Have stubborn rust stains in your toilet bowl? If you live in an older apartment then chances are you do. As much as we try to stay green with our cleaning products, sometimes it seems like you have to go harsh to tackle a major stain like rust. But we just read on the queen of clean that Tang sprinkled around the bowl and left for an hour or two will do the trick. And it's non toxic.
Apparently the Tang works because of the citric acid that oxidizes the rust stain. So anything powdery (for the grit) that contains citric acid will do it, even lemon flavored kool aid. What a relief to not have to bust out the harsh chemicals. An added bonus is that we don't have to worry if someone leaves the lid up and our kitty goes in for a drink that she'll be ingesting harmful chemicals. And finally it'll leave your bathroom with that fresh tang scent!
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
great tip... and a friendly reminder to avoid internal ingestion of any substances above
view fugitiverouge's profile
my mom uses citric acid in her dishwasher to prevent the dishes from coming out all spotty.
view Sofia E's profile
fugitverouge--well yes, as long as you're sure you don't have rust spots!
There's citric acid in orange juice, lemon juice and lime juice too. Wouldn't they work?
view Alana in Canada's profile
Alana--I think it's the the way the powder become paste that helps it to stick to the stain and really get in there to dissolve it.
view laure's profile
oh, OK. Hm. Interesting idea, really.
view Alana in Canada's profile
Another tip:
if your toilet is clean eaough you can drink it out of the bowl when finished!!!!
view benja-dena's profile
I tried this on the rust stain in my tub - it works!
view Candice's profile
I know this isn't as safe as the citric acid idea-but it's quicker than toilet bowl cleaner-I just spray Clorox(you can just mix cheap bleach and water) around the inside of the bowl and the back of the toilet bowl, and I just let it set for about 2 hrs...or so, then just flush it, and it simply removes normal residue(I don't have rust) and without having to scrub it, it removes the bacteria(the bleach) and leaves the bowl nice and white! I just do that after I'm done cleaning the rest of the outside of the toilet-and around the tub, etc. This is great because you are not only getting rid of your bacteria, but it's a lot quicker and easier than scrubbing the toilet!!
view aylakay's profile
Aylakay...
It seems you didn't catch the idea...
No damaging chemicals... and no dying cats... :)
view rlvaldes's profile