Hard water deposits around toilet bowl seal

[KamFlyer]

What does everyone do to remove hard water deposits around the toilet bowl seal? We clean the bowl regularly but deposits still build up. I have tried scrubbing with a coarse toilet brush but they still persist. A couple of times I have even resorted to scraping with a hard plastic scraper but am afraid of damaging the seal. Elsewhere I would use CLR but don't really want to introduce that into the tank either.
I suppose a water softener would help but don't want to go that far if I don't have to.
Thanks -Rob-

[livinthelife]

What does everyone do to remove hard water deposits around the toilet bowl seal? We clean the bowl regularly but deposits still build up. I have tried scrubbing with a coarse toilet brush but they still persist. A couple of times I have even resorted to scraping with a hard plastic scraper but am afraid of damaging the seal. Elsewhere I would use CLR but don't really want to introduce that into the tank either.
I suppose a water softener would help but don't want to go that far if I don't have to.
Thanks -Rob-

I use vinegar in my dishwasher at home to keep the deposits from building up on the heating element. Maybe pour some vinegar in and let it sit?

[2rad4u]

Vinegar

I purchased a water softener. Makes a world of difference!

[JColeman]

Vinegar

I purchased a water softener. Makes a world of difference!

^^^This. A really good spend. On top of it making the water nicer to wash and shower in, it is much easier on the plumbing.

We run softened water into our trailer including fresh water and flushing black tanks. While we do not drink the water on the trailer, the combination of 5 micron sediment filter in front of a water softener and then into a .5 micron carbon filter sure make it clean and nice. No smells, no little water borne critters so safe for tooth brushing and dish washing, good soap action and easy on plumbing.

[D2Reid]

Vinegar, diluted is ok just takes longer.

I wish I had purchased a water softener when we spent the summer in hard water country. I got bad build up in the kitchen faucet and when it broke loose it stopped up the faucet, took me days to get it cleaned out.

So if you are noticing build up now it's a good time to get a water softener going, the longer you put it off the worse the problem will become.