Vinegar and baking soda for hard water stains

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Hard water stains can affect different parts of your house in different ways—none of them good. From chalky or rust-colored stains on your sinks and toilet to white film on your clean dishes, these stains can be a drag. Thankfully, there are easy ways to get rid of these problems and prevent them, too—read on to find out how to get rid of hard water stains.

Why Do I Have Hard Water Stains in My Home?

Your home has hard water if the water flowing into your house has large amounts of dissolved calcium and magnesium. Different parts of the country are more prone to high water. For example, western Texas, Utah, and New Mexico have very hard water. States like Nevada, Oklahoma, and Ohio are also known for their hard water.

How Do I Know If I Have Hard Water Stains?

Hard water stains tend to look like rusty or white, chalk-like deposits, commonly known as limescale, on your sinks, showers and toilets. If you’re constantly scrubbing these away, you can be fairly confident that you’re dealing with hard water spots. 

Other signs of hard water include:

• Cloudy water

• Residue on your hands after washing them

• Needing more soap or detergent to get things clean

• Limescale in your dishwasher

Once you’ve nailed down your potential hard water problem, you can consult a local water softening company to test your water and discuss potential solutions.

How to Remove Sink Hard Water Stains

Photo: nd700 / Adobe Stock

Hard water stains can make your sink look dirty even when it’s clean. Remove the discoloration from hard water stains with these seven steps.

1. For a sink or vanity, soak a paper towel in vinegar and lay it over the stain. 

2. Let the vinegar sit for 30 minutes before rinsing with water.

3. Mix two parts baking soda and one part water in a bowl or bucket to make a paste. 

4. Then, use a brush to work the paste into the surface. 

5. Let it sit for at least 30 minutes to work its magic.

6. Then use a microfiber cloth or paper towels to wipe up the paste.

7. A spritz of vinegar will help remove the dried baking soda residue.

How to Remove Hard Water Stains From Toilet Bowls

If you have hard water at your house, it’s common for water stains to develop on toilet bowls. Get the unsightly stains out with vinegar and baking soda.

1. Flush your toilet and pour 1 cup of vinegar into the toilet bowl. Use a toilet brush to mix the vinegar into the water, and let it sit for five minutes.

2. Pour in 1 cup of baking soda and add another 2 cups of vinegar. Let it sit for 10 minutes.

3. Use a toilet brush to clean off the hard water stains and the areas around the stains.

4. Let the mixture sit for another 30 minutes. You can continue to scrub the hard water stain periodically.

5. Flush your toilet, and the stain should be gone. Repeat the process as needed.

How to Remove Water Stains From Showerheads and Faucets

When hard water leads to mineral buildup on your showerheads and faucets, it leaves stains and can also block the water flow from your showerhead. You may need pliers or a wrench to do this job.

Removing Hardware Process 

1. If you’re able to, remove the showerhead by turning it counterclockwise. You may be able to loosen it with your hands, or you might need to use pliers or a wrench. If you use tools, wrap a piece of cloth around the showerhead so you don’t harm the hardware. If you cannot remove your showerhead, skip to the next section.

2. Before you remove the faucet, turn off the water supply.

3. Put a bucket underneath the supply line, take a basin wrench, and remove the tailpiece mounting nuts. 

4. Then, you can pull out the showerhead.

Soaking Process

For Unremovable Showerheads

1. Fill a small plastic bag with white vinegar.

2. Secure the bag around your showerhead or faucet with a rubber band and leave it to soak for three to 10 hours.

3. Take the bag off the showerhead or faucet, and turn on the water.

4. Wipe down the showerhead or faucet with a cloth.

For Removable Showerheads

Soak the showerhead or faucet in a bowl of vinegar overnight. The acidic vinegar breaks down the mineral buildup.

Wiping Process

7. Use a toothbrush to clean up the buildup on the hardware. Once you’re done, wipe the showerhead or faucet dry with a cloth.

8. Reinstall the showerhead or faucet if needed.

How to Remove Hard Water Stains From Shower Walls

Depending on the color of the hard water stain and the color of your shower walls, the mineral buildup can be very hard to miss. It’s hard to feel relaxed in a dirty shower, so get the walls clean again in four steps.

1. Fill a spray bottle with vinegar, and spray the water stains. Let sit for 30 minutes, and rinse with water.

2. Make a paste with two parts baking soda and one part water in a bowl or bucket.

3. Apply the paste to the water stains with a brush, and let sit for 30 minutes.

4. Rinse off the walls with water. If you’re having a hard time removing the paste, use a little vinegar.

How to Remove Hard Water Stains From Glass Doors

Glass shower doors are prime spots for a buildup of hard water minerals. Luckily, they’re also easy to clean. 

1. Spritz the door with vinegar and then wipe it down with a microfiber cloth. 

2. For stubborn stains, mix two parts baking soda with one part water to make a paste and scrub it into the stain. 

3. Let it sit for about 30 minutes before wiping it clean with a vinegar-soaked cloth.

How to Remove Hard Water Stains From Your Dishwasher

If you have hard water stains in your dishwasher, they can affect its performance. Use these dishwasher hard water stain tips to clean your appliance.

1. Fill a bowl with 1 cup of vinegar and place it on the top rack of your dishwasher.

2. Run a cycle with no detergent.

3. Once the cycle is completed, sprinkle a layer of baking soda on the bottom of the dishwasher.

4. Run a second cycle.

How to Remove Hard Water Stains on Dishes

If you’re noticing your clean dishes come out of your dishwasher with a cloudy film, you’re dealing with hard water. Luckily, you can fix it without chemicals or scrubbing.

1. Before starting your dishes, remove the buildup on your dishwasher by following the steps in the section above. That way, you won’t have to deal with a new round of dishes with the icky buildup.

2. Plug the kitchen sink, put your dishes inside, and fill the sink with hot water.

3. Add a cup of vinegar, and let it sit overnight.

4. Drain the sink and rinse the dishes with hot water.

How to Remove Hard Water Stains from Clothes

Running a load of laundry and finding water stains on your favorite shirt can be upsetting. These may be gray or yellow stains, or you might notice a residue on the clothing.

Luckily, there’s an easy way to get rid of the water stains. 

1. Place a towel on an ironing board.

2. Take your stained clothing and turn it inside out, and put it on top of the towel.

3. Heat the iron to the highest heat setting listed on the care label of the clothing. Don’t use the steam setting.

4. While the iron is heating, get a bowl and mix 1 cup of vinegar with 2 cups of distilled water.

5. Put the mixture in a spray bottle, and get the stained area damp.

6. Iron the area until the clothing is dry.

7. Repeat steps five and six until the stain is gone.

8. If you have any small stains that won’t come out, try rubbing the area with the back of a stainless steel spoon. You should try this with the clothing turned right-side out.

If you’re noticing hard water stains on your clothes all the time, you need to find a more permanent solution. To prevent stains, you may be able to add 1/2-cup of borax to your washing load, but if that doesn’t work, consider investing in a water softener.

How to Prevent Hard Water Stains 

Preventing hard water stains takes a bit of elbow grease, but it’s worth it. Here are some tips you can try to say goodbye to hard water stains.

Clean Up After Showers

Chrome faucets and shower walls are prone to hard water marks, but wiping everything down post-shower will go a long way toward preventing stains. Keep a squeegee nearby and use it on your way out of the shower. You can also use your bath towel to dry the shower walls and showerhead. This task only takes a minute, but it will help prevent mineral buildup that takes longer to clean later. 

Dry Splashes

Splashes happen, but they will leave minerals behind when they’re left to dry on their own. That will lead to discoloration on your tile floors and vanities. A better way is to prevent tile stains by wiping up any little puddles when they appear. Keep your bathroom sink glistening white by wiping it dry after use, too.

Clean Regularly

Get ahead of stains with regular cleaning. Spritzing shower walls, vanities, sinks, and toilet bowls with vinegar can help eliminate hard water stains before you even notice them. Keep a spray bottle of vinegar in the bathroom—it’ll come in handy for eliminating water stains and other game-changing bathroom cleaning hacks.

Use a Water Softener

A water softener is an in-home filtration system. As water flows through the salt in the appliance, it pulls out calcium and magnesium. Then, the water proceeds through your home’s plumbing system as usual. 

Not only does this help prevent water stains, but it also prevents your clothes from feeling stiff when they come out of the wash, keeps minerals from building up in the pipes (also called pipe scale), and reduces mineral spots on your glassware.

DIY vs. Hire a Pro

Removing hard water stains isn’t a difficult job, but it requires some time and scrubbing. A local house cleaning company can easily handle the job for you, along with many of your other cleaning tasks. When booking your house cleaning service, make the pros aware that you have hard water and want to avoid staining.

Frequently Asked Questions

Hard water is more of a nuisance than a threat to your health. Added calcium in hard water can contribute to good bone health, while using a water softener can add some sodium to your diet.

If you have a pink ring in your toilet bowl, it’s not a hard water stain. Instead, it’s a type of bacteria called Serratia Marcescens. You might notice the same pinkish stain in other areas of your bathroom, like around your tub, on your shower curtains, and faucets too. These stains are all caused by the same bacteria. Thankfully, this bacteria is considered to be harmless. However, if you or anyone in your household is immune-compromised, it can cause issues like urinary tract infections.

You can easily clean the unsightly pink ring with bleach and a plastic brush. Wear gloves and goggles when using bleach and always work in a well-ventilated room.

A local water softener company can offer suggestions for a water-softening solution that will work for your home. That way, you can eliminate some of the mineral buildup in your home and water appliances.

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