Removing rust stains from bath tubs

A. An oxidation problem has occurred.

Let's de-oxidize ... buy naval jelly [on eBay or Amazon] , A RUST REMOVER. Simply, a de-ox, and will remove those drip-rust-stains...... as well as the chemical stain that you incurred. Drawback; the porcelain may have impurities that were reacted upon by the staining acid. Regardless. Proceed by getting rubber gloves [on eBay or Amazon] & goggles [on eBay or Amazon] on now. Use a 1" paint-brush and brush on the Naval Jelly until it is absurd. Leave room for 4 HOURS, with fan running. Return and DON ON the gear again. Rinse the jelly off completely. If another layer is required (doubtful), then let surface dry, or force-dry with a hair dryer [on eBay or Amazon]. Apply coat #2 absurdly, leave again 4 hrs.

A. Hi
I had terrible stains in my tub from a professional drain opener made with sulfuric acid. I used the Works (green bottle and I think that helped little) then I put on Lysol thick blue toilet cleaner and that worked great!
Also, I had the stains in my kitchen sink from the same drain opener product, and the toilet bowl cleaner [affil links] worked on those also. I got most of the stains out! You should try it. It may have scratched my tub a little and hurt the finish.. not sure, but the nasty horrible brown stain is gone and that is great. Good luck.
Try it on a small spot in your stained area and see if it works and if it is safe for your tub or sink

A. Hey guys, for natural options, you can soak paper towel to white vinegar [in bulk on eBay or Amazon] and let it stay to the stained areas for 2 to 3 hours :)

Similar to others above, I used a sulfuric acid drain declogger in my bathtub drain and the fumes stained the entire tub a dirty brown. Normal cleansers didn't touch the stain and I was really worried until I found this site. The hydrogen peroxide (simple drugstore antiseptic) sounded like the least caustic remedy so I tried it first, painting it on with a paintbrush. Presto, the stain disappeared with each brushstroke! Thanks, Dennis!

Like others, I used a commercial drain cleaner with sulfuric acid on my older bathtub drain. The fumes stained the entire tub - bottom, sides, top rim - dark brown. I scheduled a company to reglaze it (for $350) and then thought to check online. I poured some hydrogen peroxide on the stains and they vanished! Thanks to the person who took the time to post this solution. You saved me a lot of money. This is a great site.

I too put sulfuric acid down a tub drain. I did this hours before guests arrived for the weekend. My tub stained horribly brown almost immediately from fumes even though no sulfuric acid had touched the porcelain tub. I saw this online hydrogen peroxide tip - I was skeptical, but I thought I couldn't possibly make it worse. I bought a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and wet paper towels with peroxide. I lined the tub with the paper towels. I left the paper towels there for an hour. While some stains came up immediately, the deeper stains needed the full hour. BUT IT WORKED! Long live Google!

THANKS A MILLION DENNIS! Hydrogen Peroxide worked like a charm!

I just found this post and I was blown away with how well the Hydrogen Peroxide worked on the sulfuric acid stains. I just sprinkled it in the tub and like magic, the stains disappeared.

I checked it out about 5 minutes ago, and they are still gone. I will return with a better dose and a cleansing of the Peroxide, just to make sure. Thanks for a great solution.

A. I just sprayed basically, straight bleach on the mildewed tile grout in my tub surround and cane back a few minutes later to major rusty colored drips all over the sides of my tub. I tried the hydrogen peroxide idea (put some in a bowl and brushed it on with a paint brush) and the stains disappeared instantly! Thank goodness! My husband would've gone through the roof if he saw that! Thanks Dennis!

A. I had used bleach on the tub for stains also and ended up with brown stains - I used C-L-R [on eBay or Amazon] and they were gone in minutes.

Thanks for the help

WOW, this was so great and helpful.

Freaky but it does work! Saved us $275 on re-glazing!

Thank you for the advice on how to remove tub stain . I'm very happy that the Hydrogen Peroxide work's very well and also very quick. Thank you very much
Jose from Chicago

The hydrogen peroxide was amazing. I bought a bottle for $1 and filled up a spray bottle. The stains came off as quick as I sprayed. Thank you so much.

A. Oxidization from Bleach on your tub?

I did the peroxide remedy to my bleached tub. It worked like a CHARM!

I rubbed with a disposable handi-wipe. For the more stubborn part which was at the end closest to the drain, I just soaked the wipe and laid the peroxide on it for about ten minutes. Came back, and it was GONE! I mean before my tub was like brown and bronze from the oxidation. Now it's whiter than it was before. THANKS!

King

Dennis you are a life saver! I just moved into my new apartment and the tub had some stains from the previous owner. I tried to clean it by spraying down the whole tub with bleach, per my mothers instructions. It immediately made these ungodly brownish-red rust stains. I was mortified at the thought that this would stay, as I have a guest coming over shortly, furthermore I didn't want this to come out of my security deposit. I filled a spray bottle with hydrogen peroxide and let it sit. The stains started to whiten within a few minutes! The tougher stains may need a second coat but THIS DEFINITELY WORKS. I was reading about some other solutions on other websites like CLR but I had a bottle of hydrogen peroxide on hand so I thought I would try this first and I'm glad I did.

Just like to say, Dennis, you are a star! Top Bloke! You have saved me a lot of money and I thank you! Wot goes around comes around, my friend.....x

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the Hydrogen Peroxide tip! It worked in seconds, as soon as I applied it with a sponge. AMAZING! My husband would have lectured me for the rest of my life about staining our bathtub. I am happy I know this and I will share it with my friends!

I used the Hydrogen Peroxide and it knocked the bottom out of the rust stains in my tub! Thanks!

! Open house to try to sell in less than 12 hours and I left bleach on my clawfoot tub, came back to find a nightmare of orange stains. Found a 24-hour pharmacy, loaded up on hydrogen peroxide; the stains were gone so quickly and easily that I wish I'd known it was that simple because then I wouldn't have tried scrubbing until my fingers throbbed before getting in the car. Thanks all!

A. Hi Alisha.

Sorry, but if the coloration was bleached out by the acid, I don't think you can restore it with peroxide.

Regards,

A. Hi Stephanie. It's possible that it can't be fixed -- that the sulfuric acid selectively etched the porcelain too severely. But you won't fix it chemically.

Assuming you don't have a buffing machine, get a buffing pad for your battery operated drill, put some polishing compound like Mothers Mag & Aluminum Polish [on eBay or Amazon], or even Barkeepers Friend [on eBay or Amazon] on it, and see if you can smooth out the "tooth". Good luck.

Regards,

Thank you! I will try that.

A. Some other readers reported scrape marks like that in their sinks caused by titanium rings, Robert. Some suggestions were made and some success reported on letters 18828 "Titanium scratch marks on porcelain" and 20906 "Titanium stain on porcelain sink". You might see if those ideas work for you. Good luck.

Thanks for leading me to query . Glass Stove-top cleaner had the metal scrapes removed from the porcelain bath tub in two minutes flat. No damage.

A. Hi Betty; sorry for your problem. But it's hard to figure out what, if anything, will remove a stain of unknown origin and type.

Some tubs, however, including my new one, have a faint bathmat pattern built in, which is reasonably visible in some light; you might double check with the supplier if this might be the case because it sounds like it to me.

Regards,