Preventing Rust Stains in Your Toilet

Rust stains in a toilet are a common occurrence and a very frustrating one for homeowners. Even when the toilet is totally clean and sanitized, rust stains can make it look as though it is still dirty. This can be embarrassing for the homeowner and lead to awkward situations in which guests don’t want to use the toilet and even household members may look at it askance. Rust stains in toilets are notoriously hard to remove and ultimately may require plumbing services in Scarborough to resolve. However, if you live in an area where rust stains are common, you can take steps to prevent them so that they never become a problem.

What Do Rust Stains Look Like, and What Causes Them?

Rust stains appear along the inside of a toilet bowl. They are reddish-brown in colour and follow the path of the water sprays that flow into the bowl. Someone who just glanced into the bowl without looking carefully at it may mistake rust stains for human excrement, but that has nothing to do with how and why rust stains form.

Tap water often contains dissolved minerals such as iron. As water flows through the pipes, it can pick up these minerals, and when it comes out of plumbing fixtures, such as a toilet, they can get deposited on the surface. Once the iron gets deposited on the inside of the toilet bowl, it is exposed to the air. This prompts a chemical reaction called oxidization that results in rust. It can happen on other plumbing fixtures too, and since the red colour contrasts with the white or light neutral of the porcelain, the rust stains really stand out. They look especially bad on toilets because of their function.

How Can You Prevent Rust Stains in Your Toilet?

Water that contains any mineral, not just iron, is called hard water. Mineral deposits on plumbing fixtures from hard water are typically difficult to remove, and the same holds true of iron deposits that cause rust stains. It is preferable to prevent rust stains from forming in the first place, if possible.

Here are some tips to help you to prevent rust stains from forming in your toilet. Some are things you can do yourself, while others may require the assistance of plumbing services in Scarborough to accomplish.

• Cleaning the toilet regularly helps prevent the buildup of iron on the inside of your toilet. If the iron doesn’t build up, it won’t have a chance to react to the air and oxidize. You don’t have to clean the toilet every day, but make sure you do it at least once a week.

• The water may be picking up iron particles when flowing through old, corroded pipes. Upgrading your home’s plumbing may remove the source of the metal, making rust stains less likely.

• Having a water softener or an iron filter installed may be able to remove dissolved metals from your water before it reaches your home’s fixtures. If you already have a water softener, try looking for salts specifically formulated to remove iron and prevent rust.

There are also things you can do to prevent rust stains on other bathroom fixtures and surfaces. For example, you can dry them by wiping them down. However, methods such as this won’t work with a toilet. The interior of the bowl is always wet as a matter of necessity, which is one reason why rust stains in toilets are particularly problematic.

Call Handyman Connection for Plumbing Services in Scarborough

Our experienced and qualified technicians can perform services that may help to prevent rust stains in toilets, such as installing a water purification system or upgrading your plumbing. If it is too late to prevent it and nothing has succeeded in removing the rust stains, we can install a new toilet if you have decided that is the only solution.