I don't know if this is available there, I am in Canada.

My cleaner use Coke on a rag, twice and it is good as new...

artsnob wrote:My cleaner use Coke on a rag, twice and it is good as new...

I LOVE that one! My husband used to use it to clean his hub caps. I do wonder what it does to your guts??

I've got no rust deposits in my guts.

ferret wrote:I've got no rust deposits in my guts.

...so it works!!

Yup. And all my liver enzymes are in the middle of the normal range.

The best product I have ever used is available at Wall-Mart in the USA..It is named "Super Iron Out" it is a powder that you add to the toilet bowl and let it sit for awhile. It completely removes all Rust stains. May be able to order online..I bring my supply when I travel back and forth..

helohfe wrote:The best product I have ever used is available at Wall-Mart in the USA..It is named "Super Iron Out" it is a powder that you add to the toilet bowl and let it sit for awhile. It completely removes all Rust stains. May be able to order online..I bring my supply when I travel back and forth..

You can buy it on Amazon Mx.

Canmex 87 wrote:

helohfe wrote:The best product I have ever used is available at Wall-Mart in the USA..It is named "Super Iron Out" it is a powder that you add to the toilet bowl and let it sit for awhile. It completely removes all Rust stains. May be able to order online..I bring my supply when I travel back and forth..

You can buy it on Amazon Mx.

But at that mark-up, who would?!?!?!
Price check same item----Amazon US to a US address, $12.80 USD
                                     Amazon MX to MX address,  $59.12 USD (listed at 1176p)

fyi, Amazon US to MX address $23.00 BUT WITH A $107.13 USD shipping charge!!!!  

I love Amazon both US and MX, but some items are not worth the mark-up.

ferret wrote:I've got no rust deposits in my guts.

For me, Coca light is the best medicine for an upset stomach, better than any of the so-called stuff you can get at the farrmacias, like Pepto-Bismol, Alka-Seltzer, Maalox, etc.
Years ago, in the US, doctors used to prescribe coca cola syrup, even for children, for upset stomachs, after all it was "invented" by pharmacists and for years it was the best source for "pure water" in many places in Mexico. The cane sugar and diabetics was it´s only downside.

I understand that the original "Coke" invented by the pharmacists had some interesting ingredients missing in today's version.

The inventor had cancer and an addiction to morphine. At the time, the market was burgeoning with bottled snake-oil remedies. There were no laws governing ingredients. But he was an honest pharmacist and purveyor, who wanted to make his fortune in the world of miracle cures. Eventually he sold his formula to someone else and then died. It contained both coca leaves and cocaine.

Asa Candler was a marketing genius, and his new drink (Coca Cola) was a hit. He urged the federal government to pass laws against his competitors for false advertising, which they did, and one of the first places they raided was his own factory. In a twist of fate, he had removed the cola leaves from the formula, and was therefore now breaking the law.

The amount of cocaine was reduced over time, between 1887 at the start of sales, and 1929 when it was removed completely.

How do I know all this? A TV series called THE FOOD THAT BUILT AMERICA. Did you know that Dr. Kellogg did NOT create Corn Flakes, but rather granola? He ran a health and wellness centre, and refused to sell cereal to the general public. His brother accidentally created the flakes one day from a batch that got left out overnight, and many years later was able to buy out his brother's interest to create Kellogg's Corn Flakes. But a previous worker at the centre, a man named POST, had already stolen the recipe for the granola, and was now a bigwig in the cereal business with what he called Grape Nuts.

I can't wait to see the one about popsicles...

We have a new Cato toilet, maximum elevation. It is very glossy and they say new toilets are sprayed with polymer varnishes which restrict staining. They say do not use abrasives because they will remove the coating and the staining will return. Does it work? The new toilet certainly seems less stained than our other toilet.

I, too, have a new Cato extra height (what's with all the shorty toilets here anyway?), and told my cleaning lady to never use chemicals or abrasives. No idea about any polymer varnishes, but common sense tells me a brush and some bathroom cleaner works just as well here as it does back home. She ruined the finish on the last toilet.

This of course does not help anyone trying to remove rust stains.

I am sorry, I am late jumping on board here, I have had a busy summer. I was in cleaning supply business for 26 years and know the correct answer to the rust issue.

Rust is an alkaline soil as are hard water spots. To remove them in the toilet, you use a LOW acid bowl cleaner (usually 7% Hydrocloric acid). Use gloves, and spread it around the rim of the toilet and swish it around with a bowl mop. Let is sit until you see the rust vanish. If the stains are above the water line, you will have to rewet those areas with your bowl mop until you see them lighten up and hopefully disappear. Repeat as necessary. Flush toilet when done.

DO NOT use low acid bowl cleaners in sinks and bathtubs/showers as they will damage the all metal fixtures.

Clorox - alkaline cleaner, no good for rust/hard water spots.
Coca Cola - mild acid. Will not work well on heavy rust build up.
Oxalic Acid - strong acid, use with care. Not a bleach.
Vinegar - see Coca Cola.
Pumice Stones - will work real well along with the low acid bowl cleaner. Make sure you keep the surface you are cleaning wet when using them or scratching can
occur. WEAR GLOVES PLEASE.
Super Iron Out - a water soluble acid (sodium Hydrosulfate). I would be REAL careful with this one. Do not get it on you.

RoyD