How can I get rid of a scratch in my toilet bowl?

? What is the bowl made from?

A. An earlier Q&A suggested a pumice stick eBay or Amazon] for getting "pencil-like" scratches off porcelain. You might try that.

But as a former plumber's helper, let me warn the readers "for next time". You don't use a "snake" for a toilet because, yes indeed, it will scratch it as Reuben discovered. Rather, you use a "toilet auger [on eBay or Amazon] " which is the same idea as a snake, but the snake is enclosed in a rigid plastic-covered tube down to where the water starts flowing up again--out of the line of vision.

A. Reuben,

First of all, why don't you go to your local plumber and ask him?

Secondly, don't use sharp metal gouging things on enamel.

Thirdly, get some touch up paint ... as most of the toilet bowls in Canada are ceramic and white, get some high quality touch up paint not a latex, that's fersure! Preferably a lacquer paint ... and after drying the scratch, DON'T put in any water after painting for a good 24 hours. OK?

Our kitchen sinks happen to be white enamel and a dent/scratch is now no longer visible after being painted.

A. You can use a slurry of calcium carbonate (chalk) and try to polish the mark out. Alternatively, use dental chalk - the type that is sold to smokers to remove the stains from their teeth. You may find it easier to drain the toilet down before you do it. If the mark is very resilient you may have to use a fine grinding paste or even pumice, but the more aggressive the polishing, the more likely the area will be damaged. Your local hardware store may also be able to offer some advice.

Suggest:
Wear Gloves [on eBay or Amazon]
Drain Bowl to below scratch
Scrub with Scotch Brite [on eBay or Amazon] and Ajax [on eBay or Amazon] cleanser.
The bleach, abrasive and cleaner always clean out the pot and pan marks in my sink so I suspect that it will do the same with the iron mark from the hanger.

A. From your description the scratch sounds like what is commonly known as a 'metal mark'. These are often seen in kitchen sinks. The easiest way I've found to remove them is with a cleanser containing oxalic acid such as Barkeepers Friend [on eBay or Amazon]. Don't use with a sponge, they dissolve! Use paper towels or a rag. Sprinkle it on the wet surface, spread it around, let it set 30 to 60 seconds, then scrub the mark off. Works every time! It does dry out the hands pretty well, so you may want to wear rubber gloves [on eBay or Amazon] .

I got my toilet bowl scratched badly today when trying to unclog it with a metal snake, and thought my toilet was ruined. Then I read the post from Tom about the Barkeepers Friend, and Tom. . . I am eternally grateful! This worked perfectly! I can't believe it! THANK YOU!

I read these posts and bought some of that Barkeepers Friend [on eBay or Amazon]. Man. I don't know if there are similar home or commercial equivalents, but that stuff works. I scratched my wife's precious toilet hacksawing off rusty bolts trying to change the toilet seat. Actually not scratched, rather the metal shavings from the old blade and bolt were ground into the porcelain and looked like big scratches. I contemplated touch up paint, but tried this stuff first. Voila! She threatened to buy a new (expensive!) replacement toilet... not now!

I read this forum a week ago. I was looking for something to get scratches off my cousin's toilet bowl. Long story short, we had a plumber come out to fix her toilet because the flush was not powerful. He used a snake to flush everything down. His snake got stuck. So he scratched the heck out of her toilet. I was freaking out, because it's not like it was my house. Tried a whole bunch of cleaners she had at her house and nothing worked. So after reading this form I went out and got some Barkeepers Friend. And it was like a magic. I poured it in, and cleaned it with a brush. The scratches came right off. This stuff is the best. And it only cost me $2.99. Not a $100 - $300 for a new toilet bowl.

Barkeepers Friend is excellent at removing gray marks from porcelain. If you don't want to order it on-line you can find it at Williams-Sonoma.

A. Hi All

I had the same problem today, Finally I removed all the marks with HARPIC - POWER PLUS from Reckitt Benckiser [on eBay or Amazon].

Regards,

Would you believe I used a toilet auger tonight and I still managed to scratch my toilet? I never used one before and the instructions were wrong or way too vague. The instructions read: 1. Pull handle to upward to position boring head at the end of tube. 2. Carefully insert end into toilet bowl so as not to scratch porcelain. Rotate handle clockwise while gently pushing handle downward. 3. Pull handle back to original position, remove tube slowly and flush toilet.
When first reading these instructions, I mistakenly thought "end of tube" meant the top end; if you would see picture along with instructions, you would understand why I thought this. After a couple of tries, but after the damage had already been done, I understood what I was doing wrong - a little too late!
I'm just glad there are some suggestions here; going to try a couple.

Like others, our toilet bowl was scratched considerably whilst being unblocked with a metal snake auger. I tried Barkeepers Friend as recommended on this site, and it was amazing. The toilet looks like new again! Thanks.

A. I had scratches on my toilet bowl resulting from using a plumbing snake. From this forum, it looks like Barkeepers Friend works miracles. Since I had some Barkeeper's Friend liquid soft cleanser [on eBay or Amazon] around, I tried it out. I poured 1/2 cup in the toilet and let it sit for 2-3 hours. I didn't do anything else, just pour it in. Later, I simply flushed and voila, the scratches are totally gone. It is indeed a miracle.

A. Hi, Julie. Unless toilet bowls in Quebec are very different than in the USA, I find this very strange. My mom, my wife, and I have used Comet in toilet bowls as long as the product has existed. My suspicion is that the toilet was originally beige and somewhere along the line someone already painted it, and that the Comet attacked the paint, revealing the beige color porcelain.

Regards,

I totally scratched the whole interior of my toilet bowl with the "snake". the original bowl was porcelain cream color, which turned dark grey after I scratched it... I couldn't tell at the time because the water was dirty. This $1.75 product worked wonders! Thanks for the advise ... I won't be buying a new $300+ toilet bowl, and I never have to tell my fiance what happened while he was away!

A. Listen, people are talking about some barkeeper something.... I am foolish, yes I know, I used a snake in my toilet when I should have used an auger, but in my defense ... I'm not a plumber, just a mommy. Now back to my response. USE ANYTHING LIKE: Ajax [on eBay or Amazon] or whatever is like it. Dry the spot pour it on and scrub the sh*t out of it. It won't take out really, really deep scratches but it takes out most of them due to a snake screw up ... lol.

Barkeepers Friend [on eBay or Amazon] - W O W !
Thanks for the tips everyone, I scratched a toilet in a rented place with a hanger, was stressing until I tried the recommendation, and voila! Gone, completely, after an hour of soaking.

Cheers

A. Just scratched my Mom's toilet. Barkeepers Friend is definitely the way to go!

Well, I stumbled upon this site searching for an answer to the scratches my father-in-law made in our toilet unclogging it with a wire coat-hanger. As with the other testimonials, thanks for the posts about Barkeepers Friend. I emptied about a 1/3 of a can into the bowl, mixed it up well with a toilet brush, let it sit over-night, then scrubbed again with the toilet brush in the morning before flushing to reveal - the scratches were gone. OK, my method maybe was overkill, but it worked and peace in the family has been restored. Thanks Barkeepers Friend and thanks to all the previous positive posts about this product.

A. Hi Jade,
Toilets in the USA are invariably made of solid porcelain (similar to china); I don't think I've ever seen a metal toilet here. But I have seen painted steel toilets in Europe, so I don't know what you have ... but simply taping on it ought to reveal which type yours is.

If it's painted I wouldn't know the type of paint it is and what is safe to use on it, but if it is porcelain it's pretty hard to hurt it with chemicals or scouring powder. Any scouring powder will probably work but if it has oxalic acid it will probably work faster & easier.
Luck & Regards,


Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

A. Ok. Y'all have been talking toilets. I googled for something that would get the gray marks off of vintage ceramic dishes and your forum popped up. So I am going to get Barkeepers Friend and try it on a dish. If it works, I will be back on here to post my results.

A. After looking up Barkeepers Friend, the chemistry of removing a metal mark with acid made so much sense to me that I tried the old standby, a paste of table salt and white vinegar [in bulk on eBay or Amazon]; and table salt and baking soda [on eBay or Amazon] and water. Both worked well and did the job. Nothing like putting on a pair of gloves [on eBay or Amazon] and good old elbow grease.

A. If you live somewhere where you cannot obtain Barkeepers Friend or other branded products mentioned here, oxalic acid crystals [on eBay or Amazon] are readily available in pharmacies or (in Europe) drogueries. Just pour a generous amount in the toilet bowl, let sit for a few hours and wipe with a sponge or cloth. The scratch marks will disappear like magic.

Awesome post. I was cleaning lime away on my porcelain toilet bowl with C-L-R and a metal brush and scratched the cr*p out of the toilet. I was freaking out about painting it to fix it but then read about how the Barkeeper's Friend was working so I just tried pure baking soda and a wet paper towel and all the dark scratches went away! Now the toilet looks brand new! Thanks!

A. You can buy Barkeepers Friend off the shelf [on eBay or Amazon]. Can't wait to go home and try it on my toilet I "wrecked" last night.

Thank you! The Barkeepers Friend really worked!!! My husband will be so surprised when he gets home! He really thought he had done permanent damage and he'd have to buy a new toilet. :-)

I really can not stress enough how good Barkeepers Friend is.
I damaged the toilet of a couple hosting me whilst unblocking it pretty badly but this worked a treat.

For future reference - never touch porcelain with anything metal but if too late Barkeepers Friend will save the day.

A. There's a big difference between stained porcelain and scratched porcelain. I tried to remove the unsightly toilet ring with a pumice stone. It did a fair job, but left the porcelain lightly scratched. The rough surface now catches a stain much quicker. I started cleaning with Clorox Toilet Bowl Cleaner with Bleach [on eBay or Amazon] , and now no more scrubbing! Just squeeze it on, let it sit for a few minutes, and flush for a perfectly clean toilet bowl. If necessary you might want to use a soft scrub brush for stubborn brown spots before flushing.

To return to my original point, now I plan to use Barkeepers Friend or some other mild abrasive to polish out the scratches left by the Pumice Stone.

A toilet in our office clogged with toilet paper. I called a neighbor who brought over a rusty snake. I asked the question, will the snake damage the toilet bowl? The reply was no. The result was yes. I was prepared to purchase another toilet because the stain was so bad that there was no way we could keep the toilet in the condition it was in.
I immediately went to the internet in search of possible hope in salvaging the expensive toilet. First thing I read was DO NOT SNAKE TOILET. I went through the comments and found Tom's of California which seemed the most effortless method because does not require draining the water out. Tom suggested using Barkeepers Friend . went to hardware store in Takoma Park, went back to office and was stunned at how it made the scrapes, or stains or whatever it was disappear in 60 seconds.
I began to use the same compound on the porcelain wash bowls and stainless steel bowls as well. Got all the scrapes off. thanks TOM.

The Barkeepers Friend really worked. Unfortunately I ruined my upper toilet seat with bleach before reading this.

A. Toilet bowl got scratched up badly with a toilet augur. Read suggestions. Going to go out and buy some of that Beekeepers stuff, but in meantime, poured in a can of Sprite soda - right into the water. A couple hours later, scratches were disappearing! Unbelievable! Poured in another can of Sprite. Within hours, every trace of those black scratches were gone! Flushed toilet and all is well! Inexpensive result! Now just think what that soda does to your stomach!

Hi, Sue.
Let me guess ... Sprite removes black scratches from your stomach inexpensively? Am I getting warmer or colder?  :-)
Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

I too followed this post and got a can of Barkeepers Friend [on eBay or Amazon] to tackle my toilet auger scratches. I just vacuumed the water out, sprinkled the magic dust, wiped with a wet paper towel (while wearing gloves) and woooosh...scratches gone. Awesome product. Highly recommended for this application.