Cleaning toilets has got to be my least favorite household chore. As a result I don’t always clean them as well or as often as I probably should. During one stretch last year our toilets got particularly funky and even I admitted that something needed to be done. So I rolled up my sleeves and gave them all the elbow grease and natural cleaning action I could muster. But to my dismay, the rings at the top and along the water line barely budged – that stuff was caked on like cement. I’d heard rumors about using a pumice stone on toilets and decided to try one out before resorting to harsh chemicals. I picked up a Pumie brand Scouring Stick at Home Depot and tested it out that night. Well let me tell you, this thing rocks! You buff the stone against the toilet bowl and it gently grinds away every bit of dirt and grime. Within just a few minutes my nasty old toilet was perfect and sparkling. It worked so well I actually wanted to clean more toilets! If your toilets have rings, stains or other stubborn spots, you are going to love this thing. My only knock on it is that it shrinks. When you use it, especially on stubborn spots, it grinds away the stone into what looks like wet grey sand. In my experience one stick lasts about 4 very dirty toilets. However, for normal toilets and/or touch up maintenance it lasts much, much longer. Overall I was really happy with this method. It’s cheap, easy, super effective, quick, and a great alternative to caustic chemicals. Highly recommended!
Note: The stone I use is a Pumie brand Scouring Stick. I found it in the cleaning aisle of Home Depot for $2.49. At the time of this writing Amazon also sells them for the same price: http://www.amazon.com/Pumice-Heavy-Duty-Scouring-Stick/dp/B0000DAPGS/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1391372892&sr=8-3&keywords=pumie. According to Mohs’ Hardness Scale, pumice has a pretty consistent hardness of 6 so I’d imagine that other than the shape of the stone, different brands would probably work pretty much the same.
