Toilet Bowl Ring

[Walter R.]

This is more home maintenance than repair, but maybe someone has a good solution.

After about 5 years of use, our new toilet bowls show rings around the inside water level in the bowl. There seem to be only two ways of dealing with this nuisance: a. mechanical abrasion with cleanser or pumice stone, or b. use of an acid that will dissolve the calcium deposits.

Both methods have a deleterious effect on the underlying porcelain, making the problem worse the next time around.

Is there a third method, which does not dissolve the porcelain in the cleaning process?

[DerbyDad03]

After 5 years, the toilet isn't new anymore. ;-)

We've got *very* hard water where we live. After 20 years, I still have no rings around the inside water level in the bowl.

Are you sure the damage hasn't already been done and/or you had a defective toilet in the first place? Like I said, I don't have any rings after 20 years, so I'm surprised that you do after only 5.

How often does this toilet get used?

[Walter R.]

There were 5 new toilets. The ones that get used the most, are the ones that are most afflicted by rings. Maybe they get cleaned more often and the cleanser damages the porcelain?

[Fjiluk The Hogfish-Beater]

A product like CLR shouldn't damage porcelain and it hasn't in my years of using it. Your problem now is you no longer have a smooth surface and this exacerbates the collection of deposits. I would clean it more frequently with a bit of CLR before the deposits build to a noticeable level. I clean my bowl once a week but I do have soft water and use a one of those blue things you toss in the tank. Those really do wonders for keeping deposits down.

[BradMM]

How is that possible??? You must be livin' right! ... or your wife is in there scrubbing every other day! :-)

[DerbyDad03]

- How is that possible??? You must be livin' right! ... or your wife

- is in there scrubbing every other day! :-)

OK, let's do a survey...

How many of you who own toilets of over 5 years old have a ring around the bowl at the water level?

[Meat Plow]

Mine has got to be 20 years old and is in fine shape. I use a "1000 Flushes" tablet in the tank and Sani Flush and a brush once a week.

[willshak]

I don't, but I have a water softener. I am of the "if it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down" belief., so I have to brush the sides once in a while to get rid of the film that develops.

[BradMM]

Plenty of CaCO3 in our water so, yes, we have calcium build up at the water level. Coincidentally, I need to go look under the lid to see how old our toilet is. We just bought the house about 1 1/2 years ago but I'm not sure how old the toilet is. I think I need to replace it anyway (see my post not too far from this one).

[dadiOH]

You shouldn't be using a cleanser that has anything in it hard enough to scratch glass (porcelain). Most don't. Pumice may.

Acid - other than hydrofluoric acid - won't affect porcelain. After all, it comes in glass bottles. Hydrofluoric is stored in wax bottles.

[franz frippl]

Try using a cup or two of household vinegar and letting things soak a few hours. Vinegar is a very weak acid and less likely to damage porcelain.

You might look at using softened water for the toilet. Not a complicated or expensive DIY task.

[anubis]

I bought an American Standard new at home depot 2 years ago and I have rings around the bowl

[mm]

I think a lot of this has to do with the water.

In Baltiomre, I cleaned my toilets none too often and they were fine for about 24 years.

Then, about 4 years ago,I started having to urinate often but not much, and although I am not of Willshaks belief, I hated to keep using a whole tank of water for a little bit, but every half hour. So I stopped flushing every time, and it started gettting dirty, including a ring so that flushing didn't clean it and a brush didn't clean it.

I had to use an acidic toilet bowl cleaner, first the one in the green container that that I can't find anymore, and now one from Lowes. Brands on request, but I can't remember them now.

Those work.

Do they do damage? I don't know. I wondered too, so I've tried feelign the bowl when it is clean and it feels very smooth. I guess I should compare it with the toilet I never use, but frankly, I don't think my fingers are sensitive enough to tell if something is more smooth than this one.

[mm]

How do you know. Regarding the acid product?

I ask because I worried about this too, when I needed a stronger cleaner.

Are you talking about a toilet bowel cleaner that contains acid, or just plain acid (as it is sold, diluted with water)?

I ended up usinge an acidic toilet bowl cleaner, first the one in the green container that that I can't find anymore (I can find a cleaning product by the same name, but no longer can I find the toilet bowel clearn), and now one from Lowes. Brands on request, but I can't remember them now.

Those work.

Do they do damage? I don't know. I wondered too, so I've tried feelign the bowl when it is clean and it feels very smooth. I guess I should compare it with the toilet I never use, but frankly, I don't think my fingers are sensitive enough to tell if something is more smooth than the first one.

Is there a way to measure something smooth to know how smooth it is?

See my other post for a few more details.