Iron accumulation (I think) in a toilet bowl

[Brian Elfert]

I have a toilet that was installed several weeks before my new water softener. The house was vacant so the water just sat in the toilet for a few weeks until I moved in. My water is so bad without a softener that the toilet is permanently stained. I have tried just about everything to get the stain out. I have used a scrubbing block for toilets, but it just lightens the stain a bit. I think a new toilet is the only answer.

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

I took the lid off and there's a little what looks like rust powder on the bottom but nothing significant. I seem to recall doing the pumice stone thing years ago. I wonder if doing so removed the smooth finish and left a rough surface for rust to stick to. I'll try the suggestions above and if they don't work new toilets aren't outrageously expensive. This is from the mid '90s when low water use toilets were new. I wonder if new toilets would be better.

You may simply need to replace the hardware in the tank. If that is heavily corroded, it will be adding to the stains. When we moved into this house 8 years ago, everything water-related was heavily stained, as well as white chunks of minerals building up. We promptly replaced the useless Culligan softener and installed better filtration. Last year we thought our filtration was starting to fail because the toilet bowls were staining. We looked in the toilet tanks and saw how incredibly corroded the original hardware was. Once we installed new parts, the toilets were once-again clean.

[Ken Combs]

I would try vinegar. Plain white kind. Mild acid that will disolve rust and many mineral deposits and not nearly as destructive to finishes as other acids. And a gallon is cheap. Just pour it in and let it set overnight. I do the same to shower heads that get partially plugged. Fill a plastic bag with vinegar and tie over the head overnight. Always clears it up.

[John Stankus]

If it is iron in the bowl, you may want to try a chelating agent (key-lating) like in Evap-o-Rust and see if it sequesters the iron.

John

[Alan Lightstone]

I get this strange black ring in my toilet bowls. This despite a water softener. My neighbors get it too. Easy brushes off, but annoying and unsightly. I had read somewhere that it's a bacterium, but really not sure that's true.

[Mel Fulks]

Could be Victorian names for rooms. Fronterium , Backterium , front hall, back hall, small dining room , main dining room , servants
room. They liked Latin. Try putting in some bleach , doesn’t take much. Stir with toilet brush….

[Jim Becker]

There is indeed different kinds of bacteria in water supplies...they are not unsafe for people and pets but can be frustrating. In this area, we often get a "bloom" of a bacteria that gives off hydrogen sulfide in the spring. Our well actually has an injector that sends a dilute solution of chlorine bleach into the well which helps to control this "iron eating" bacteria and the chlorine is then filtered out by a charcoal filter when water is drawn from the well before it hits the softener. This bacteria is brown. It likes warm water so it can be an issue for water heaters. We had that initially when we moved in because the previous owners had not kept up with the chlorine solution. This year...so far...we've been lucky to not get the smell.

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

I get this strange black ring in my toilet bowls. This despite a water softener. My neighbors get it too. Easy brushes off, but annoying and unsightly. I had read somewhere that it's a bacterium, but really not sure that's true.

It is most-likely Manganese.

[Alan Lightstone]

It is most-likely Manganese.

Interesting. Never heard of that, but it appears unlikely in my part of the country:
Manganese Content National Map.jpg

[Stan Calow]

Alan Manganese (Mn) and Magnesium (Mg) are two different elements. Ask your public water supply for their annual test report. In some places potassium permanganate is one of the water treatment chemicals used. But shouldn't be part of this problem.

[Alan Lightstone]

Alan Manganese (Mn) and Magnesium (Mg) are two different elements. Ask your public water supply for their annual test report. In some places potassium permanganate is one of the water treatment chemicals used. But shouldn't be part of this problem.

Whoops. Google led me astray there.

My local utility measured only 0.002 ppm of Manganese in water here. Certainly no expert, but I think that low a level is probably not the cause of the black rings.