# What's growing in my toilet? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 30, 2017, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-growing-in-my-toilet/778589 "2017-01-30T14:51:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![blood63](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@blood63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blood63)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-growing-in-my-toilet/778589/1 "2017-01-30T14:51:11Z")
I have a strange brown film that grows in one of my toilets. My habit is to use the cleaner Comet and scrubs the sides and bowl of the toilet thoroughly. A few days after the cleaning, a brown film starts to build up in the bowl. One time I drained the bowl and filled it will vinegar and let it sit over the weekend. I was trying to kill whatever was growing. It didn’t seem to make any difference. This only happens in my upstairs toilet. I always considered that this was a living thing like a bacteria but possibly it could be something from the piping or the tank. Does anyone have any idea what this could be? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-growing-in-my-toilet/778589/2 "2017-01-30T15:03:39Z")
Do you have other toilets in the house? If you do, do they get used in the same manner? Is this one a full bath and the other one a half bath? The presence of fecal matter and/or other bacteria in the area as well as high humidity can lead to staining around edges of toilets (which, now that I think about it won’t require a shower, but that can lead to staining in other parts of the bathroom). However, these stains IME, are usually pink. If it’s brown/orange, I’d look into hard water or rust. Since it’s only this one toilet, open up the tank and check there, see if any of the internal components, like the chain, are rusting away. Also, is your house old enough to have any pipe in the house that isn’t copper (like steel)? ---
**Author:** ![blood63](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@blood63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blood63)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-growing-in-my-toilet/778589/3 "2017-01-30T15:56:33Z")
There is another toilet in the house and it does not have this problem. There is a shower in the room with the problem toilet and the humidity may be higher in there at certain times of the day. It is definitely not pink but brown. The tank equipment is new and there are no metal parts. I also wondered if it might be something from my urine. Probably not fecal residue judging by the way it grows. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-growing-in-my-toilet/778589/4 "2017-01-30T16:08:07Z")
Vinegar isn’t all that strong of a disinfectant … have you tried bleach? ---
**Author:** ![blood63](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@blood63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blood63)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-growing-in-my-toilet/778589/5 "2017-01-30T16:25:46Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > Vinegar isn’t all that strong of a disinfectant … have you tried bleach? I will try that. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-growing-in-my-toilet/778589/6 "2017-01-30T17:27:05Z")
> [@blood63](#): > > I will try that. Thanks. I concur, you need bleach. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-growing-in-my-toilet/778589/7 "2017-01-30T21:45:47Z")
What’s the iron content in your water? There are iron-oxidizing bacteria that form brown, red, or grey films. We get them all the time, they’re annoying but harmless. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-growing-in-my-toilet/778589/8 "2017-01-30T21:51:32Z")
Do you have diabetes, or perhaps non-diagnosed diabetes? Black or brown mold in a toilet can be the result of sugar in your urine. ---
**Author:** ![blood63](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@blood63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blood63)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-growing-in-my-toilet/778589/9 "2017-01-31T13:51:33Z")
> [@August\_West](#): > > What’s the iron content in your water? > > There are iron-oxidizing bacteria that form brown, red, or grey films. We get them all the time, they’re annoying but harmless. I have no idea. I live in the Great Lakes region. I assume I have hard water. ---
**Author:** ![blood63](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@blood63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blood63)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-growing-in-my-toilet/778589/11 "2017-01-31T15:09:21Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Do you have diabetes, or perhaps non-diagnosed diabetes? Black or brown mold in a toilet can be the result of sugar in your urine. I do not have diabetes. I do take celexa (antidepressant). ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-growing-in-my-toilet/778589/12 "2017-01-31T16:21:57Z")
> [@blood63](#): > > I have no idea. I live in the Great Lakes region. I assume I have hard water. How hard your water is depends not on your region, but on your very specific location. I live in the Great Lakes area as well and don’t have hard water, but can travel not that far and drink from a place that uses well water and has toilets that are all bright orange. There’s water tests kits you can get to test it yourself. If you’re on city water, you should be able to call them and find out. If you’re on well water, you can either buy a test kit or, I’d guess, bring a sample into your city and I’d bet they’d do it for free or a nominal charge. ---
**Author:** ![Alonzo\_John\_Blitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@Alonzo\_John\_Blitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alonzo_John_Blitz)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-growing-in-my-toilet/778589/13 "2017-01-31T18:38:10Z")
What does it taste like? ---
**Author:** ![SUZ\_MAC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e8cbc/32.png) [@SUZ\_MAC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SUZ_MAC)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-growing-in-my-toilet/778589/14 "2017-01-31T21:13:19Z")
In a word … Rover. It’s the absolute best thing for cleaning toilets that leave hard water rings and such. Just be sure to stand back after you’ve sprinkled it in both the bowl and the tank. The smell will knock you down !! The smell is temporary, but unbelievably potent. I also have this issue in both my toilets and my dishwasher. Works wonders.