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The Toughest Toilet Bowl Stains Don't Stand A Chance Against One Powerful Cleaner

If your home struggles with hard water in the form of calcium deposits, rust or limescale buildup, you know how frustrating toilet bowl stains can be. No matter how much elbow grease or cleaners you dump in the bowl, there seems to be nothing that can lift the unsightly stains that have an uncanny resemblance to pink mold. The fortunate news, however, is that if your home has hard water, the lingering presence of these toilet bowl stains says nothing about your abilities as a housekeeper but rather indicates that your cleaning arsenal simply lacks the right weapons.

Unlike mold and other typical bacterial toilet rings that can be combated by bleach and other hard-hitting cleaners, mineral deposits aggressively accumulate on sinks and toilets over time, forming a thick, difficult-to-clear film that requires the correct substance to remove. What is that substance, you may ask? Acids. Citric acid, lactic acid, and glycolic acid (to name a few) all eliminate toilet bowl stains by dissolving the mineral stains that have accumulated on the surface, a process sometimes referred to as descaling. A popular product, CLR Calcium, Limescale & Rust Remover, boasts excellent results in beating mineral deposits. In addition to offering superior stain-fighting power, it also is biodegradable, antibacterial, and safe for septic systems, all of which have helped it earn a solid reputation over the years.

How to clean with CLR

If you're tired of the futile attempts you have made in the past to remove mineral deposits from your toilet bowl, testing out a bottle of CLR ($12 on Amazon) could be well worth your while. Customers who have purchased the product are impressed with the results it helps them achieve, with 74% giving it 5-star feedback. One writes, "use to get the hard water stains/rings from toilets. Works great!" while another writes, "removed toilet bowl scale with minimal effort."

In order to utilize CLR to eliminate those unsightly toilet stains, you'll need a bottle of the cleaner, a scrubbing brush or scrubbing sponge, and some cleaning gloves. You'll first need to turn off the water supply to your bowl and then remove as much water from the bowl as possible. Follow this by pouring eight ounces of the CLR product into the toilet bowl and leaving it to work away at the stains for two minutes. After this, pull on your cleaning gloves and grab the scrubbing tool of your choice so you can work away at the stains on the bowl's surface. At this time, the water can be turned back on, and you can flush the toilet to see your results. In some cases, you might need to repeat the process if the stains are bad enough. If you're happy with the results, be sure to keep a bottle of the cleaner on hand so you can prevent the stains from reappearing in the future.

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