Here the story, I went on a vacation for 6 days, when I get back I noticed a bunch of small ‘flys’ around and in the toilet. When I flushed many ‘flys’ fell in from the rim into the bowl along with some stuff which has the color and consistancy of, well number 2, but not the smell. I tryed to clean it out with lysol and some other sprays that angle under the rim. Then I got out the hose and sprayed it under the rim.
Even after blasting the toilet at point blank w/ the hose I did notice that the water did not make it all the way around the rim when flushed - even though the same model in another bathroom does. I did think I washed out all the ‘infetion’.
I thought all was good again. Then I went away for another 5 days. When I got back I noticed a bunch of ‘flys’ again around the thrown. When I flushed many more fell out. I again cleaned it out and bent a hangar to be able to get above the rim and clean out that channel. Many things came out, which looked like those ‘flys’ in various states of development. I did as much as I could with that wire coat hanger and got as much as I think I could. But still the water still doesn’t flow as evenly as the other toilet.
I want this to end, but am somewhat unwilling to violate the Genovia Convention and would rather not use chemical, or for that matter nuke warfare but will if needed. I am now trying to heat up the toilet bowl w/ a radiant kero heater trying to burn out anything that may still be alive.
I need this to end, hopefully w/o removing the toilet any real suggestions?
It sounds like you are washing the cleaning product away with water, thus not giving it a chance to do it’s job. Try some form of bleach, and leave it in there without rinsing for a long time. Did you read the instructions on your product?
Heh… Thanks for reminding me of a story in my family involving one very close relative of mine, a toilet, its contents and a wire hanger. But not the same context of your dilemma.
Anyhoo, I second the bleach thing. That stuff will kill damn near anything. Clorox makes a gel bleach that should do the trick. I’d squirt the gel right into the holes & leave it there for a while.
Another thing you might try is pouring some bleach (or bleach-based toilet cleaner) directly into the overflow pipe in your toilet tank. (It’s the tube that sticks straight up, with an open end above the level of the tank water.) I did that with mine several months ago and was surprised by how much fresher and cleaner the bathroom smells now. Apparently there was a lot of mildew (& who knows what else) growing in the innards of the bowl and plumbing bits…
And don’t try to flush it out. Just let it sit in there and keep those parts sanitized.
Well I’m trying the bleach. I am considering sealing up the bowl w/ some plastic wrap and letting the bleach fumes do their work on what the liquid can’t reach. This will also contain what hatches.
Not our toilet, but our kitchen sink drain, was infested with flies. A fellow Doper who happens to be a hired killer (for a pest control company) helped us out there, and we got rid of the little drain flies. I’m afraid I have no suggestions for you in the toilet, though.
We used a foaming drain cleaner and it got rid of all of the flies and their larvae, as well as the organic gunk they were living in. Perhaps something like that could work in your toilet as well.
Standard safety thingy: If you use bleach, and then liquid plumber, make sure the liquid plumber doesn’t use amonia in any form. That will form a fun hydroclorous gas that is extremely poisonous. But you knew that already.
I third bleaching everything. Bleach the tank, bleach the overflow pipe, bleach the bowl, then go to work and let it sit. That should wipe out everything. Chemicals are your friends!
It sounds like drain flies, which lay their eggs in the organic matter around the rim of a waste pipe. I’ve seen them in homes, in malls, in restaurants and even in funeral homes (they have large floor drains in the rooms where they prepare the bodies. Organic matter, remember? Eeew!).
Kythereia suggested calling an exterminator or a plumber. As an exterminator, I’d suggest the latter. You see, we carry an extensive array of insecticides, but we’re also bound by the law. In New York State, where I work, it’s illegal to put pesticides down a drain, because it may contaminate the groundwater. I assume most states have this law, and if they don’t, they should, IMHO.
But a plumber is well equipped to deal with the situation. Why? Because the best way to deal with it is to remove the eggs, thus breaking the life cycle of the little rotters. A plumber will have all sorts of tools with which to dredge the sludge and gunk out of your terlet.
Some things just aren’t do-it-yerself projects, and this is probably one of them. Call a pro, cough up the dough, and ask him also if he can offer you a 30 day guarantee, just in case he didn’t get all of them.
It seeems to me that the best way to get at the problem is to treat the inner portions of the rim in which the water is carried. You cannot do that from the bowl and therefore need to put some bleach into the overflow pipe and put some in the tank itself for the following flushes. Maybe one of those automatic bowl cleaners will work. Drain flies here live in standing water and because you have been gone for days they have had a chance to breed. Additionally, if there are obstructions in the rim where the water flow is released that will cause problems with flushing.
I gravitate to threads like this. I’m the elected plumber in the family. Only toilets unfortunately, but I’m a wiz. I’ve replaced parts, resealed toilets, even helped my sister take hers out and put it back in when my nephew flushed the toilet paper holder. (that was a joy lemme tell you). Anyway, getting to my point, I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to use liquid plumber in a toilet. Heh, Drano has a FAQ. What’s the world coming to? http://www.dranosite.com/faq.asp
-Lil
Just be careful what you combine so you don’t create a fuming commode of noxious fumes. Some household cleaners don’t play nice together, and you don’t want to be informed of this by several police officers, two engine companies, and a hazmat squad.
Besides, the bathroom is really crowded with around 20 people in there
Another thought, sometimes it’s hard to get the chemical to stay where you want it or keep from getting diluted.
First turn the water off behind the toilet. Flush to drain the tank. Pour a bucket of water down the bowl to get rid of most of the rest in the bowl.
Now take an old cleaning rag, slightly damp and place it around the rim covering the area and wet it with half strength bleach solution. Pour some solution down the overflow tube too. Let sit for as long as possible. This should help with the bowl cleanliness.
I’m not sure exactly how the oveflow tubes work, meaning I assume anything placed in there will go thru automatically. If so, I think filling the overflow tube with the bleach solution and obstructing the outflow with the towels should work to keep it under the rim where the wee beasties are.
If this doesn’t help I guess a blowtorch would be the next logical step The step after that involves the hair of Seth Brundle and a live chicken.
