Hard water stains, often called lime scale, are chalky white mineral deposits resulting from a build-up of alkaline in hard water. For instructions on cleaning hard water stains, please see How to Remove Lime Scale.
How to Clean Hard Water Stains
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Most bathroom cleaners say they remove water spots, but a lot of the milder ones that foam and bubble won’t take off tough hard water spots all at once without a lot of scrubbing or scraping. Be sure you get a cleaner that says it removes hard water deposits or mineral deposits or limescale.
This will take the stain off. Make a paste out of vinegar and baking soda, then spread the paste on the stain and let it set for about half an hour. Wipe the paste off and then scrub the spot clean, and most if not all of the stain should be gone.
Home remedies and regular bathroom cleaners sometimes aren’t enough, and that’s when you need a descaling agent. CLR and Lime-Away will usually work, or you can get tougher products at your local hardware store. Be careful using them, though, because most of the really good descaling products are a lot more dangerous than scrubbing bubbles.
I saw this happen to my friends who are on well water, the minerals in the water turned her bathtub orange! Scrubbing won’t take that kind of stain off. What you have to do is fill the tub with hot water up to the top of the darkest part of the stain, and then add bleach and let the bleach water stand in the tub for a couple of hours. Be careful to close the bathroom door so your pets don’t drink the bleach water. The tub may never be perfectly white again, but it will look better once you’ve done this. I know they make special products for taking off these kinds of stains, but if your water is just going to keep staining the tub then it’s really not worth it to spend the extra money. Bleach is cheap, and you probably already have a big jug of it sitting around in the laundry room.
I know people are always saying to use vinegar to clean everything, but vinegar stinks! Lemon juice smells much better. You can just cut a lemon in half and scrub the hard water spots off with the cut end, or you can put lemon juice in a spray bottle and spray it directly on the stain.
I have been in the cleaning business for years and I have found that the best cleaner is a mixture of off brand pine sol and ammonia with water in a squirt bottle. It not only cleans all stains but cuts through most anything. Also use the Mr. Clean sponges to help insead of a cloth.
Once I ran out of cleanse, since I had company coming I wanted my bathroom to nice and neat. The only cleaner that I had available was TIDE Laundry Detergent. Figuring TIDE was not abrasive, I poured some in the tub, then used a sponge to distribute the cleaner evenly over the entire tub and stainless steel fixtures, I let it soak for about 20 minutes. To my complete delight, I found that it not made the tub a beautiful bright white, the water stains on the fixtures were completely gone. My tub, stainless steel fixtures, toilet & sink have never looked better. My best friend says that TIDE has water softeners in it, that is why it cleans clothes, etc. so good.
If it will take you 2-3 days to complete your project, when you are finished for the day, remove excess verathane from your brush, then wrap your brush in tin foil (do not clean it!) and put in the freezer. Next day your brush will be soft enough to use again. This saves you having to clean your brush each day!
The BEST HARD WATER STAIN REMOVER: dobie pad and cleaner the is normally used to clean GLASS TOP RANGES!! strange but true…spray / wipe on let dry re wet with dobie pad warm water small sections apply just enough pressure to remove (treated water stains much harder depending on the length of time its been there…)
We had well water when we lived in PA and would get an orange colored build up in our dishwasher. My sister-in-law recomended Tang the powdered orange juice stuff. Used it in place of soap and with the dishwasher empty run a normal cycle. You may have to do it twice but it does work. Some of our everyday dishes also got stained so we would include them and this worked also.
Original Scent Pine Sol. Comet with Bleach Cleaner scouring powder. Bleach. These are the agents. Use a large amount of Pine Sol and scrub after you scoured the bathroom with Comet and Bleach. Use HOT water to rinse. Pine Sol is the best. Apply extra Pine Sol to the sponge and wipe out bathtub for long lasting scent.
The other day, I noticed this limey looking stain around the batroom faucets which are stainless steel. I thought it might be soap stain so I took some tissue paer, put a little water on it but no luck. I looked under the sink and saw some Sno-Bol toilet bowl cleaner. Squirted a small amount on a bad stain. It started bubbling and scared me as I thought I was hurting the finish. Took some more tissue and quickly wiped it off, GONE. There are no warnings for stainless but some special concerns for not getting it on your skin. Just a thought!
Hi All!
Yes, I too had problems with cleaning that darn tub! Hard water stains! Frankly I haven’t cleaned it in two years other then the wipe & go method. To clean it, I put apple cider vinegar ( 1/2 Full) in a spray bottle… Added a touch of bleach & lemon juice, sprayed it on and let it set for 2-3 minutes and wiped it down.
That tub is spotless. I followed by rinsing it down with water and it’s BEAUTIFUL! Should be good for another 200 Uses!
This method works much better then LCR & Lime Away, and a LOT CHEAPER!!!
I tried the tip to soak paper towels in vinegar, rubber band on, and leave for an hour on my kitchen faucet. I have to say I was really impressed! Most of it just wiped right off.
Now that I’ve got it clean again, I’m going to try the tip my mother-in-law gave me: every so often, clean your stainless steel spotless, then use a wax (like car wax) on it and it will make it much harder for those hard water stains to stick!
Pour vinegar & lemon juice (for scent) in a clean empty spray bottle. Heat in the microwave for 20 – 40 seconds depending on your microwave and be sure to have the top to the spray bottle off and not in the microwave. Spray onto the hard water stains in the kitchen, bathroom, tub, sink, toilet stains, faucets etc. Leave on for 5 – 10 minutes depending on the intensity of the stains. Then wipe clean with a sligtly damp rag (use hot water to make damp). If the stain persists spray again, let sit and wipe down. repeat process as necessary warming the mixture in the microwave if it cools.
This also works fantastic to clean coffee makers and the inside of microwaves. You’d be amazed! Spray in the microwave turn on for 60 seconds and wipe – repeat 1 – 2 times depending on the intensity of the stuck on food.
Hard to Clean Solution
I clean hard water spots from my tea kettle with a mixture of white vinegar and lemon juice. For just about everything else I make a solution of 1 cup of amonia, 1 cup vinegar, half cup of baking soda, 1 tbsp liquid softner and 1 cup of water. Put all in a spray bottle. It cleans my shower and shower door, bathtubs, sinks, kitchen counters, appliances, refrig, stove, the oven, microwave, and toilet. I spot clean the rugs with it, wipe down walls, venetian blinds, cabinets, leather and leather like furniture, plastics, glass. Just about anything and everything can be cleaned with it. It only costs pennies and everything sparkles and smells like fresh clean laundry, which, by the way you can also use to wash clothes!
A Great Solution
I found that The Works Tub & Shower Cleaner is a very good product for removing hard water stains, all you do is apply the product liberally onto the stain, wait 30 seconds and wipe it clean with a cloth, it worked wonders on my tub,-which had water stains and rust, it is a must have.