Persistent yellow stains in your toilet bowl can make even a spotless bathroom appear neglected, but tackling them doesn’t have to mean reaching for harsh chemicals or splashing out on pricey products. With just two basic household staples, you can break down stubborn build-up and restore your toilet to its former glory in as little as 60 minutes.
A cleaning specialist on the Martha Stewart website has revealed that vinegar and baking soda are genuinely all you need. However, you may well be using these items the wrong way.
They went on to explain exactly how to clean your toilet bowl so those yellow stains disappear for good, and what those unsightly marks actually are — it’s not simply limescale.
View 2 ImagesYellow toilet bowl stains could be a number of things(Image: Getty)
Yellow toilet bowl stains are predominantly caused by mineral deposits from hard or well water, including calcium, magnesium, and iron. Over time, these form a hardened, rock-like layer that’s tricky to shift.
That said, urine can also play a part in the discolouration. The acid in urine can react with minerals from hard water to create particularly stubborn deposits. The longer stains are left untreated, the harder and darker they become — and this can even lead to blockages if left unaddressed, reports the Express.
Clorox in-house scientist Mary Gagliardi admitted to the Martha Stewart blog that: “Uric acid (present in varying concentrations in urine) can react with hard water minerals to form uric salts with low solubility that deposit on surfaces, resulting in yellow stains.”
Before getting started, you’ll need to gather white vinegar, baking soda, rubber gloves, paper towels, and a toilet brush. The first step is to lower the water level.
Simply flush the toilet to achieve this; for a more significant drop, switch off the water supply valve behind the toilet and flush once more to drain the bowl further.
Next, apply vinegar directly onto the stained areas. For marks above the waterline, use vinegar-soaked paper towels. Leave this to soak for a minimum of 30 minutes, or for more stubborn stains, leave it for up to an hour or even overnight.
Pour in one cup of baking soda to trigger a fizzing reaction, leave it for 15 minutes, then scrub thoroughly. Finally, turn your water supply back on and flush to rinse everything away.
Cleaning specialist Marisol Rivera recommends scrubbing your toilet bowl once a week and giving all areas a thorough clean. Rivera shared: “The jet holes under the rim of the bowl become clogged with mineral deposits over time.
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“This causes the water flow to become uneven. The build-up will concentrate in specific areas of the bowl as a result.”