Toilet Stains

[Stuart]

Some months ago I replaced my toilet pan with one that I got from the Freecycle Yahoo Group locally .It was unused and had been replaced by the owner as the contractor had put a slight chip in it . .Recently I have noticed a thin brown line going from under the rim at the rear of the pan ( right in the middle) down to the water line and also some green stuff like algae just below the water line .The brown stain looks rust like .

All the fittings in the cistern are plastic ,the only metal parts being the lever which is above the water level and the hook which obviously goes below the water but they are both not rusty .

Any suggestions what might be causing this and how I can stop it ..bleach in the cistern perhaps .?..It didn't happen with the previous toilet bowl.

Stuart

[The Medway Handyman]

It sounds like limescale. Maybe it didnt show on the old one. Was it a different colour?

Try some Harpic, bleach will only remove the colour.

[Stuart]

I'l try that .Both pans are white ..Water here is soft so scale isn't a problem usually .

Stuart .

[Helen Deborah Vecht]

"The Medway Handyman" typed

Whatever else you do

DO NOT MIX BLEACH WITH HARPIC!

Chlorine gas is evolved and can be very nasty.

I also yhink the brown might be limescale and would respond to Harpic or other limescale removers.

[badger.badger]

If its not lime scale its piss scale, old women's toilets often have very serious scale from ostioporosis!

[Stuart]

I've never been called an old woman before ..LOL

STUART

[Helen Deborah Vecht]

"badger.badger" typed

Piss scale was a problem when I had a male guest who would not flush overnight. The scale was ar the water line, not down the back of the pan though.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Could be rust from anywhere upstream. Its probably been dribbling down there.

The green stuff is likely to be copper carbonate, from copper pipes in hard water areas.

start with a load of acid..anything from vinegar up through proprietary de scalers to brick acid. That will knock any carbonates back to soluble, and finish up with caustic soda..thats as good a bleach as you can get.