Hard Water Stains?

[jen6889]

How do you get rid of hard water stains? I think we are having a problem with Iron deposits - it's leaving a rust colored stain in our toilet bowls, bath tub, sinks, and inside our brand new dishwasher. We need a water softener, I guess, to prevent this. But is there any way to get rid of these stains? I can't get them to come off no matter how hard I scrub and bleach isn't working well either.

[tkkmasky]

Bleach will do nothing....in fact, bleach sets rust stains!

The best product I have found for removing rust is called The Works (there are 2 kinds, one for toliets and one for everything else). Just spray it on, let sit, and rinse. It works wonders!

And if you are having problems with rust stains in your laundry, try washing in cold water only.....no rust stains!

And of course the best solution is a water softener. We have one but forget to put salt in it all the time, hence the bottle of The Works under the sink

Oh yeah, and I sometimes run a half cup of a product called Iron Out through the dishwasher.....our dishwasher has a filter on it that gets clogged by rust, Iron Out clears it all out. Also run it through our water softener every once in a while. Read the label. (I find these products at Wal-Mart, btw)

I hate hard water!!!

Hope I've helped!

[jen6889]

Thank You! I will look for those cleaners. We were having a problem with the rust in the wash staining the clothes... We had no idea what it was at first. Our water was tested before we moved in and I assumed they would have told us if it was hard, but apparently I assumed wrong! My husband thought it was mud in the water because they had just put in a new well. The water was also cloudy, smelly and my dogs refused to drink it. So we went out and bought a whole house filter and now only the hot water is cloudy, the bad smell is gone and my dogs will drink it. It also does not stain my laundry anymore. Then I couldn't figure out why we were getting rust stains in our toilets, tubs, and sinks. DH thought maybe the inside of the water heater rusted. My dad thought that was hilarious, considering water heaters are glass lined, so we went back to being lost.
Then.. we bought our dishwasher. It came with some free samples of Cascade and a pamplet about Water Softeners. I read it and that's how I figured out we had hard water! I felt stupid we didn't figure it out before. Of course, we never had that problem or knew anyone who did but you'd still think we'd have figured that out before living in the house for two months!

[vanderson]

Our well water is super hard. Vinegar is great for keeping the lime off things once you get it gone. I run vinegar through my dishwasher every 5 loads or so. ALso Walmart has a product called Zap that is great. I have used the Works and it is pretty good also. Whink makes a terrific rust stain remover. Walmart (again) has it. It comes in a little brown bottle and you can use it on clothing also.

[LocaChica]

thanks, tkkmasky for all the valuable info! I did NOT know that bleach makes matters worse. I'm also having a problem with hard water deposits. I'll give The Works a try!

[jen6889]

I went to Target (Walmart was TOO busy!!) looking for these products and found some Zap, but right next to the 12 oz (? or somewhere near 12 oz) spray bottles of Zap they had a 28 oz bottle of CLR for the same price, so me being the stingy person I am I decided "Why not buy the bigger bottle for the same price." I put some in a spray bottle and used it full strength (you can mix with water also) on my Bathtub this morning and OMG! I had forgotten how white it used to be! I didn't even have to scrub it! The CLR does stink though.. I had to crack open the window for fresh air!
I've already done the toilets and bathroom sinks too and they are back to their new shiney white color again. Now to do the dishwasher and kitchen sink!

I will still be looking for the Whink that Vanderson mentioned. I do have some clothes that got those rust stains on them - one of which was a brand new pair of white pants!
BIG thanks to both tkkmasky and Vanderson! My parents are coming this Saturday for Christmas and I am so relieved my bathrooms and kitchen won't have ugly stains! Thanks to tkkmasky too, I will no longer be using bleach to clean my toilets! That used to be all I ever used - it was cheap and it worked fast. I had no idea it made rust stains worse!

[tkkmasky]

You are welcome! (and you too Loca!)

I forgot all about CLR....I've never used the stuff but lots of people I know say it works great. Isn't it funny how you forget how white everything is supposed to be? LOL.

And vinegar is good for maintenance, (after you get the initial bad stains out,) I just put it in a spray bottle, spray it on and let it sit.

Glad I could help.

[lauseng]

Okay, there's hard water here, and I've never dealt with it before. But, I'm also using a new washing machine, so I don't know which is to blame.

I'm getting dark spots on some of my clothes now that we've moved. It's usually just an item or 3 every few loads. And it doesn't come out with subsequent washings, though it does fade.

Anyone know what this is and/or how to get it out?

Thanks,
Jackie

[SlamminMOFO]

I was going to say what Tkkmasky said.... "The Works" is a great item for that. Locally, it can be purchased in the dollar general store for 1.00 per bottle. relatively cheap compared to Zap or CLR

[espresso1226]

I also use "The Works", it is the only thing that works for me. For $1.00 a bottle, a great deal too. My local grocery store also carries it but it is a little more expensive there. I get mine at The Dollar Tree.

[jen6889]

Originally posted by vanderson
Whink makes a terrific rust stain remover. Walmart (again) has it. It comes in a little brown bottle and you can use it on clothing also.

Just a word on Whink... My dh absolutely refuses to have the stuff in the house. He says that it contains Hydrochloric Acid (which I read the label in the store and it does) and that it's a very dangerous chemical. He used to work in a building that used it all the time and they had all these special saftey things the guys using it had to wear. Dh tells me you couldn't pay him enough to work with that stuff. He says it's a calcium seeker and will "eat up your bones" as he says. NOW I can't say the validity of that particular comment of his, but if anyone is using anything containing Hydrochloric Acid, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE be very careful with it.


As for "The Works", I bought some toilet bowl cleaner of their's from Walmart. I think it was $1.97 or somewhere around that price. I remember seeing the price and thinking "Wow.. that's really cheap!" It does work great!

[lavenderlady]

This is a trick for hard water deposits (not rust) on shower doors. Just poor some liquid fabric softner(Downy) on a wet coth, and rub onto class doors! Rinse with clear water. Watch them sparkle.

[buckeyemomma]

Originally posted by lavenderlady
This is a trick for hard water deposits (not rust) on shower doors. Just poor some liquid fabric softner(Downy) on a wet coth, and rub onto class doors! Rinse with clear water. Watch them sparkle.

THANK YOU! I WILL TRY THAT

[HopelessinKY]

Just noticed-- one of the products that you all have been discussing (The Works) has a coupon offer out there!! See the link on this thread:

[Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]

We used to use that cleaner a lot and good luck with it, but there is another one that is pretty cheap that my parents swear by now. I believe it's called Mean Green, and I know you can get it at the Dollar General Store in a fairly large bottle (not sure on the oz.)for $2. I've also found it at my local everything-for-a-dollar store, Dollar Tree, in a bottle 1/2 the size of the Dollar Store one, so it's same price there. My dad even takes this one to FL with him on his annual 4-month fishing trip! I believe it has a lot of the same uses as the Works and the others in this category... Happy cleaning!!