Toilet. Cleaning Advice Appreciated.
 

My Mum keeps our two toilets spotlessly clean.
The one thing she would never forgive or forget is if she came back to a dirty toilet when they've been away.

However the downstairs toilet has recently developed some grey stains, which she just can't shift.
She scrubbed and scrubbed at them, has bought an even more powerful toilet cleaner and is applying it directly to the stains with the scourer, but they are not shifting.

Now I can find lots of products recommended on the internet - more and more powerful ones - and advice about using nail files or pumice stones.
But what I wonder is whether this is a thinning of the enamel rather than a stain on top of it? This house was built in the 60s and Mum has lived in it since 1972. That's nearly 40 years of rigorous cleaning, wiping, bleaching - every day.

I can easily find her a powerful cleaner - just some Googling will do.
But I don't want to make things worse.

All I know is she is genuinely concerned about this. It doesn't bother me in the slightest - you can tell it's a clean toilet. But it has her nearly in tears. She is even thinking of telling her friends not to visit because she feels sick at the idea she will think she has a dirty toilet.

Anyone had any experience with toilets damaged by cleaning?
Is it even possible, or am I making problems where none exist?

A paste made out of bi-carb of soda??? It would be worth a go and definitely wouldn't cement the stain.

Yesterday I examined a candidate who in answer to a question about household tasks that he enjoyed made reference to cleaning the toilet. I was wondering if he'd misheard or forgot to put the 'not' in his sentence.

Pour one can of Coca Cola (no substitutes, please!) into the toilet and let it sit for an hour. It will clean stains from vitreous china. From here.

You need a service sub. No sex, please.

She may just need to replace the toilet. The enamel or whatever the finish is made of does start to wear out after enough years have gone by. I'd say if pouring a bunch of bleach in the toilet and letting it sit for a while doesn't do the trick, the finish is gone.

The bathtub in my apartment is like a thousand years old and has permanent stains in it that I can't get rid of no matter what I try. The landlord really needs to replace all the bathroom fixtures in that place, but he's a cheap slumlord and never will.

I can't wait until I can move to Durango and get a place that I'm not embarassed to have friends visit.

Have you tried it and did it work? I have some water stain that I don't know how to get out.

Sundae: good luck on that stain. Sorry, but I don't know what to do. I'm here hoping to benefit from your thread. :p: A new toilet sounds wonderful if it weren't costly, huh.

does Mum have a Bday comeing up ??
If so go in with dad to get her a New toilet

Or a bidet?

I'm going to try the bicarb paste first.
The trouble with the Coke is that these marks are above the waterline, so they will simply get a cola shower as opposed to soaking in it.

One of the things which we can't puzzle out is that she uses limescale remover already. And none of the marks are raised. Or notably indented on the flip side - neither are they in places that get particular scrubbing. Argh.

Toilets and plumbing are expensive. Approx £200+ (parts & labour).
Of course when it comes down to it they will have to work it out between them. I know how important it is to her. I also know Dad will refuse to spend the money while they still have a functioning WC.

Thanks for the responses.
I will get back to you.

Or a bidet?

HarHar har

the thing you have to do is figure out what the stain is. Is it a stain from the water or did someone use a stainless steel scrubbing brush? If it is from a stainless steel scouring pad or brush then the gray stain is from actual bits of metal ground away from by the very fine pores in the surface of the glaze. You would have to use something very powerful to remove it. Probably Muriatic Acid. They sell it at the hardware store. It's a drastic measure and may cause problems if not done properly.

that being said, 40 years in toilet years is like 32 years in dog years which would be about 197 years in people years. It's really way past time for a new toilet.

get a plastic bag and fill it with some rocks. Put the bag in the toilet. The water level will rise.

Thank you Aesop.

Also, cut way down on the red wine and artificially-colored cereals.

Smash the toilet accidentally (drop something heavy on it - a plant pot full of grungy rainwater that you were emptying into the loo bowl (or say that's what it was ;)). Dad will buy a new one. Problem solved.

better suggest mum does that or Sundae will be sent to Coventry again.

It may work for birds and using it in a closed container...
But in the present case, it won't...

You're working with a siphon here. If you put a rock in it, water will first rise, then fall to its previous level because of the evacuation on the other side.

Yeah, if you want it to be soaking in cleanser, get some toilet paper soaking wet with that cleanser, and stick it to the stain.

of course, that depends on the level of the stain, relative to the normal water level. If it is too high and still doesn't get wet, then I can have any of my teenagers come over and have them raise the water level to the rim, if needed.

... or if the plastic bag is filled with sand it will effectively seal the bottom and raise the water level.

more such advice. http://www.accouters.com/how-do-i-re...my-toilet.html

why not LOWER the water level (to dryness) and apply a coat(s) of special paint? takes the fixture out of service for a short while, a few days at most, but you have a new surface. there are things to figure out mentioned in the link like is it porcelain or china, etc. quite doable though.

If it were me, I would just put a dimmer bulb in the bathroom.

FTW!
Thanks for playing, better luck next time.

Wait, that's from Fingerbobs, isn't it?
Neither currantly (see what I did there?) consumed in this household.
Monster's got the family dynamics right. Except Mum would never agree with that approach. She's no shrinking violet. She'll just be all acid and venom, leaving Dad with NO idea what he's done wrong this time, despite heavy hints. I expect lots of bitchy personal comments along the lines of "I'm not surprised you didn't clean the table properly, you're willing to put up with a filthy toilet" and "No of course you didn't hear me deafo! You can't see that the toilet is filthy either!"
If I were living with you HLJ, I would BAN dimmer switches. Kiss kiss.

Sometimes I think dropping a rock on Mum's head would be the best solution.
But then who would clean the toilet?

But srsly, SG, ifn you know these bitchy comments come from the toilet bowl scenario, can't you just ignore them? (Your dad must have his own coping mechanism by now, I suppose ...)

This seems like the best advice to me, especially since it sounds like something wrong with the finish, not particularly a stain. Then again, I can't see it.
here is an example I found: http://www.discoveredit.com/procalib...nishspray.aspx

In alternative to replacing the toilet with a new one, do y'all only have the 1 bathroom? Could y'all switch it with another bathroom? One that the guests don't see? She will still have the "dirty toilet" (thank god your mum will never visit me) but at least her friends won't see it to be all judgmental about it.

Can you post a picture, Sundae?

Thanks for ALL the comments. Turns out Casi was right in the first response - Dad went out and bought bicarb of soda this morning and she was already working it by the time I got home today! And it IS working. Are calcium deposits different to limescale? Her toilet cleaner is a 100% limescale remover, apparently...? Which is why we were wandering down the damaged ceramic route.

Dad just lets them go.

I'm FAR better than I was, but something inside me lets her get to me every time. Afterwards I can rationalise it - she's upset and angry and it's not my fault. But I spent a childhood of her being upset and angry and it WAS my fault.

The thing that still scares me is that she brings things back up from previous situations. I'm always terrified that she will start talking about times I have made her ashamed, and embarrassed her. She told me just last year the reason my husband left me was because I didn't keep a clean house. Despite the fact I left him. That was a low blow, dredging up something that I'm still torn by and happened over 10 years ago.

On the one hand she worries about me blaming myself too much for the divorce, and yet when she is in a pissy mood she has no problem bringing it up again to smack me with. The issue was a moot one anyway - I wasn't helping Dad in the garden. I'd asked him the day before and he said he'd rather do it himself.

Meh - I'm too defensive says Mum.
Maybe I am.
But I'm also lazy, spiteful, bitchy, argumentative and live in an airy fairy world of my own. According to her.

Anyway.
This is a GOOD NEWS THREAD!
Toilet is cleaner, she will continue with the treatment.
And she is very pleased and proud of both the difference and of me.
And I cooked a lovely meal of chicken wings tonight.
So I am well in favour, which I owe to the Cellar.

just for perspective:

£200 for a toilet that lasts 40 years=

£5 /year or £.0137 / day

Assuming three people using the toilet an average of 3 times per day (9 times /day)
that comes out to £0.001522 per use.

obviously that doesn't include the cost of water, sewage, or toilet paper.

I'd say £200 is a pretty good deal considering the convenience of a having a toilet in one's home and the alternative.

And, gives a new meaning to "spending a penny"

ps, I'm happy about ur baking soda

I'm happy about ur toilet, too. :)

Dear SG :)
I'm happy about yr toilet, and I know how easy it is to say "just let it go" and how difficult it is to do,:comfort:! And I know your working on it ...
But mainly we're all happy about your toilet. In fact I'll just go check it out ... :Flush:

Re the toilet: :)

Re everyone expressing their happiness about the toilet: where's the emoticon for :snort: (i.e. the laughing kind)....but when I read the title for 3Foot's poll about the woodchuck, it was the bit that said "express your feelings" that triggered a :lol2: response as well, so if you want to make me laugh, just say express your feelings.

Re issues with the parents (mother): I know it's not an feasible option at the moment, (and I know I'm not saying anything you don't know already) but as soon as the moving out is a possibility, go your hardest. My mother is generally one of the sweetest people alive, but she drives me insane no matter how much I say the "be like sibling and smile and don't react or if you have to react, say something neutral" mantra . We always get along so much better when I'm in another city/country. Then I am actually able to appreciate her.

I do love her.
And I've always known it was tricky for us to live together.
It's exacerbated by the fact I was a free spirit for 20 years, and was slowly recovering from her negativity.

But she took me in when my world fell apart, and supports me financially now, knowing I am in a job I love, looking for more work and trying to get social housing. It's not easy for her either, having a big bolshie daughter with very different political, social and religious opinions in the hou9se.

And although she drives me crazy with her Clean Rules, I benefit from living in a spotless house, a world away from the physical state I ended up living in when I was on my own with depression.

She is a very good woman.
She just wasn't a natural mother.
But at least she ensured I wasn't willing to have a go at it myself (motherhood I mean) as I had the potential to be FAR worse.
Shame about my bro though - he's as phlegmatic as my Father and I think would have made a good Dad.

Having a happy toilet is like winning!

Having a happy Mum - winning.

If she now thinks you are dead smart - winning.

Knowing that every day you will use a toilet which is absolutely spotless through no effort of your own but you are still perceived to have a hand in it - priceless.

Um, get your hand out of the toilet, Sundae. ;)

It's certainly cleaner that a lot of things I touch at work in Reception!
Anti-bacterial handwash is my friend....

I know! I have to be really careful days like yesterday when I'm interacting with a hundred or so people and their paperwork. Towards the end of a very long day I was tired and forgot and rubbed my eyes.

Not sick yet, but it's like Russian Roulette.

I've been sicker this year than ever before.
I was so proud when I was volunteering - I caught nothing, or at least nothing significant.

From February onwards (when I ws gainfully employed with 4-5 year olds) I've had one problem after another. I was off work for two genuine days - and useless for the day before and the day after anyway. I was coughing so badly I got antibiotics and a leaflet on the symptoms of lung cancer.

I'm still coughing at night now.
But none of the other symptoms match.
I don't cough anything up, I am not losing weight, and I am not constantly out of breath.

So I definitely dodged a bullet.
But am still suffering from first year school syndrome...

Takes a body time to protect itself, and even then you gotta be careful. Btw I love how much you love your job. You have a big smile, in my mind, when you talk about it. :)

1. Hire someone else to do it.

2. Bleach.

Ha - thats funny.

I had one eye brow raised when I saw Wolf had posted in the toilet cleaning thread, I had to have a look.

You did not disappoint.

No, the toilet would have to be spotless before she let anyone else clean it. And they'd probably only have used the same fluids she was using anyway - assuming it was just dirt.
She does, every day.

It's okay - bicarb worked and she is like a young girl with an engagement ring. She keeps going to check out the loo, and tell people about it. She's made up.

Dwellar triumph.