If you just bought a house with a completely disgusting toilet, then there are many things that you can do to remove the stubborn stains and make the toilet's porcelain sparkle like new. Even the grossest of toilets can be cleaned because porcelain is not a porous surface, so all of the stains in their bowls are from substances adhered to the surface.

Follow these tips for cleaning your new home's toilet like a cleaning professional or maid:

Drain the Toilet's Water Before Applying Cleaners

To prevent your toilet cleaning solutions from becoming diluted by the water in the toilet's bowl, turn off the water supply line at the back of the toilet. Flush the toilet to remove the water and then your toilet cleaners will remain concentrated and work a lot better than if they came into contact with the water. As the cleaners run down the sides of the toilet bowl, bring them back to the top using your toilet cleaning brush. Turning off the water to the toilet when you clean it will also save you money on cleaning solutions.

Clean Hard Water Stains Using Non-Diluted Vinegar

If you use a household toilet cleaner and it does not remove hard water stains that have been left by minerals in your home's water, then you can dissolve the scale residue with some white vinegar. The vinegar is an acid and removes the water scale that is a basic compound using a simple acid-base chemical reaction. However, vinegar is a fairly weak base, so you may need to apply it a couple of times to remove the hard water stains.

Since getting the vinegar under the rim can be a challenge, you should put the vinegar into a spray bottle. Use straight vinegar that has not been diluted with water for the best results.  

Scrub the Toilet Bowl with a Pumice Stone

Finally, if cleaners just won't remove all of the gunk in your new home's toilet bowl, then you can scrub it with a pumice stone. While wearing gloves, scrub the toilet's stains with a pumice stone that is designed for use in toilets. You can purchase one of these special tools at your local home improvement center and it will be found in the plumbing aisle. Wet the pumice stone with some water before you start scrubbing. The water will act as a lubricant for the stone to move across the porcelain's surface and will help to reduce the likelihood of scratches in the porcelain from the pumice stone.