Question on how to remove toilet bowl stain

[Redcoat]

Muriatic acid is what is best.1 Figure the number of pumps to outflow.2 pour a half a cup of the acid in your mostly full bowl and pump till out flow . 3 shut the through hole. Wait till the next day and open and pump it all out. Clean like new.

[Hard Rock Candy]

I dump a cup of vinegar in my toilet once a week. It keeps it smelling sweet and keeps stains off of it. On the boat I did the same and once a week I dumped a shot glass of vegetable oil in and wiped it all around the bowl. The vegetable oil keeps all the moving parts in the toilet lubricated, like the pump shaft, and the valves sealed. I also flushed all the toilet paper down the same hole. In ten years I had no problems from my head. Mac

[Kalinowski]

We use muriatic acid. It does no harm to rubber or plastic parts. It is also great to clean out the accumulated urine/sea salt buildup that will plug up the system. Sure beats trying to clean hoses manually. We pour a cup in straight, let it set for a few minutes, then flush through with lots of water. Easy peesy.

[Kalinowski]

Don't forget a dose of vegetable oil afterwards to keep all running smoothly.

[boeing1]

agree do not use bleach. after cleaning flush some mineral oil, will lube rubber parts,

[contrail]

Originally Posted by SailFastTri

Don't leave vinegar sitting - it will deform the rubber joker valve and other rubber parts. But I do agree about using acid. It will clean up quickly. Hull cleaners (for eating barnacles and scum) are also acid and work well. Flush well so they don't have a chance to permeate the rubber.

I have seen joker valves incredibly swollen and deformed after having had vinegar left in them for a couple of months. What about a couple of days? How long is too long?

[SailFastTri]

Originally Posted by contrail

I have seen joker valves incredibly swollen and deformed after having had vinegar left in them for a couple of months. What about a couple of days? How long is too long?

I haven't tested threshold times but 24 hours is definitely too long. I don't leave it more than a few hours, I help it by scrubbing and follow by thoroughly rinsing.

[newhaul]

Just use the toilet bowl cleaner with hydrochloric acid ( muratic acid ) and be done with it

[chiefcoxswain]

I use tooth paste and have been doing so for last 40 years, good enough for the teeth, good enough for the head, cheap, smells good, biodegradable.

[JPA Cate]

svHyLyte touched on another aspect: leaving the boat for extended periods.

We always pump out all the salt water, then top up from a glass of fresh water. It doesn't go weird and smell bad, and is fine when we come back.

Ann

[HopCar]

As a follow up to SV HyLyte, Whink is amazing at getting rust stains off of gel coat and stainless that has bled.

[Scubacarole]

If just top ring kind of stain, a non chem method is to use pumice stone, can find at most hardware stores. It is like a 1.5" x 1.5" x 5" stick that you use to physically rub away build ups on porcelain, ceramic toilets. As others noted, CLR chemical works nicely, but there is usually a physical build up regardless, hence the pumice rubbing stick/stone. Rinse like crazy with any chums, they DO degrade seals!


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[hellosailor]

Mark-
"Actually bleach wont eat rubber parts. ...
I tested with an old Jabsco O ring."


You're presuming too much. Bleach DOES degrade rubber. Ammonia degrades latex especially well, too. What you think is a "rubber" o-ring is more likely a "rubbery" elastomer, which could easily be a butyl or Viton part, both of which are far more rugged than "rubber". Might even be silicone if someone used quality.


You can tell which specific elastomer an o-ring is made from just by looking at it. Same way you can't tell if you're looking at a syphilitic son of a seacook, just because he's standing in the galley serving out chow.


Judicious use of bleach followed by lots of flushing...probably OK, but don't you hate overhauling heads? Really?