Can You Use a Pumice Stone to Clean a Toilet?

Pumice stones have been around for years. And during this time, they’ve removed a lot of dead skin cells from loads of feet! But did you know that this little volcanic rock can also spruce up toilets?

Yep, this chemical-free, rather cheap, and certainly easy to use abrasive stone can work wonders when it comes to removing very hard, aged rings and mineral deposits from loos!

Find out how pumice stones can help remove toilet stains below.

 

Can You Clean a Toilet with a Pumice Stone?

To call a pumice stone a ‘cleaner’ in the traditional sense would be wrong. A pumice stone is more of an abrasive stain remover, and it isn’t actually going to remove general dirt and germs from the toilet.

In order to clean a toilet properly you need to use some specially designed loo cleaners and antibacterial products, like Ecover Toilet Cleaner.

Although a pumice stone can remove mineral build ups, it cannot make a toilet more hygienic or scent it.

You can, however, use a pumice stone to remove horrid stains from a porcelain toilet bowl, and to take out rusty marks that are found inside a toilet’s cistern.

But you cannot use a pumice stone to clean the outside of the toilet, the seat and its lid (usually made from wood or plastic), and external regions of the cistern. If you were to rub these areas, you would scratch them with the pumice stone!

 

How to Use a Pumice Stone to Remove Toilet Stains

Follow the guidance below to rid your toilet bowl of stains using a pumice stone.

Tips to keep in mind when using a pumice stone in a toilet bowl

Keep these few pointers in mind when using a pumice stone:

• Make sure the pumice stone is completely wet throughout the cleaning process.
• Make sure the toilet bowl is wet throughout the cleaning process. And if the surface goes dry at any point, wet it again.
• Test out the pumice stone on a discreet patch before you use it on the whole of the surface.
• Don’t press too hard as you could scratch the toilet bowl’s surface.
• Don’t use a pumice stone on any other part of the toilet because you’re likely to damage and scratch the surface. Stick to the toilet bowl!

Let’s get cleaning!

Using a pumice stone to clean a stained toilet bowl

If your toilet is plagued by hard water marks, toilet bowl rings, and rust stains, you’re in the right place!

Follow the steps outlined below to use a pumice stone to remove the pesky eyesores from your toilet!

What you’ll need:

• Gloves 
• Pumice stone (preferably with a long handle) 
• Toilet brush 
• Toilet cleaner
• Warm water 
• Bucket of warm water 
• Bowl

Steps to follow: 

1. Grab your pumice stone and soak it in a bowl of lukewarm water for a few minutes. This is an essential step.
2. Grab your gloves and pop them on.
3. Remove any dirt from your toilet with a toilet brush and a cleaning agent. Make sure the toilet is clean.
4. Give the toilet a flush and make sure you clean the toilet brush too.
5. Make sure the whole of the toilet bowl is wet. If the surface isn’t wet, grab some lukewarm water and pour it over the whole surface to dampen it (an essential step).
6. Now that all the surfaces are wet, you can grab the pumice stone and start rubbing the stained surfaces with it.
7. Rub the stone gently backwards and forwards until you see the stain disappearing.
8. It’s likely that you’ll see a greyish paste/film forming on the toilet bowl’s surfaces. This is natural; it’s just the stone breaking down and being mixed with the water.
9. Repeat the steps above until the stain has gone. Re-soak the surface/pumice stone as you need to. It’s handy to keep a bucket of lukewarm water at your side to do this frequently.
10. As you’re rubbing, you’ll notice the pumice stone wearing away, so adjust your hold on the stone, so you use a new patch of stone every few minutes.
11. When you’re done, flush the toilet.
12. Examine the toilet for stains, repeat the steps above if need be.

 

Where to Buy a Pumice Stone for Cleaning a Stained Toilet

Pumice stones that are designed to be used in toilet bowls usually come with long handles, so you can safely reach into the toilet bowl and rub the surface.

They can be bought online from Amazon in most cases. And you can also get them in shops, but they don’t always come with handles.

Tip: It’s worth getting a pumice stone that’s got a handle because it means that you don’t have to put your hand into the toilet bowl/water.

Here are a few options to consider: 

• BayBerry 2 Pack Handle Toilet Bowl Cleaner Pumice – This product can be shaped to suit your toilet bowl, so you get better cleaning coverage. You also get two stones in a pack and they can be used over and over again. The pumice stones can be a little soft, so try not to push too hard on the surface because you risk disintegrating the stone.
• Kalolary Pumice Stone for Toilet Bowl Cleaning – This is essentially a rectangular shaped pumice stone attached to a handle. This clever design allows you to use the pumice stone without actually putting your hand too deep into the toilet bowl. The pumice stone can be used to remove water lines from toilets, can be shaped to what you need, and is reusable! The pack also comes with a drain cleaning tool too, so you can remove hair from the plug hole.
• TMISHION’s Pumice Stone Cleaning Brush – This product resembles a more traditional shaped pumice stone. And like other stones noted, it is also attached to a long handle. The comfortable and sturdy handle is ideal for when you need to tackle tougher mineral deposits that require a little more pressure!

 

Will a Pumice Stone Scratch a Porcelain Toilet?

If you make sure that you wet both the bowl and the stone before you begin and you continue to soak the surfaces throughout the cleaning process, your porcelain toilet shouldn’t get scratched.

If you forget to wet the pumice stone and/or the toilet bowl’s surface, you may scratch the porcelain surface.

In addition to this, if you press too hard with the pumice stone you may scratch the toilet bowl’s surface slightly.

 

What Are Some Other Ways to Clean a Stained Toilet Bowl?

Aside from using a pumice stone to remove unsightly marks from a toilet bowl, you could also try white vinegar, bicarbonate of soda, lemon juice, denture cleaning tablets, and even specialised toilet cleaners!

Read our guide on cleaning a stained toilet bowl for some more ideas.