Some of the hardest stains to tackle are in the toilet bowl. I see home after home stocked with MULTIPLE toilet bowl cleaners--each promising a different miracle in the way of a shiny clean bowl.

It's worthy to note that where toilets are concerned "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"--especially since toilet cleaning's "cure" is generally some serious physical labor.

By far, the toughest and most laborious task when it comes to the toilet is the calcium/lime ring. It's usually an ivory color, but with time it can be tinged yellow and/or red with urine and algae infiltration. There are a few ways to tackle this job and you might use a combination of them depending on the buildup or your desire to avoid chemicals in the process.

It's important to note that if the ring is very "deep" you may be tempted to chip it away and you could certainly do that. Just beware of the fact that very few people manage to do so without scratching their porcelain. In the end, this method is not likely to remove all of the buildup, anyway.

You can start by removing the water from your toilet bowl by shutting off the water valve behind the toilet and then flushing. The bowl will now be empty. To kick things off, you can dump a gallon or two of household white vinegar in the toilet and let it sit overnight. The acid in the vinegar reacts with the calcium--breaking it down. Scrub with the toilet brush whenever you get the chance to speed up the process. It's possible that this won't remove all of it, but it will soften what's left and remove a good portion of it.

You might instead think of using a product like CLR (in the gray bottle) on the ring as well. CLR is a heavy chemical and requires ventilation, but it works well on calcium and lime. It is too expensive to buy enough to fill the bowl. You can pour some on the ring and let it sit and check on it occasionally to see if it appears to have dried and needs more liquid poured on. CLR is wonderfully effective when you have a situation where it can soak, but the toilet is not really conducive to that so you'll need to go back and forth a bit to earn the benefit of it's power. You may wind up in the same boat where it will remove a large portion of the problem and then you will have to resort to something else.

If you'd like to leave the water in your tank, you could pour in some Calgon or Borax and let that sit overnight, too. When you're done, dip into the bowl with a sponge and clean your shower doors while you're at it! These products will also break down the calcium and/or lime and shouldn't have as harsh of a chemical smell.

Before or after one of these methods, you can attempt scraping. Better yet, try some wet/dry sandpaper (the black ones) and start with 600 grit (but have 400 and lower in case you need it). This will take the ring off with some elbow grease and should not scratch the porcelain. A pumice stone may also do the trick.

Now that you've got it nice and new, you need to keep it looking that way. First, make sure to swish the water in your toilet bowl with the toilet brush daily--paying attention to swishing the ring where buildup is worst. Then, be sure to clean the toilet well at least monthly to keep the buildup from getting as bad as it was before this cleaning.

Ultimately, the problem should resolve with the implementation of a water softening device. Until then, it's prevention and remediation!