If your toilet water is yellow, it could be due to deposits of rust, iron, and tannins in your home's plumbing system. Calcium buildup (limescale, caused by hard water), also has a yellow-white color. Over 85% of the USA has hard water, so calcium buildup is a likely cause of your toilet's yellow coloration.
The yellowness in your toilet might be caused by easily solvable issues such as yellow softener salt, municipal flushes, or stagnant water in toilet bowl. However, there are more complex cases like rusted pipes, water hardness, broken resin beads, or contamination, which may require you to call a professional plumber.
Thankfully, yellow water isn't usually a dangerous issue. This slight discolouration of your home's water supply is most often caused by rust particles in your water. Although unpleasant to look at, slightly rusty water is still safe to drink and use.
Yellow water is generally caused by rust and your water is still safe to drink and use, though this would certainly be the perfect time to investigate the source of the problem. Let's take a look at the first possible cause of yellow water: municipal utility flushing.
The Solution for Yellow Tap Water
Investing in a water treatment system can eliminate contaminates and their associated health risks and are the best solution to fix yellow water. Whole House Water filter systems are designed to purify tap water for safe and healthy drinking water at home.
First, flush the toilet and then pour a quarter of a cup of Borax into it, using your toilet brush to swish it around. Next, add one to two cups of vinegar and let the mixture sit for 20-30 minutes. You should be able to scrub the stains away and flush the toilet to reveal a fresh, and clean bowl.
White vinegar and borax/baking soda
What better way to whiten the toilet bowl than with a paste created by the two most commonly used eco-friendly house cleaners – baking soda and vinegar. The first can also be replaced by borax, which consists of white crystal that can immediately dissolve in water.
Pour 2 cups of distilled white vinegar into the toilet bowl. Close the lid and let the concoction work for 30 minutes. Give the whole inside of the bowl a vigorous scrub.
Add about 1 cup of baking soda to the toilet bowl, then add another 1 to 2 cups of vinegar. You should see and hear some fizzing action—this means that it's working! Let the solution sit and fizz for about ten minutes.
Cleaning your toilet tank is pretty quick and easy with vinegar and baking soda. You only need to do it once or twice a year, and it can help get rid of bacteria, mold, and mineral deposits to keep you and your family healthy.
Vinegar and Baking Soda Method
Swish it around with a toilet brush and let it sit for a minute. Add baking soda and more vinegar: After letting the vinegar sit, sprinkle a cup of baking soda around the toilet bowl and then add another cup of vinegar over the baking soda.
The answer might surprise you: dish soap. Yes, that's right. Dish soap can be your savior when it comes to unclogging toilets quickly and efficiently. Simply pour some dish soap into the clogged toilet bowl and let it sit for about 10-15 minutes.
You can use Drano® Clog Removers to unclog a kitchen sink, bathroom sink, shower or clogged bathtub, but DO NOT use them in toilets. For clogged or slow-running drains, apply the product and let it work 15 minutes, then flush with hot water.
Our best overall pick for drain cleaners is Drano Max Gel Clog Remover, which also comes recommended by experts. We love that this formula works on every type of drain pipe and can clear just about any clog.
If the clog still seems to be intact, start over at step 1 and repeat the process a couple of times. For extra-stubborn clogs, you can let the fizz mixture sit overnight or combine this method with plunging.
Cleaning with a mixture of baking soda and vinegar in the bathroom can work really well. To clean your toilet with vinegar, pour a cup of vinegar in the toilet bowl and let sit overnight. The next morning, sprinkle a little baking soda into the bowl, scrub, and then flush clean.
There are numerous options if you'd prefer a more natural route to clean your water lines. Using a combination of plain vinegar and baking soda is a popular, natural solution for breaking up calcium deposits in pipes.
Another method is to begin, again, with the baking soda and then slowly pour a couple of cups of cleaning vinegar over the top. Watch the level of fizz because this is definitely a situation where the science fair volcano would not be desired. Let the mix sit for anywhere between two hours to overnight.
"The biggest don't when it comes to toilet tanks is bleach—do not use bleach or products containing bleach inside the tank, as it can corrode the internal parts of your toilet. If you are aiming to remove tough stains from the tank, I also recommend white vinegar diluted with water."
The mild abrasiveness of the baking soda following vinegar's acid breakdown should scrub away stains. If stains persist, let the solution sit for another 15–30 minutes and then scrub again. Flush the toilet to rinse away the solution.