How to Get Rid of the Rust Ring in Your Toilet Bowl

The ring at the waterline of a toilet is one of the most stubborn stains in the house, and bleach makes it worse. The ring is iron and other minerals from the water that have bonded to the porcelain over time, and bleach oxidizes iron, which sets the stain darker. On well water, or anywhere the water is high in iron, the ring can return within weeks of scrubbing. The fix is mechanical, not chemical: lift the deposit off the porcelain, then seal the porcelain so the next deposit has nothing to hold on to.

What you need

• A-MAZ Water Stain Remover paste
• A pumice stone, sold in the cleaning aisle of any hardware store. Wet pumice is softer than porcelain and will not scratch it, but it is harder than the mineral ring.
• An A-MAZ Scrubber Pad for the lighter marks
• Rubber gloves if you prefer, though the paste itself does not need them
• Ultra Gloss Sealant and a cloth for afterward

Step by step

1. Lower the water. Turn off the supply valve behind the toilet and flush. The bowl drains to a low level, exposing the ring. You cannot clean a stain that is under water.
2. Apply the paste generously. Spread a thick layer of A-MAZ over the ring and let it stand for a minute.
3. Rub with wet pumice. Dip the pumice stone in water, then into the paste, and rub along the ring. Keep both the stone and the paste wet; dry pumice can mark porcelain. The ring will start to come away as brown residue on the stone. Rinse the stone and repeat until the porcelain is white.
4. Finish with the pad. Use the scrubber pad and a little more paste on any light shadows the pumice missed, especially under the rim.
5. Refill and flush. Open the valve, let the tank fill and flush twice to clear the residue.
6. Seal the porcelain. Lower the water again, dry the area where the ring was, and rub several drops of Ultra Gloss Sealant into it with a damp cloth until it feels smooth. The sealant lasts about six months on a toilet bowl, and during that time the ring does not form.

If the ring is really old

Iron that has been sitting on porcelain for years can leave a faint shadow even after the deposit is gone, because iron stains the glaze itself. A second full treatment usually lightens it further. Anything left after that is in the glaze and will not come out, but it will also not spread once the surface is sealed.

The same method works on

Porcelain sinks, tub drains, and the rust streak under a dripping faucet. On a sink, skip the pumice unless the stain is heavy and use the pad instead, and seal the drain area afterward. If your water is high in iron, a filter on the incoming line solves the problem at the source, but the sealant will keep every fixture looking clean in the meantime.