Allowing days or weeks to pass without thoroughly cleaning your toilet bowl can cause mold, bacteria, and brown deposits to form inside the bowl and tank. When these deposits mix with the incoming clean water during flushing, they give the water a brownish tint.
Your raw water must have a lot of iron and sediment to cause the issues you mentioned. Lift the cover of your toilet tank. If the inside is black or dark brown, it needs to be cleaned. Once clean, add a cup of IRON OUT and let it sit for several hours and allow to flush into the bowl.
Bleach, and let it soak for like an hour or two then flush. Repeat a second time if you really need to. It might help to scrub with a toilet brush before you flush as well.
Hydrogen peroxide. Plain ordinary type purchased at drug store for about $1. Leave it in overnight. Then use any ordinary toilet cleaner and brush to clean. Repeat if necessary. (One time use will also make a BBQ grill surface like new. Like new. Works on my porcelain kitchen sink too. )
More than likely it's dirt and debris that has built up in the back. This is more than usual, but the best possible solution is to turn the water off, flush to empty and take an old t-shirt or paper towels and bleach or whatever cleaning product you have to clean the back of your toilet.
We recommend using a mixture of ¼ cup of vinegar for every 1 cup of water. This ensures your toilet tank is being disinfected without causing damage, which the use of bleach or chemical cleaners can do.
If there are brown stains in the tank, it's probably from iron in your water. Toilet water that's brown in color is due to iron bacteria that fixes to iron particles in the water. If you discover a thick, slimy mess, it's likely from iron bacteria growing in your toilet tank.
How to Fix Yellow or Brown Water. If the cause is decaying matter, cleaning your aquarium can fix the issue. Remove any decaying plants or fish, check the filter, and use a vacuum to clean the gravel. You don't need to change out a lot of water; your typical amount of 25% every month or so is just fine.
Citric acid
Simply pour a kettle of almost boiling water into the bowl, follow up with 250ml of citric acid, and leave it for some hours – preferably overnight.
Vinegar and Borax
Borax is a great cleaning product that, when combined with vinegar, can successfully eliminate hard water and mineral deposits. You can use this combination in your toilet and most other plumbing fixtures, too.
It's essential to clean the inside of a toilet tank to remove mineral deposits that can damage or interfere with the toilet's operation. Baking soda will absorb odors, break down stains, and dislodge fungal growth with its abrasive power.
The black particles are likely the result of the disintegration of the float in the toilet tank. The float is especially likely to break down over time if you use an automatic toilet bowl cleaner in the tank. Replace the float or call a plumber about replacing the float.
Various minerals in the water can result in rust stains in the toilet. High levels of calcium, limescale and other minerals in the water cause spots to appear over time. These brown and yellow stains cannot be removed with scrubbing or regular cleaning.
#6 Clean The Tank (Optional)
Pour some CLR into the tank, fill it with water, and let it sit for a few minutes. Then, flush the toilet a couple of times to rinse everything away. You don't have to do this step, but it helps prevent mineral buildup in the tank and keeps your toilet working well.
Use vinegar or another acidic cleaner to clean calcium buildup from your toilet. The acid will break down the mineral deposits so you can brush them away. Be sure to take the necessary safety precautions when working with cleaners. Wear gloves and eyewear and open windows for ventilation.
For example, applying white vinegar or lemon juice and scrubbing with a toilet brush typically works on newer stains. You can also try mixing white vinegar and baking soda if you need a stronger scrub. For older stains, using an industrial-strength cleaner like CLR should do the trick.
Who knew that dishwasher tablets could help keep your toilet sparkling clean? Just drop a dishwasher tablet in toilet bowl and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. Then, use a toilet brush to scrub the bowl and flush it. The tablet will help to break down any stains or buildup in the bowl, leaving it fresh and clean.
Sediment and Dirt – Deposits of minerals or sediment in your water heater can mix with the water flow, resulting in a brownish color. Sediment may also be stirred up due to work being done on local water lines.
There are many causes of water discoloration. If your toilet tank is a very dark black, you probably have high levels of manganese in your water. If the stains are more brown, iron will likely travel with your water, and the presence of iron can open a whole new can of worms…
Brown algae is a natural occurrence when setting up a new fish tank as the tank's system needs time to mature. It takes about four to six weeks to cycle a tank, that is, to establish its bacteria and nitrogen cycle.
For the toilet you rarely use in the house, make sure to flush it at least once daily. Also, lift the lid to avoid darkness inside the bowl; mold thrives where there is stagnant water and darkness.
If you have ever kept an aquarium, then chances are you've run into diatoms before. Diatoms are commonly referred to as “brown algae,” one of the most common forms of algae that we see in the fishkeeping hobby that usually forms within the first month of a new tank setup.