We Americans like to keep things clean, especially in the bathroom. With tile and grout, or marble, limestone or travertine, there can be rust stains in the grout lines at the base of the toilet. Even with repeated scrubbing, these rust stains persist.
Don’t let it drive you crazy!
Most often these stains are caused by the iron collar at the base of the toilet. This plumbing device, fitted with a wax ring, is the drain pipe end that takes away the water and waste when you flush the toilet. Even if the grout has been sealed, moisture can activate rust, which comes up between the tiles to discolor the grout. The easiest, most efficient way to fix this problem if aggressive cleaning won’t help, is to stain or paint the grout lines. This process will cover the stained line and make your grout lines look clean again. Another, more difficult solution, is to dig the grout out with a grout saw and replace it. Either way, you will remove the rust and your bathroom will look clean again.
