How to Prevent Brown Stains in Toilet

No one likes cleaning the bathroom. And what makes bathroom cleaning worse? When your bathroom still looks dirty after all that effort because of a rust-stained toilet bowl. This cringe-worthy sight makes your bathroom appear dirty and your toilet gross despite the number of hours you spend weekly cleaning it.

Luckily, there are ways to remove these brown stains from bathroom surfaces for good and even prevent rust stains, keeping them from reoccurring and adding to your endless to-do list.

In this article, we’ll show you how to take care of pesky rust stains with just a few common household cleaning items.

Rust Stains: Where Do They Come From?

Red-brown rust stains result from the presence of iron in water, making itself at home in your toilet bowl, tub, and sinks. Air combines with the particles, causing them to oxidize and color. Over time, they build up on surfaces where water drips. Depending on where you live and what material your pipes are made of, rust stains can be a pervasive issue.

With the right measures, you can reduce the presence of iron and thus the deposits on the surfaces of your toilets and wash basins, helping keep these surfaces stain-free.

First Things First: Removing Rust Stains

Though you may be tempted, avoid the use of bleach when cleaning rust stains. Bleach will actually chemically-charge and super-power rust stains, making the problem even worse. Also, be careful with your use of cleaning techniques, apparatuses, and cleansers, as scratching or damaging your toilet bowl makes it easier for the buildup to occur and renders the future removal of stains next to impossible.

Try One of these Safe Rust-Removal Solutions

Before getting started, you should open a window for ventilation. Remove the water from your toilet bowl by turning off the valve and flushing to make cleaning easier. Here are a few of our best recommendations for how to remove rust stains from a toilet bowl:

• Spray on a mixture of one part vinegar to one part water and scrub with a toilet brush.
• Make a paste of three parts baking soda and one part vinegar, scrubbing the bowl with it as you would a powdered cleanser.
• Dust ¼ cup of Borax onto the toilet bowl, scrubbing with a brush to remove stains, odors, and bacteria.
• Purchase Shaw’s Pads, which consist of a handle and scouring cloth, and scrub your way to a rust-free surface.
• Have any Barkeeper’s Friend stashed in your cupboard? This tried-and-true cleaner is great at removing rust stains.

How to Prevent Rust Stains in Your Toilet, Tub & Sink

Now that you’ve removed rust stains from the surfaces of your bath, here’s how to keep them away for good:

• Clean Regularly
  Cleaning your bathroom once a week will keep surfaces smooth, inhibiting iron buildup and other deposits from taking hold.
• Keep Things Dry
  As much as possible, wipe down bathroom surfaces exposed to water to reduce iron residue buildup. Obviously, this will not work in the toilet bowl itself but will help prevent rust on countertops and in sink basins.
• Keep an Eye Out for Metals
  Metal-bottomed cans such as shaving cream and air fresheners can also contribute to rust stains on bath surfaces. Store them in a cupboard or cabinet – not on bath and sink ledges.
• Add an Iron Filter or Water Softener
  Water filters and purification systems can eliminate the problem at the source by removing iron and other mineral deposits in water to prevent future stains. Some softener salts are even specifically formulated to fight rust. Mr. Rooter Plumbing offers professional water softener installation.
• Upgrade Your Plumbing
  In older homes with iron pipes, rust deposits may continue to form due to pipe breakdown until the old pipes are upgraded. Mr. Rooter Plumbing offers professional water line replacement and other types of plumbing installation.

Call Mr. Rooter Plumbing for Professional Rust Stain Removal

Do rust stains in your bath have you seeing red? Eliminate them for good with help from Mr. Rooter Plumbing. Find a location near you or call us for assistance at any time.