Toilet Bowl Cleaners and the Quest to Get Rid of That Annoying Toilet Bowl Ring!

Sooner than later, you will get this annoying problem with your toilet bowl where you will start seeing this ring inside the bowl and you need to find the most effective way of removing it..

This ring-around-the-toilet problem is caused mostly by accumulating mineral deposits from the water. One simple way of removing this, if the usual brushing method does not work, is to get a pumice stone and rub gently while making sure you do not  not scratch the porcelain.

You have to be careful about using the abrasive type cleaners, like Comet, to avoid damaging the porcelain finish. With the pumice stone, since you are rubbing the surface, you are bound to scratch the finish  even for a little bit. To minimize the scratches, make sure the surface is really wet as you are rubbing the ring off.
 
Using a Softscrub or just plain cleanser is also effective. You can get one of these toilet brushes that comes with a holder that can also contain cleaning liquid. This means you can always do a quick brush and flush, even daily with minimum hassle, which prevents mineral deposits from accumulating.

Another method is to get this black mesh (aka emery cloth) instead of pumice, since pumice can leave scratch marks. The emery cloth works similar to when your dentist is scraping off tartar from your teeth. It chips the ring off. The best way for this emery-cloth approach, is to lower the water level, sprinkle on Zud cleaner or something similar into the bowl, then use the emery cloth.

Some folks prefer to use The Works Limeosol Rust, Lime & Calcium Remover, at least once a month, while using a regular toilet bowl cleaner the rest of the time, and it works great. One good trick to using mineral remover is to apply it to several layers of toilet paper while inside the bowl, and letting it soak overnight. By doing this, the mineral-remover-soaked toilet paper will stick to the bowl and soak the problematic areas overnight, instead of running-off. Just brush the next day with a soft bristle toilet brush, then rinse and repeat if necessary.

You can also try the  Clorox Toilet Wand for maintenance after you have managed to get the tough stains out. The Clorox Toilet Wands snaps on to disposable round cleaners that are abrasive and contain a strong bowl cleaner. This will let you get rid of the bowl brushes. It works pretty well since you use it once, then flip the button on the handle, and it ejects the 
disposable cleaning disk, right into the waste basket.

Some swear by using Kaboom in a spray bottle. You spray the stuff directly into the ring, let it sit for half an hour or so and the ring will be gone.

Another tip from the seniors is to use denture tables, yup, denture tablets! Just pop in a couple in there like Alka Seltzer and your problem is solved. Try to set the water level a little bit above the toilet bowl ring before throwing in the tablets.
 
For the stubborn rings, you can also try bleach. Just pour a cup of bleach in the bowl and let it sit overnight. Just make sure you do not mix the bleach with any other cleaner.

There you have it, pick whatever toilet bowl cleaner works for you and good luck in your never ending quest to have a toilet bowl that does not  resemble the one in Trainspotting (the movie) !