Brown Toilet Stain

City water or well water? Water softener?

Rust removing cleansers like ZUD may help. (Or you can get Oxalic acid and make your own.)

In the event cleaning isn't successful, spring for a new toilet; they are not expensive and new ones only use 1.6 Gal/flush.

Jim

Someone named snipped-for-privacy@comcast.net (Mark) Proclaimed on 25 May 2004

Do you think that might be your problem? Try something, idiot.

All the effort posting to a NEWSGROUP, and this j****ff hasn't tried COMET. What a moroon.

Check locally. They likely will be able to tell you what the stain is from. Sounds like it may be iron (rust). Then once you know the cause you can find the fix to clean it and to prevent it.

Iron-oxide . . . calle RUST by most people Oxalic acid (powder), full strength. Turn off water to tank, flush until no water remains. Sprinkle on power (should be at least damp), then scrub, repeat.

But it will probably reappear fairly quickly because the ceramic's glaze has worn off and what remains is porous.

Solution: buy a new toilet. The new glaze will resist rust for some years. And install a water softener.

Mark 'Sporky' Stapleton Watermark Design, LLC

Rather than water softener that should be water conditioning equipment as needed after an independent water test. There are a lot of water conditioning scams around, many with well known names. Problems are different in different areas.

If you don't get an "independent" water test, you really don't know what problems you may have. By independent I mean someone who will not be providing any equipment.

In some cases a softener may be able to handle a small amount of iron, but more serious cases are likely to need specific iron equipment.

At the marine we lived at, the water came from a well, and left rust stains in the bowls as well as shower stalls. We used about a 1/4 cup of oxalic acid in a gallon of hot water, in a garden sprayer. Spray it on, wait a few minutes, and rinse off. Spotless. Oxalic acid (wood bleach) in the hardware store is about $6/pound. I found it at a pool supply store for $55/50 pounds. Beats scrubing!

Resistant stains are more likely permanganates than iron oxides. Oxalic acid is the right chemical to use if so. You can get small quantities in spray cans of "Bartenders' Friend", "Stainless Steel Cleaner", and a few other products. Also, try some dishwasher detergent, full strength for about an hour. Pour a bucket of water down the toilet first so the siphon action will empty the bowl.

A phone call to the local university or community college biology department should give you a detailed analysis about water quality.

Try vinegar and let it set in the bowl awhile.