How To Get Hard Water Stains Out Of Toilet Without Chemicals

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Toilet cleaning without any toxic or harsh chemicals is actually a pretty simple process. Learn how to remove the stained ring inside the toilet bowl, as well as how to easily maintain a clean toilet with just a few simple steps in this tutorial on how to get hard water stains out of toilet without chemicals.

Foreward

*Keep in mind as you read this that I am just sharing my own personal opinions from thirty plus years of cleaning experience…both professionally, and in my own home, and no one is paying me to promote anything. There is a lot of conflicting opinions out there on the best way to clean a toilet, but this is just my favorite way to get the job done in my own home without adding a bunch of unnecessary cleaning chemicals & products in my home to have around my family.*

Supplies Needed

Below I break the toilet cleaning process up into two parts, deep cleaning the inside of the toilet bowl (teaching you how to remove the ring in the toilet bowl), and then below that I go into further detail on how to clean and disinfect your toilet with Vinegar.

Table of Contents

Here are the supplies needed in order to complete a full scouring/deep cleaning of a toilet:

Toilet Brush
Pumie Scouring Stick or the Pumie Scouring Stick with handle
Small Cleaning Brush/ Old Tooth Brush
Scrub Brush
Cleaning Rags/Shop Towels
Cleaning Spray Bottle
Water
White Distilled Vinegar

You can also use cleaning gloves, but they are optional depending on your preference, how nasty your toilet is, and preferred method of cleaning.

How to remove hard water stains in toilet

Some of you may find it strange that I believe that the first step to a clean toilet is actually to tackle the nastiest part first…which is cleaning inside the toilet bowl.

Toilet bowls are often the dirtiest part of the toilet because…well, frankly, the toilet bowl is where we take a load off…pardon me, I know my “hillbilly roots are showing” here…lol.

There’s no pretty way to say it, those #2’s are unpleasant no matter how politely we try to talk about them…

Especially when sickness has been in the house (make sure to check out what else you need to deep clean when there has been sickness in the home).

It gets even more nasty if a toilet is hard water stained, or has mineral build up that creates a ring around the toilet bowl. I have even seen some toilets that are only dirty looking (grayish even after being “cleaned” because they were previously cleaned improperly.

In case you’re wondering how that is even possible, you should be aware that you should NEVER USE STEEL WOOL TO CLEAN A TOILET…steel wool is much too abrasive and it creates deep scratches in the porcelain and so it’s nearly impossible to get a damaged toilet looking truly clean again after a steel wool incident.

Apparently it’s not super common knowledge these days to know how to get rid of a toilet ring…I’ve known since I was about seven or eight years old when my mom showed me how to do this, so I’m actually usually surprised when grown adults ask me how to solve their toilet ring problem.

So, let’s demystify the process of deep cleaning a toilet bowl, and I will show you the best way to get rid of a toilet ring for good!

What is the best cleaner for toilet bowl ring?

Let me introduce you to the best toilet bowl cleaning hack out there…which is just the use of a simple, odorless non-toxic product.

I have heard it called many things, such as a “toilet cleaning stone”, a “scouring stick for toilets”, a “cleaning pumice stone”, “pumice scourer”…and several other similar variations… but I typically just call it a “pumice stone for cleaning toilets”.

What is a cleaning pumice stone?

It’s exactly what it sounds like. It is a porous, abrasive stone, that you can use around your home to scrub various hard to clean surfaces to restore them to their formal glory.

Common items that can be cleaned with pumice are ceramic tiles, swimming pools, bbq grills, tile grout, toilets, sinks, bath tubs, and it can even be used as a rust and paint remover on metal tools (always test a small area first to make sure it’s not going to damage anything before doing the whole thing).

What is the best pumice stone to clean toilet with?

There are probably a hundred different product options out there for a pumice stone to clean a toilet with, but I always find myself using (and coming back to, if I have ever strayed) a brand that has been around since the 1940’s…and if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it… it was a great product back then and it still is today.

The cleaning stone brand that I use personally, and love, is made by a company called Pumie. They sell it at almost any grocery store out there, including Wal-Mart, or you can easily even get them on Amazon.

Another thing I thought I should mention is that Pumie also has a stone that is attached to a wand, which would be a great alternative product to use for those of you that are squeamish about sticking your hand into a toilet bowl. I rarely see them in stores, but here is a link to it on Amazon.

How to naturally clean a toilet (tutorial found here)

Now it’s time to show you how easy it is to clean toilet stains with it to get it pumice stone clean!

I know that some of you are going to be cringing hard at me cleaning without gloves, and by how gnarly this particular toilet is, but my bar for what I find gross is pretty low. I grew up as a farm kid, clean professionally for other people, and have changed thousands of diapers over the years, so very few things make me squirm… I just tie my hair up, push back my sleeves, and dive right in.

How To Use A Pumice Stone For Toilet Bowl Cleaning

Prep Time: 3 minutes

Active Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 8 minutes

Difficulty: Beginner to Intermediate

Estimated Cost: Less than $10

Learn how to get rid of ring in the toilet (clean stained toilet bowl) with just a few simple steps.

Materials

Pumice Stone
Toilet Water
Cleaning Gloves (optional)

Tools

Toilet Cleaning Brush

Instructions

Begin by assessing how much cleaning you are going to need to do. Lift up the toilet seat, close again and flush any presents your children, client, or significant other left for you, try not to gag ...and give yourself a pep talk if needed (please note that pep talks will add to the total estimated cleaning time 😛 ).
Dip the toilet brush into the water and scrub inside the entire toilet bowl. Make sure to brush as far down as you can safely go in the bottom of the bowl, and go all the way around under the "lip" of the toilet bowl. Re-dip the brush into the toilet water as needed.
Set the toilet brush aside, close the lid and flush the toilet, then reopen and reassess how much scrubbing you will actually need to do with your pumie scouring stick (often the task is not nearly as bad as we thought it would be if you just remember to do the basic scrubbing with the toilet brush first, which was definitely the case with this toilet it actually only had minimal staining/mineral residue).
Dip the pumice stone into the toilet water and start gently scrubbing the mineral deposits (a circular motion is typically best when possible). Make sure to scrub under the lip of the toilet bowl as that area often gets missed. Re-dip the pumice stone into the toilet water often for best results.
When done scrubbing the hard water stains, close and flush the toilet once more to rinse the cleaning stone residue left in the toilet bowl. For particularly badly stained toilets, you may need to repeat steps two through five (this toilet only required me to do it once).

Notes

Do I need to wear gloves to clean a toilet?

This is one of those personal preference things. I typically only wear gloves when cleaning a toilet if I have an open sore or blister on my hands or wrist (to prevent infection), otherwise I just wash my hands and finger nails with soap and water, really well, just after. Also, if I'm cleaning for someone else and they expect me to use harsh/toxic chemicals to do the job I will also wear gloves...so do so at your own discretion.

*If you have long hair, you will want to tie it up before you begin.

**I prefer to do this chore when no one else is around, to prevent any unintended damage to ears nearby #grouchycleaninglady #swearslikeasailor *

Recommended Products

Please note that I am an affiliate with Amazon.com. When you purchase through my suggested product links, the cost for you is the same but I do receive a small commission for everything in your shopping cart. Thanks so much for the support!

Cleaning with a pumice stone is a great way to get out ones aggression…just kidding, we do gentle scrubbing…but it really is easy to get that toilet, shower, or even the sink (if they are made with porcelain) clean with just water and a silly, but awesome, little rock.

Vinegar cleaning tips

So, once you have the toilet bowl clean, stain free, and under control, it’s a snap to clean the rest of the toilet with a simple vinegar/water mixture.

What vinegar water ratio is needed to disinfect when cleaning?

To use white distilled vinegar to clean and disinfect your toilet, you will need a 1:1 ratio (sourced here).

Simply fill your cleaning spray bottle up half way with water, and then fill the rest with vinegar (leaving enough head room for the sprayer/lid to attach back on) and you are ready for the rest of this cleaning tutorial.