Cleaned too much - stained bathroom sink

January 17, 2021 8:20 AM

We tried to clean out a slow drain with a pink heavy duty drain cleaner (the bottle of which is now out in the garbage and irretrievable but it was a clear bottle with text printed directly on the palstic). Unfortunately it left a faint yellow stain on the white ikea sink. Anyone got any tips or tricks to clean or repair?
posted by platypus of the universe to Home & Garden (9 answers total)

With a little luck, bleach or white vinegar will to it. WARNING: NOT BOTH TOGETHER. More options here.
posted by beagle at 8:25 AM on January 17, 2021 [1 favorite]

I wonder if that's actually a mineral stain? If the bleach doesn't work, maybe try a rust remover or a hard water stain remover.
posted by amtho at 8:54 AM on January 17, 2021

Whatever you use, rinse the sink out and flush the drain before you try to clean. More than you think it needs it. More than that. Is the drain working now? If it’s still slow there is a good chance that there is still some drain cleaner in there that could react really horribly with acid based cleaners in particular, like “spewing caustic chemicals” horrible.
posted by corey flood at 8:54 AM on January 17, 2021 [1 favorite]

Yeah, if the drain is still slow, look to mechanical/physical unclogging methods next.
posted by amtho at 9:38 AM on January 17, 2021

Sometimes if you fill it with hot water and let it soak it can pull out a lot of staining so you need less cleaner - it it can go away eventually on its own. Otherwise I tend to use bleach, usually just in a cleaning spray variety. Sometimes it takes a few sprays so for a tough stain I will wait a few days and do more water soaks and eventually it all usually comes out. (source: chemical and direct pigment hair dye user.)
posted by Crystalinne at 11:21 AM on January 17, 2021

I’d try letting it sit in bleach. If that doesn’t work I’d try Barkeeper’s Friend.
posted by gnutron at 5:18 PM on January 17, 2021

My FAVORITE cleaning tip is that denture cleaners -- like Polident or whatever; the cleaning tablets for dentures -- do a great great job cleaning white sinks (and white toilet bowls). Just fill it with water, plonk in two tablets, leave it alone for a few hours.
posted by Countess Sandwich at 6:48 PM on January 17, 2021 [1 favorite]

I had a similar situation except it was a bathtub drain in an old porcelain tub. I tried about 10 different methods before trying Comet and a Magic Eraser. That did the trick.
posted by HeyAllie at 7:23 PM on January 17, 2021

bartender's friend. works amazingly well.
posted by evilmonk at 12:55 PM on January 18, 2021