White Vinegar and Water Much like lemon juice, white vinegar is another great option for cleaning a rusty toilet bowl that you can find in your bathroom. Vinegar is also an acidic substance, often containing a small amount of acetic acid mixed in with water.
Distilled White Vinegar
Add one or two cups of vinegar to the toilet bowl and use a toilet brush to scrub the stains. For older stains, empty the water out of the toilet bowl and pour in undiluted vinegar, letting it sit overnight (or at least two hours). Scrub it well and rinse with fresh water.
As Ann discovered, CLR Calcium, Lime & Rust Remover is a great way to clean away calcium and lime deposits as well as scale and rust from your toilet.
When cleaning a toilet bowl, WD-40 works by softening the rust and lime deposits, so they can be easily wiped away. You don't need to use much of it. Simply spray on the affected area, wait a minute or two and brush it away with a regular toilet brush.
The solvents in WD-40 help dissolve gunk and lime in your toilet. Spray WD-40 in your toilet bowl and leave it for one to two minutes. Then, use a toilet brush to help scrub away the grime. Because it's so effective, there's no need to saturate your toilet—a little goes a long way.
For weekly cleaning of rusty toilet bowls, add one to two cups of vinegar to the bowl and scrub with a toilet brush. For old stains, empty the toilet bowl of water and pour undiluted vinegar into the bowl and let it sit for at least two hours (overnight is better). Scrub well and rinse with fresh water.
CLR Septic System Treatment is safe on pipes and porcelain and works on fats, oils, grease and other stubborn organic matter.
Bleach + vinegar
Bleach smells quite pungent by itself. But the smell grows even more acrid once you add vinegar because the combination releases chlorine and chloramine vapors, which can cause a chemical burn.
Pour a half-cup of hydrogen peroxide into the toilet and let it sit for 30 minutes. Use your toilet brush to scrub the stains. Add a sprinkle of baking soda and scrub again if the stains persist. Turn on the water and flush away stains and germs.
High iron levels in water cause the toilet bowl to rust. Rust begins to develop when the iron oxidizes or becomes exposed to oxygen. High iron levels in water are typically found in older homes with aging pipes or in an area where hard water is present.
Green or brown stains in the toilet usually indicate lime buildup. Lime scale forms as hard water evaporates and leaves a mineral buildup behind. As it dries, it picks up any dirt particles along with it, and slowly the stain builds, layer by layer, on the inside of the toilet bowl.
Quick-Glo Chrome Cleaner & Rust Remover
It can also be used on silver, brass, stainless steel, glass, and porcelain to clean and remove rust. You should expect some scrubbing and elbow grease to get the waxy paste into the surface.
An ordinary pumice stone is also a good way to remove rust, especially from porcelain, since it won't scratch or damage your surface. Simply wet the stone, wet the rusty surface, and then rub the stone lightly over the surface to remove the rust. Use lemon juice and salt.
CLR may etch older sinks, tubs, and tiles. Avoid contact with wood, clothing, wallpaper, carpeting, natural stones, brass, copper, aluminum, galvanized metals, any painted, coated or sealed surfaces.
CLR or Lime Away? An acid-based cleaner is the best way to remove water deposits. Vinegar and lemon juice are two natural alternatives, but they just don't work as quickly and effectively. CLR uses similar ingredients to Lime Away.
To tackle items with significant corrosion, submerge your rusty tools or knives in a bowl of white vinegar and let them sit overnight or as long as 24 hours. Once they have had a good soak, remove them from the vinegar and scrub the rust off with steel wool, a scouring pad, or a wire brush.
Vinegar is safe and milder than caustic cleaners designed for the toilet, and those commercial cleaning agents can eat away the good bacteria in your septic system. To safely and inexpensively clean your toilet bowls, pour a generous glug of vinegar, followed by a heavy sprinkling of baking soda, into the bowl.
You can use straight or a diluted vinegar cleaning solution for the bathroom to clean bacteria, especially around the toilet. Cleaning with a mixture of baking soda and vinegar in the bathroom can work really well. To clean your toilet with vinegar, pour a cup of vinegar in the toilet bowl and let sit overnight.
Vinegar will not damage your toilet in any way if it's left in your toilet overnight. Regardless of your toilet's material, the vinegar is not strong enough to damage the toilet or the toilet's plumbing. So, you can leave the vinegar in your toilets overnight without worry.
Steel wool scrub
Since steel wool is such an abrasive product, you can either use it alone or in addition to borax + vinegar +/or baking soda for better results. 0000-grade steel wool is recommended as it's less likely to scratch up the inside of a porcelain toilet.
So does coke remove limescale? Yes. The acid in coke will help to dissolve limescale and there are several examples of it being used to clean toilets, descale kettles and in other circumstances.