# Why did my toilet seat turn blue? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 1, 2014, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilet-seat-turn-blue/706049 "2014-12-01T17:11:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilet-seat-turn-blue/706049/61 "2014-12-07T16:43:59Z")
I just took the sheets out of the washer and the blue did not come out. Dang. ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilet-seat-turn-blue/706049/62 "2014-12-07T17:44:24Z")
I’d have those jeans put to sleep. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilet-seat-turn-blue/706049/63 "2014-12-07T19:20:44Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I just took the sheets out of the washer and the blue did not come out. > > Dang. Girl, when you saw the blue didn’t come out in the wash, why did you put them in the dryer? Heat drying sets dye transfer. Your best hope is to soak the sheet in an ammonia combo that has a chance of getting it out. In your washer or a tub, soak the sheet in 4 quarts of warm water, 2 tsp detergent (any) and 4 tablespoons ammonia for a half hour and rinse through. Alternately, live w/ a sheet that looks to have an abstract of NASA’s Blue Marble photo on it and stop shopping at Walmart. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilet-seat-turn-blue/706049/64 "2014-12-07T21:58:21Z")
> [@Nawth\_Chucka](#): > > …Your best hope is to soak the sheet … Nope, I’m buying new sheets. It’s a good thing I put them in the drying, as it is by that means that I discovered my dryer is not working. The sheets were almost dry, so I just hung them up in the bathroom to finish drying. I thought about starting a thread seeking dryer advice, but emotionally I’m not up to it. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilet-seat-turn-blue/706049/65 "2014-12-07T22:22:03Z")
But on the plus side … SCIENCE. We now know through experimentation the actual answer to the question, rather than the bunch of WAGs across the nets. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilet-seat-turn-blue/706049/66 "2014-12-07T22:47:01Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Nope, I’m buying new sheets. What’s wrong with clean, blue sheets? ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilet-seat-turn-blue/706049/67 "2014-12-07T23:04:08Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > The Shroud of ThelmaLou. 😉 The Shroud of ThelmaBlou. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilet-seat-turn-blue/706049/68 "2014-12-07T23:47:43Z")
“Singin’ the Blues” takes on new meaning after this thread. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2014, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilet-seat-turn-blue/706049/69 "2014-12-08T00:10:23Z")
Well the cause was only figured out by followings Blue’s Clues. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2014, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilet-seat-turn-blue/706049/70 "2014-12-08T01:39:22Z")
A pooper bluepper figured out by a super snooper sleuther. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2014, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilet-seat-turn-blue/706049/71 "2014-12-08T01:49:46Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Nope, I’m buying new sheets. > > It’s a good thing I put them in the drying, as it is by that means that I discovered my dryer is not working. The sheets were almost dry, so I just hung them up in the bathroom to finish drying. > > I thought about starting a thread seeking dryer advice, but emotionally I’m not up to it. Animal shelters can always use sheets, blankets and towels. Maybe they’ll give it to a …blue heeler. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2014, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilet-seat-turn-blue/706049/72 "2014-12-08T16:09:18Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > The Shroud of ThelmaLou. 😉 For all we know, centuries from now Salvation might be determined by who can throw a “ringer” at 50 feet… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![thornyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/48db29/32.png) [@thornyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thornyrose)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilet-seat-turn-blue/706049/73 "2014-12-23T04:01:57Z")
This is not for the delicate stomachs. If you search around the net you might find the studies that put down agar plates in various places in bathrooms, [[includeing the toothbrushes’ bench]] to see how many microbes were spread around the rooms when the toilet is flushed. _cough_… the answer YERK. too many. we have moved the toothbrushes etc to the laundry. - this was taught to me by Infection Control in hospital where i was working.\* > [@DSeid](#): > > Again, _many_ toilet cleaning products have that blue dye agent and toilet water aerosolizes some upon flushing, settling on the seat some and some on surrounding areas. Sweat is acidic (down to a pH of 4.5 in some individuals under some circumstances) and acid makes toilet seats susceptible to staining. Cleansers on skin from the shower may also be abrasive enough to make an area of skin contact more stain susceptible. > > This is Straight Dope people … let’s reduce some ignorance! ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilet-seat-turn-blue/706049/74 "2014-12-23T05:17:29Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Anything I should be aware of when buying a toilet seat? IOW is there any way I can screw that up? It’s possible to crack the porcelain by overtightening the nuts…I’ve installed plenty of toilet seats with no problem though. Also, a typical residential toilet seat uses plastic mounting hardware now. There are toilet lids available that are designed to easily un-snap from the hinges for easy cleaning…I’ve only installed one of these, and it seems to loosen very easily with normal usage. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilet-seat-turn-blue/706049/75 "2014-12-23T18:50:52Z")
I would also suggest that besides getting rid of the jeans, that the OP also clean her legs with alcohol. The dye has clearly been transferred from the jeans to the OP’s skin and from there to the sheets and toilet seat. As I noted above, this dye is not water-soluble and can stay on the skin. Take some tissue and rubbing alcohol and you may be surprise to see how much blue comes off your legs. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2014, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilet-seat-turn-blue/706049/76 "2014-12-24T00:57:40Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times: that’s not what the Immaculate Conception refers to. Not to mention the color blue is usually associated with the Virgin Mary. (So it would fit in with the [Immaculate Conception](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immaculate_Conception) here, actually) ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2014, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilet-seat-turn-blue/706049/77 "2014-12-24T01:09:37Z")
Just wait 'till the wee hours of New Year’s morning, when you visit the loo only to find the toilet lid queasily singing at you “Am I Blue?” ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2014, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilet-seat-turn-blue/706049/78 "2014-12-24T13:23:09Z")
Just checked back in here-- didn’t realize there’d been more action. I installed a new toilet seat, got new sheets, and washed the jeans three times in hot hot water. I haven’t wiped myself off with rubbing alcohol, but I have showered and bathed numerous times since I last posted. The new toilet seat hasn’t turned blue …yet. I will give the old sheets to my vet. And they were very old sheets anyway. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilet-seat-turn-blue/706049.md?page=3)