You don’t need to scrub for days in order to remove hard water stains from a toilet or tub. Just one tool! We’re even going to talk about how to remove soap scum in just one minute!
This post originally went life April 2016 and has since been updated.
A confession.
I have been neglecting some of the deep cleaning in our home. Instead, I choose to spend 15 minutes here and there to make sure our home is presentable, sanitary, and safe.
But the stuff that takes some elbow grease? I haven’t had it in me. I’m sharing the above picture in mild shame.
Please do not judge me, I swear we’re clean people! We have super hard well water so the tub can look like that in one week or less.
What you need to remove hard water stains from your tub and toilet:
Spoiler: all you need to get these pesky home spots are these three items. It’s taken me some trial and error to figure our what’s needed with minimal effort, but I FINALLY got it.
Having 3 kiddos under 7 means eveything I do needs to be streamlined.
Time is not a luxury when you have 2 little time bombs who could go a crying jag at any time. Because of this, I need to find ways to cut time where I can. I’ve found that in order to clean the tough spots of our bathroom, these are the only 3 things I need!
First: Remove Soap Scum in 1 Minute
Confused by the toilet cleaner? Don’t be! It’s your new best friend.
When we first moved into our house, the tub and walls of the shower were so nastily neglected. I could scrape off soap scum with my nail. Not necessarily where you want to shower, to say the least!
I actually used a Brillo pad in order to get it all off once and for all.
Thankfully, i f=igured out an easier way that won’t strip the varnish off the tile.
Your toilet bowl cleaner! Spray your tub with cleaner of your choice, let it sit for a few minutes, then scrub, scrub, scrub!
It only took me 1 minute to do our whole tub. This works on the tub AND the shower walls. Amazing, I tell you!! Spray it down the with the shower head to rinse the ick off after.
The Crazy Easy Way to Remove Hard Water Stains from the Toilet and Tub
Our tub and toilet have looked like this since before we moved in.
I assumed it was some kind of stain that would never be gone unless we got a new tub, since no amount of scrubbing, bleach, special cleaners worked. There’s a bit of a dip in the tub there where water collects, so I assumed that was that.
I found and ordered these scouring sticks and was so excited to see if it would work.
Spoiler alert: It worked so well I immediately tried it on the toilet too.
How to use a scouring stick for hard water stains:
- Wet the stick. I suggest using gloves, especially if going into the toilet, but to each her own.
- Scrub stain.
- Rinse occasionally to see progress.
- This is after maybe 15 seconds of scrubbing:
After maybe 2 minutes I was totally done. The toilet took a bit longer, but that’s because the shape is weirder. Seriously, you guys! How amazing is that?!??! No elbow grease required.
Okay, so have you ever tried a Scouring Stone? Do you have a great trick for cleaning hard spots? Let me now in the comments!
USE IT FOR MORE: Get a Clean Oven Without Chemicals in 10 Minutes
If you enjoyed this post, you may like these!
The Only Rule You Need to Maintain a Tidy Home
Heather @ Polyglot Jot says
omg i was just looking at my tub last night when i was taking a shower thinking it looked gross! yessss life saver!! 😀
Morgan says
It’s one of those things where I think everyone has it, but when it’s your own tub you’re just disgusted by it. But I’m telling you, this is so, so easy!
Celeste says
So cool! I’ve never heard of these scrubbing sticks before, but I’ll have to check them out. Your tub looks fantastic!
Morgan says
Seriously life changing. I’d never heard of them before but now I’m just using it on EVERYTHING.
Alyssa @ Good + Simple says
These are fantastic tips! I’ve used the scrubbing stone for the toilet before, but for some reason I never thought about using it anywhere else. It definitely works wonders! OK, now I’ve got to suck it up and go clean my bathroom. 🙂
Morgan says
Hey, at least you know it won’t take too long, now! Thanks for stopping by, Alyssa!
Megan says
I’m like you… I hardly ever do the deep cleaning stuff even though I’m pretty good about keeping things basically maintained. This sticks look awesome! Do you have any ideas for how to clean water stains off a glass shower door?
Morgan says
Occasionally I’ll be like, DEEP CLEAN ALL OF THE THINGS, but usually, I’m just like, okay, let’s make the house livable and not embarrassing, ha! I don’t have a glass door, but I DO have a window in my shower (it’s so annoying) and I’ve only been able to get the hard water off of it with a magic eraser. It takes a bit but it DOES work! I THINK I’ve also seen tutorials of people using a straight edge razor, but this clumsy momma is not trusting with that, ha!
Maureen says
To clean glass shower doors, I wet a sponge and dump some Bon Ami powder cleanser on it and scrub doors. Bon Ami doesn’t scratch glass. After you are finished scrubbing, rinse them completely and then take an old dry towel and dry them. In between scrubbings, use a squeegee after each shower.
Emily says
We definitely have hard water stains. That transformation is AMAZING!
Morgan says
Thanks, Emily!
[email protected] says
I used one of those scouring sticks before!! They are truly magical!! Thanks for the toilet brush tip!
Morgan says
It’s crazy how well they work! I’d never heard of it and now I’m addicted!
Amberjane says
Could of done with this tip this morning – was cleaning the bath – thanks for sharing with Pin worthy Wednesday i am going to try this now Morgan
Morgan says
I HIGHLY recommend it. It’s life changing!!
Kristy @ Southern In Law says
Such a great tip! There’s nothing worse than stains you can’t get off – especially hardwater stains as they often look dirty and bleh!
Morgan says
They’re the worst! I’m seriously beyond happy that they are GONE!
Natalie Patalie says
Thanks for sharing! I’ll have to try this out today!! :O
Morgan says
Awesome, thanks for stopping by, Natalie!
Tammy says
Yes, that scouring stone works wonders and I have been using toilet bowl cleaner on my hard water stains for years. The WORKS is the best I’ve found so far.
Morgan says
I had never heard of this thing until recently! I love that I don’t have to smell stinky chemicals!
Donna @ Soul Survival says
Morgan, who doesn’t need tips like this! I had to pin it so I won’t forget. I’m visiting from Classical Homemaking today. Hope you have a wonderful week!
Morgan says
Thanks, Donna! I’m glad you found it helpful!
MomMandy says
Ooh our upstairs toilet is one big hard water stain, yuck.
I’m gonna look for that scouring stick because your results are amazing.
Thanks for sharing!
Kristen says
Your tub! It looks new! I have a baking soda paste that I make, but I am definetly going to try this out! Thank you so much for sharing!
Sandra Garth says
I appreciate you making household tasks so much easier. I may even look forward to cleaning the bathroom!