Quite a mineral buildup in our toilet and drain. I have had our toilet off once before, and the lime or calcium deposits had blocked the actual drain hole in the floor by about 50%. What can I do to eliminate this blockage in an ongoing way, since the vinegar and baking soda, or chemicals in the toilet bowl itself will not reach that area? The snake will not work in the toilet - too sharp of a bend! New toilet? but then still will have the buildup
I learned this from a plumber. He uses an old fashioned wire clothes hanger. A larger one works better just for the reach. Grasp the hook end with one hand and the center of the long straight section with the other hand. Pull them apart to make a hook with a long handle. Straighten the hook end slightly and probe the rim holes with the hook. Flush the toilet as you are doing this helps wash out the holes at the same time. Also, use the same hook end and probe the one larger hole in the bottom of the bowl. This is the hole that the solid stream of water pushes the water down the toilet. The plumber said they clog from the lime, calcium, etc. in the water. He didn't have any preventative measure. It may just be that your water is high in these minerals. I would not recommend putting chemicals not designed for the porcelain. You can try the product SLR. I don't know how you would use it on a toilet though. I think the acronym stands for Salt, Lime, and Rust. I have seen the commercial on TV, but, haven't tried it. One last note!!! Be very careful not to chip or break the porcelain. It can chip quite easily!
I think that is CLR, calcium, lime, and rust and it works well, if you drain the toilet and let it sit right on the mineral build up for a few hours. Drain it by turning off the water shut off valve and flushing the toilet.
I use a Dremel Tool with a flexible extension and a small grinding rock to remove the deposits from the jet at the bottom of the bowl works great and lasts about 10 months flushes like new again, p.s. wear safety glasses.
To add to my previous post on how to clear a lime (calcium) blocked drain in a toilet, you can use the same method as for clearing the block. (As mentioned in my previous post.) Since it takes anywhere from a couple of months to a year to cause a total blockage, some preventative maintenance every other month will help to prevent these deposits from becoming a total blockage.
Instead of pumping out all of the water, and shutting the water to the toilet off completely you can just add a couple of bottles into the toilet on a day, or night when you won't be using the toilet for several hours. Toilets are designed so that you can't overfill the bowl so when you have too much in the bowl it will just allow the extra to seep-drain. By pouring in two bottles of the Works Thick cleaner it will seep down to the drain opening through the toilet internal trap, and then remain there long enough to keep the build-up from becoming a clog.
It depends upon how much lime you have in your water as to how often you would need to do this. For heavy amounts of lime/calcium in your water I would do it every month. For places that would take over a year to build into a full clog I would
If you have a lot of lime/calcium in your water it would be wise to invest in a water
softener for your home. That would remove all the minerals from the water itself.