Rust in your toilet bowl is one of the problems that everyone faces and the first thing you have to realize is its not due to not cleaning. Unfortunately many toilet manufacturers include steel parts in their tank equipment and over time even if they are chrome plated they will begin to rust. Once this happens there really is no going back. For this reason the best way to remove rust from your toilet bowl will normally mean replacing the parts in your tank that are breaking down.
In other how tos we will cover the process of rebuilding your toilet with a complete repair kit. These kits are pretty inexpensive about $20 and they will bring new life to an old toilet that is broken and provide all the parts you need with the exception of the tank and bowl. The process takes about 1 to 2 hours depending on how easy it is to work in your bathroom and it can be completed with only a few basic tools.
Once you have removed all of the rusty parts or replaced the ones that need replacing you can think about removing the rust from your toilet bowl. If you don’t get rid of these old rusty parts you might as well just live with the problem until you are ready to rebuild your tank because rust will reappear in a matter of a couple days.
Removing Rust From Toilet Bowls
If you don’t know already average bathroom cleaners really won’t help much to remove rust from your toilet bowl and other ceramic surfaces in your bathroom but there are cleaners that will work really well.
Many of these products are specifically targeted at removing rust, lime and calcium deposits and if you can find their active ingredient you will most likely see 8% sulfamic acid being used.
General soaps and bleaches and scrub powders are a Base or Alkaline and the use of Acid which is the opposite of a base for as a cleaner is where you will see the change. Some people suggest using cooking / canning vinegar which can be somewhat stronger than other products but when you need something you know will work you want to look for a product that is made just for this application. Anything else really won’t do the job or will take forever to get it done.
I suggest that you apply the liquid or gel late at night just before you go to bed or in the morning when you are leaving for work. This will allow it to work for a good 8 hours or so and this is what you need.
A single application probably won’t cure most problems but within a couple days you should see really good improvement.
Final Note
Fighting rust in your toilet or in your bathroom or kitchen often means curing the problem which is replacing the parts in your toilet or maybe a faucet or other item that is rusting.
When you are looking for replacement parts you want to make sure that chains and bolts in your toilet are stainless steel, brass or plastic/nylon.
Personally I get really disgusted at manufacturers that think they can get away with causing these problems because they know better than anyone that iron based steel parts will eventually corrode and cause you problems even before the toilet its self needs to be replace.
On the other hand if parts are breaking down and rusting you need to keep your eyes open and expect that something is going to break soon. This is a good time to order a complete toilet repair kit and keep it in a closet or under the sink until you need it at 2am on a Sunday night and no one will be coming to your rescue and no stores will be open to buy one. Its just an eventuality that we all will face so its good to keep a repair kit on hand just like you would furnace filters or other items.