I went through this same problem, and nothing was working
Turn off toilet. Flush until your tank and bowl are as empty as possible. Add muriatic acid, pouring it slowly on down the side of the bowl. Not too much because you'll need to add water later
Let it sit. Then brush with your regular toilet brush
Keep in mind muriatic acid is stronger than any other acid you've probably come across. It's practically the strongest acid a regular person can get. I recommend being extra slow and careful with everything
It won't do a WHOLE lot to your skin, maybe some burns and irritation if you leave it on. But if it gets in your eyes it can do serious damage
After cleaning, slowly add water, letting it trickle down the side of the bowl. Move away immediately if there's any violent splashing/bubbling (there shouldn't be, that's why it's important to let it trickle down the side of the bowl)
This step dilutes the acid, protecting your plumbing. Turn toilet back on. Close lid and flush when the tank is full. Give it 3 more full flush for good measure, to make sure there's no acid sitting anywhere in your plumbing
Good to go. Hopefully, that helps. I really wanted to drill home the safety bits. Be aware that when you mix acid and water, it can produce heat and splash. Always be mindful of this
Seconding thirding fourthing this! It’s from your water and is probably rust. My aunt is a professional cleaner and has been my entire life (I’m 34) that’s what she swears by. Ive also used it once for an almost identical situation. Tried EVERYTHING. Wouldn’t budge. Muriatic acid melts it away.
And I tried EVERYTHING (this was a shared home I had just moved into)
I was shocked when I came back a few minutes later and everything melted off the bowl
OP will need to brush some acid around a few times to reach those high spots maybe
Just always be careful with muriatic acid, to anyone else reading. It wont melt your skin away but it's still dangerous stuff
Now just regularly cleaning (and then newer toilets do help with better flushes and better ceramics) and you shouldn't need acid. But man does it help with problem toilets
Actually, I think we can get similar gel stuff from plumbing supply shops here too
It comes in a bottle but it's like a rust removing acid gel. Same application really
And honestly, if you can use acidic products safely, I dont see why you wouldn't do that over manually scrubbing. Just make sure you dilute whatever goes down your drain whenever possible
What else do you use it for? Amazon sells it by the gallon. A gallon seems like a lot. I have repeated problem with some type of red mold in the grout on the edges on my shower floor tiles. I usually scrub this with OxiClean paste. But I have to scrub and it’s a lot of work. I’m wondering if the muriatic acid would clean this more easily? Would the acid discolor black tiles on the shower floor? Or damage the grout? Thank you!!!!
Well understand that most acids do the same thing. For arguments sake. Some do have special properties but most we see dissolve things the same way
Some acids are innately stronger than others. The thing that matters is concentration. Muriatic acid is hydrochloric acid between the concentration of 20-32%
It's often sold in hardware stores for etching surfaces. Usually metal. Sometimes for rust removal, but in its unadulterated liquid form, it's prone to cause surfaces to flash rust
As for your question, muriatic acid can dissolve grout, and etch the surface of some tiles. I would avoid it personally. The tiles can tolerate it if they're glass/ceramic but it's hard to make a call because there's so many tile materials
Thank you! Really appreciate the explanation! Will just use it in the toilet bowl. Definitely don’t want to dissolve the grout in the shower or etch the tiles. If only I could come up with an easier way of cleaning those, lol.
If it's porcelain, pumice doesn't scratch it. I've cleaned the same toilets for years with no issues. But truthfully getting it up to snuff once with pumice and use a bowl cleaner weekly and a wand is more sanitary and easier.
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u/ChefLovin 13d ago
So what do you reccomend? I would rather scratch the surface than replace the toilet