TMI warning - toilet bowl question

[Janet1000]

Hi. Haven't been here in a while (I guess that's a good thing cause last year my DS was the center of my world

I am really good with my supplements. I'm a pill popping fiend every day. I eat well (I could do better as evidenced by the 13 lb bounce back). I'm healthy. Healthier than I've ever been, and all my comorbids are in check.

My issue is I noticed that my toilet, which is a nice, lovely ivory color that matches all the all other porcelain pieces in the bathroom, has a bowl that is grey. Even after scrubbing. Cleaning with a cleanser called The Works (which to those who are not aware, this cleanser might be able to burn the flesh off a cadaver) doesn't phase this grey. I think it's the iron in my stool.

First, how can I get my body to absorb more of this iron. I hate to see it flushed. I take 500 mg of C, broken in half, with my iron. I take my iron alone and way from other vits. And I don't do dairy, eggs, coffee, etc., etc. But my stool looks like I ate a battle ship.

Secondly, how to do I get that grey off my toilet bowl? Anyone else have this problem?

 

[brooklyngirl]

Not sure about the iron, but as far as the toilet cleaning- my husband bought a 3 pack of "the works" and I think it's the pits! I like Lysol or Clorox way better

 

[Sheanie]

I take Proferrin and have no stain in my shitter bowl. I also use those toilet kisses, I think Scrubbing Bubbles makes them? Little gel things you poop onto the bowl that eventually dissolve away. They really keep the smell down, and I've never had a stain issue.

I take that back, I lied. Our cottage had horrid stains in the bowls from iron IN THE WATER. I used a pummice stone that is made for this purpose. Worked beautifully, but you gotta get down and dirty personal with the stone in the bowl. I wore long sleeve gloves, FYI.

 

[chevtow]

Not sure about the iron, but as far as the toilet cleaning- my husband bought a 3 pack of "the works" and I think it's the pits! I like Lysol or Clorox way better

But Works Bombs are so much fun !

 

[southernlady]

Two DS'ers here, both of us take lots of iron. We don't have an issue with a grey toilet bowl. Could it be a reaction to your water?

 

[Munchkin]

If plain ol bleach doesn't work, go to the pool store and buy some muriatic acid. Open the windows, pour it in, and leave. Come back in a few hours and scrub. Leave it again for a while then come back and flush.

 

[bearmom]

If the shiny surface of the toilet hasn't had the glossiness removed from scrubbers or chemicals, my toilets all clean easily, and I do have iron laden poop after supplements.

One thing I would try, as it won't further abrade a surface but will bleach out any staining particles that are nestled into a porous surface, is Clorox clinging bleach gel. No other type or brand I've used has enough bleach (unless you make your own, which is a serious PITA). Coat the sides, and leave it for hours or over night, and shut the bathroom doors and leave the fans on or windows open.

 

[Janet1000]

If plain ol bleach doesn't work, go to the pool store and buy some muriatic acid. Open the windows, pour it in, and leave. Come back in a few hours and scrub. Leave it again for a while then come back and flush.

This caught my eye, cause it sounds dangerous and industrial... but I'm on septic tank. Think it's safe to flush that stuff down into the tank? I'll have to google this and read up on the product.

Thanks for the idea.

 

[Janet1000]

Two DS'ers here, both of us take lots of iron. We don't have an issue with a grey toilet bowl. Could it be a reaction to your water?

I've lived here 20 years and never had this happen. I've got hard water, and I do use a pumice stone once a year to scrub the calcium and other deposits off the bowel. It's definitely the stool.

I will do a pumice stone scrub. Maybe the hard water has built up deposits so the bowl is no longer slippery/smooth surface.

 

[Janet1000]

Wow, I'm the only one with a grey toilet... Awkward moment.

Thanks for the ideas on how to bring my toilet up to county code for human habitation.

 

[southernlady]

I've lived here 20 years and never had this happen. I've got hard water, and I do use a pumice stone once a year to scrub the calcium and other deposits off the bowel. It's definitely the stool.

I will do a pumice stone scrub. Maybe the hard water has built up deposits so the bowl is no longer slippery/smooth surface.

Janet, could be a combination of the hard water (minerals in the water) and the minerals you expel. See, we have soft water here. And that may make the difference right there. Plus scrubbing with a pumice stone may have taken enough of the enamel off the toilet to help "embrace the grey".

If you can't get it clean, either live with it or replace it with a newer model?

 

[Munchkin]

This caught my eye, cause it sounds dangerous and industrial... but I'm on septic tank. Think it's safe to flush that stuff down into the tank? I'll have to google this and read up on the product.

Thanks for the idea.

Neither this nor bleach are good for the bacteria that decompose what goes down the septic tank. However it is quite OK to do this and put in a box of Rid-ex a couple days later to restore the balance in your tank.

Dangerous, no. But the fumes are not good for anyone. Use it carefully. I put this stuff in the pool all the time and I have been known to use it in toilets and fish tanks. It obliterates hard water scale that forms at the water line.