Cleaning your toilet is an essential routine task that we all have to face. A clean toilet is a vital hygiene requirement. Ordinarily, there are several ways in which you can ensure your toilet is sparkling clean.
Some of the most effective ways to clean stains on your toilet include using detergents, chemicals, and ultimately using a pumice stone. The method you embrace depends on the type of material your toilet is made of and the severity of stains on your toilet.
What is your toilet made of?
Most toilets bowls are made from porcelain, also referred to as ceramic, plastic, concrete, or wood. This makes it essential for you to identify an appropriate cleaning option. The selection you make must be effective and should be gentle on your toilet surface.
A high number of toilets are made of ceramic. This makes pumice stone a preferred option for cleaning such toilet bowl rings.
A pumice stone is a volcanic rock with a soft texture and is light in weight. This stone is readily available on the detergent section of shopping marts. Different sellers offer them in varied shapes and colors. The most common pumice stone forms are bars or stick shapes.
A pumice stone is recommended because it is cheap and does not need chemical assortments when cleaning. A pumice stone also helps get rid of tough stains because of its unique texture.
You still have to be careful and ideally use pumice stone when deep cleaning. Regular rigid use of this method can result in a damaged-out toilet.
Check this too: How to Unclog a Toilet
How does a toilet pumice stone work?
A pumice stone cleans the toilet by forming an abrasive paste when scrubbed against the toilet surface. This paste will then dissolve dust and other stains on the toilet. You have to finish the process by pouring water on the surface to rinse it off.
This is all it takes to clean your toilet with pumice. Taking appropriate steps when cleaning your toilet with pumice is still necessary. Below are steps to follow:
Assemble all your cleaning tools.
The items you will need include a bucket of water, toilet cleaning detergent (optional), a scrub, a pair of protective rubber gloves, and a pumice stone.
Set aside a piece of pumice stone for this task.
Pumice stones can serve various purposes when cleaning. You can use this rock to clean your body, floors, and toilet. This makes it vital for you to properly store the specific stone used on toilets away from the ones used on your body. When purchasing the stone, you should pick different colors or shapes to avoid confusion.
Wear protective gloves.
Always wear protective rubber gloves when working on toilets or floors as a safety precaution. This will reduce your exposure to germs significantly.
Start by moistening the surface to be cleaned.
The initial step is to dampen the surface to be cleaned. Pour water or any toilet cleaning detergent. You should also wet the pumice stone before rubbing it against surfaces.
Scrub stains evenly
Once the surface is wet, begin by evenly scrubbing with the pumice stone. You will notice that the pumice stone leaves small particles on the surface. Do not worry about that because they help in the cleaning process.
Continue scrubbing visible stains and slowly work your way into more hidden parts of the toilet. Stick-shaped pumice stones are beneficial when accessing narrow parts of your toilet. Do not rinse the toilet until you have finished scrubbing the whole thing.
Rinse and repeat the process
Once you are done with the first cleaning round, repeat the procedure to get maximum results. A good pumice stone cleaning tip is alternating the angles and pressure when cleaning. Adjust your patterns of scrubbing to enhance the results. The pressure you apply should be according to the level of the stain seen. Areas with fewer stains should be scrubbed gently.
Check and wash off all the dirt.
Keenly check to see whether they are spots you might have left behind. Finally, rinse the toilet and flush it. This should leave your toilet clean.
Will a pumice stone remove hard water stains?
Hard water stains are formed when water droplets containing hard minerals like calcium, iron, and magnesium land on your toilet surfaces. The stains are chalky white, although they can also appear rust-colored or brown. These stains typically form after the minerals have been on the surface for a while. The stains can become permanent if left for long.
A pumice stone can effectively clean hard water stains. Cleaning your toilet with pumice stone combines both manual and chemical processes. The effort and pressure you apply on the surface are enough to remove most stains.
Another way to ease removing hard water stains with pumice is to pour vinegar on the stained areas. Follow up by sprinkling baking soda on the surface and letting it sit for 10 minutes. Finally, scrub it off with pumice stone.
The reaction between baking powder, also known as sodium bicarbonate, and vinegar, a dilute solution of ethanoic acid, will break down hard minerals on surfaces, and carbon dioxide will be released. You will know this by the fuzzing sound made when the two are combined. This should not worry you or make you stop the cleaning process.
Will pumice stone scratch a toilet and damage it?
A Pumice stone can still scratch your toilet and cause damage to it. To avoid this, start by only purchasing pumice stones from reliable stores. Best pumice stones for cleaning your toilet are sold alongside other toiletries.
Some brands have modified their products and have incorporated items like rubber handles on pumice stones. You still have to remember to wet your pumice stone before scrubbing any surface. Using a Dry pumice stone may scour your toilet bowl and leave a permanent mark.
Some great products to try out include
Pumice stones should not be used for toilets made of plastic. This is because rubbing pumice stone against plastic will eventually tear the plastic down. Plastic toilets can be cleaned with detergents that do not contain chemicals like liquid soaps.
Pumice stones will still scratch wooden toilet bowls and leave irreversible marks. If you own a wooden toilet bowl, settle for a nonabrasive cleaning material. You can use water and a plastic scrub.
Toilet seats made of concrete are highly unlikely to be affected by pumice stones. However, pumice stones are still not ideal for cleaning such toilets. Instead, it would help if you opted for an option like dishwashing soap. Concrete surfaces are not hard to clean compared to other toilet materials.
There are still some unique toilets made of materials such as marble. Marble floors and toilet bowls cannot be cleaned with a pumice stone. Marble will easily be scratched by pumice. The same also applies to fiberglass toilets. Fiberglass is a light material that, when rubbed vigorously, can break. This makes it unsafe for you to clean it pumice.
Always test your toilet bowl material before going in with pumice stone. You can do a simple test by scrubbing a select area with pumice stone and closely checking it for damage.