Cheap ways to remove rust stains without buying CLR
Specialty rust removers like CLR cost too much for small household items like salt grinders. People skip using them because buying expensive cleaners makes throwing the item away cheaper than fixing it.
Core Friction Pattern
Analysis of 9 peer accounts across online developer and community forums reveals that “Cheap ways to remove rust stains without buying CLR” repeatedly surfaces due to edge-case mismatches between standard defaults and real-world environments. Standard troubleshooting frequently falls short, compelling practitioners to develop custom workarounds.
+11 alternative community-tested workarounds cataloged below.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- People have been saying this in most months since September 2026.
- This comes up 17.9× more often in r/CleaningTips than across the site as a whole.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
Cheap ways to remove rust stains without buying CLR
- 1Soaking in double strength vinegarDid this help you?
- 2Leaving it alone as vinegar promotes rustDid this help you?
- 3Trying various wheel cleaning productsDid this help you?
- 4Testing whether the stain is on top of or etched into the clear coatDid this help you?
- 5Applying chemical rust removers like Iron-Out or vinegarDid this help you?
- 6Mechanically grinding, honing, and polishing the damaged surfaceDid this help you?
- 7Applying a poultice made of baking soda and water or hydrogen peroxideDid this help you?
- 8Using toothpaste and a magic eraserDid this help you?
- 9Spray painting the item if there is nothing left to restoreDid this help you?
- 10Doing a full shiny polished restoration jobDid this help you?
- 11painting over the stained areaDid this help you?
- 12Using a baking soda and water poultice covered with plastic to pull out the stain instead of acidic cleaners.Did this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I honestly dont want to put a lot of money into it because then I’d rather just bin it (heh).”source ↗
“it seems like I got everything I could off of the surface and that the rust has soaked in. Any ideas for how to get the rest of the stain?”source ↗
“My shower stand's leg started to rust. Tried putting barkeeper's friend on it and it ended up leaving white marks on the marble. I'm making everything worse. 🫥”source ↗
“Would appreciate any guidance for these rust stains?? It's from the door hinge that got stained to the baseboard and floor”source ↗
“The walls were painted once before and the the red stains broke through again.”source ↗
“Moisture crept into my salt grinder and when I opened it up I found rust.”source ↗
“Before I resort to CLR l, anyone know of an alternative cleaning method?”source ↗
“I had a rust stain on my quartz countertop. Believe it or not, toothpaste and a magic eraser finally removed it.”source ↗
“No, no, just get it point where it won't come off, I'm use a bunch on old keys for Ren fair costume and I actually just happen to find this under a old tree I pulled up”source ↗
“I found a key and I went to get the rest off of it. Without damaging it, too much more.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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- 78How to get stubborn makeup out of white clothes