Please help, I am looking for something to clean my bathtub from our well water stains. I have tried everything I can get my hands on, nothing seems to work. Please help. Tell me I don't have to replace my tub. I have tried CLR and all those products they claim to clean it, "it doesn't". Thank you.
Have you ever heard of Watkins products? The company has been around for over 130 years, and many people used to purchase Watkins products from door-to-door salesmen years ago. I am an independent Watkins associate now, and I have been using their products and learning about what they can do. Yesterday I used their toilet bowl cleaner for a basement toilet that has terrible hard-water stains and hard-to-clean areas. Anyway, squirt it on, wait 10 minutes, and like magic it just slid off. Their also carry a Tub and Tile cleaner and another items, Bathroom Cleaner Plus, and they both sound like they could work for your problem. Go to www.watkinsonline.com. (06/30/2004)
By Trudy Powell
I too have the same problem. I called the manufacturer of the tub, American Standard, and they recommended a product called ZUD, and KRC-7. I found ZUD at Ace hardware, and it helped a great deal, but not completely. I had painted the tub with Klinks and it looked beautiful for about three months, and then the stain returned. I contacted Klinks, and they said to be sure and use distilled water with their product, which I did not know at the time of application. Hope we can get some more feedback on this problem. (07/01/2004)
By Karen
When living in South Dakota a lot of people living out of town had this problem. The recommended way to clean well stains out of a tub or sink is as follows:
Clean the tub or sink well with your usual cleaner, rinse with water and let it dry completely. Pour straight white vinegar into a spray bottle and liberally spray on to affected areas. Let set for at least ten minutes. Rinse off and spray the area with a product called C.L.R. You can buy it in your grocery store with the cleaning products. Be sure to have the area well ventilated. (CLR stands for calcium, lime, and rust remover.) Let stand ten or twenty minutes, rinse and respray until all stains are gone. Use cold water to rinse and never touch the product with your bare hands. After removing the build-up, use at least once a week. Many of the people I talked to said this worked every time. (07/01/2004)
By Julie
I don't know if this will work. Fill your tub a little above where the stains end. Fill the tub with denture cleaning tablets, 50 or so. You can buy them cheaply if you get the store brand. Let sit overnight. After it sits all night, try scrubbing with a rough-sided sponge. Good luck. (07/01/2004)
By Ann
If the bath is fibreglass the stain may be in the fabric of the bath itself and I don't know what to suggest. If it is a ceramic bath the cheapest, easiest, chemical free way to get rid of surface mineral deposits is to "sand" them off with very fine sandpaper. In Australia it is black, called "wet and dry" sandpaper. As the name suggests it can be used wet or you can use it with cleaning products if you wish. This does not damage the surface of a ceramic bath and you can, in fact may need to, rub quite hard.
Regards.
(07/01/2004)
By Jo
We have well water here too! I bought "The Works" toilet cleaner and when you spray it on, the stain just melts right off! No elbow grease involved. The best part is, Wal-mart sells it for .98! I have also been told that SOS pads work, but they require a lot of elbow grease. Hope this helps!
By Jill
Try this. I have a well, and the yellowing in my tub drove me crazy. I use Snobol toilet bowl cleaner. It's the only thing I have found which works well. I use it full strength. Put some on a sponge, and wipe it on the entire yellowed area, then rinse the area completely. Do not leave it on the surface very long.
Important: It WILL ETCH the fixtures, so you must be careful NOT to get it on the faucet, handles, etc. My tub was new 8 years ago, and so far the Snobol has not etched the tub at all, but I am extremely careful not to leave it on too long.
I also have found another product which helps with the lime scale, and hard water stains on the fixtures. It is Comet Bathroom Cleaner. It is a spray cleaner. Do not use Lime Away. That will ruin the finish on your tub. I had that experience. Good luck! (07/05/2004)
By Gale
I have had all types of well water stains. I use a product called Rust Stain Remover made by Whink. It's great, all you do is pour on to the area that's stained and it's gone. When using it in the toilet take some water out below the stain line and pour on. You can get it at Wal-Mart, Target, Ace Hardware, and K-mart. (11/09/2004)
By Sharon (Guest Post)
I live in TX and the local water stains. I bought a product they advertise on TV (one of those Oh God Nothing Works moments) and had wonderful luck. I tried the Restore4 product designed for tubs and sinks. It worked wonders. (11/09/2004)
By Nancy
Lime Away works well. (03/19/2005)
By Steve
I am new to well water and took my mother-in-law's advice that's worked well for over 30 years- Bar Keepers Friend. www.barkeepersfriend.com
I get it at Walk-mart for under 2.00 and it's a big container. Looks like Comet containers, but taller. I use it on sink, tub, floor, even toilet! Gets rust stains right off with hardly any scrubbing. (08/29/2006)
By Jessica
Also, after getting the stains off, I use Lemon Oil as a final wipe. It helps keep the stains from sticking in the first place, while it keeps the entire room smelling lemon fresh. (02/20/2007)
By JDischer
Try a pumice stone. I tried it on my toilet stains from hard well water and it works. I purchased mine in the cosmetic dept. it is used on rough feet, but mine took all the hard water stains off. (06/04/2007)
By Sandra
Try Lysol thick blue toilet bowl cleaner. I had terrible sulfuric acid stains in my tub from a drain opener product and it took those out. Test on your tub first to make sure it wont hurt the finish. Good luck! (11/17/2007)
By colleen
I found this forum while trying to find help for my own well water rust stains. Thanks to Jessica, I now have a very white bath tub. The Bar Keepers Friend did the trick very easily. I had tried The Works, Comet, Iron Out, and the list goes on and on.
Thanks! (03/07/2008)
By Julie
I use Zep acidic toilet bowl cleaner it removes the yellow on tubs and toilets with little scrubbing involved. Pour some in tub and spread around using rubber gloves, remember it is acidic and wait 5 minutes, then rinse off. (04/06/2008)
By edslilbigsis
I have well water and let me tell you I have tried "everything" possible. I have found that a pumice stone works, but it is a lot of work and the stains come back later. The only thing I have found to work is a cleaner called Resolution Natural Tub and Tile bath cleaner. It is earth friendly approved and all natural, too.
Normally it costs $2.50 for a 32oz bottle, when on sale it is only $1.44 and sometimes Menards has a mail in rebate and it works out to be free. I don't know if it is for sale anywhere else, but it is always at Menards. I am serious, this stuff is magical. I use it as an after shower spray and our tub is as clean as can be. Way better than automatic shower cleaner and way cheaper. Try it!
(11/18/2008)
By Jennifer
Charlie Soap all purpose cleaner works for me. Just spray on the stain and wait about two minutes and wipe off with a wet sponge. It really works better than all the other cleaners on the market. (06/21/2010)
By Lewis G.
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I spray my tub and sinks down the The Works. Let it sit for a while and rinse well. Then I do a tub scrub with Comet. It's easy and comes out beautiful!
I'm glad you archived this thread. Bleach cleaners and CLR weren't working for me. Admitting up front, I have let this go for far too long. After reading, I purchased both Bar Keeper's Friend and The Works. Tried Bar keeper in a test area, it worked only a little bit, even rubbing with damp sponge as the bottle suggests. I was sad. The Works I tried in another area, and HOLY CRAP!!! Nearly everything vanished it touched. Without wiping! I was now happy! Once it reacts with the area it's on and foams up, it stops being effective, so you do have to use a lot. (likely which is why it comes in two-packs at Lowe's for a paltry $2.98!) So whatever composition my well water leaves, The Works absolutely worked amazing for me. Got rid of the stains in the toilet, too. Without even touching it!
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