3 Reasons For Grey Sediment In Your Toilet Bowl!

By - Ron Singh

Updated -

Have you been seeing some grey sediment in your toilet bowl recently? You can’t stop worrying about what it’s and how it got to your toilet bowl, right? Worry no more.

You’re not alone. Nobody likes an unpleasant-looking toilet. That’s why this article will enlighten you on the causes of grey sediment in your toilet bowl and what you can do to eliminate it.

Several reasons may cause you to see grey sediment in your toilet bowl. Hard water, soap leftovers, bacteria, and unhygienic practices generally are the causes of grey sediment in your toilet bowl. One of these things may cause the grey sediment in your toilet bowl. If you notice the sediment in your toilet bowl, it’s good to eliminate it immediately.

What Causes Grey Sediment In Toilet Bowl?

Grey Sediment In Toilet Bowl

Grey sediment in the toilet bowl has many causes. If you’ve been seeing grey sediment in your toilet bowl, you should know that one among these is responsible for it.

#1. Hard Water

Hard water is the kind of water that has high levels of mineral contents dissolved in it, such as calcium and magnesium. Hard water is the one that runs in your tap.

Even though it is safe to drink hard water, apart from its unpleasant taste, hard water doesn’t affect your health.

However, hard water adversely affects the plumbing fixtures of your house. Hard water stains your plumbing appliances, such as the toilet bowl.

So, if you see grey sediments in your toilet bowl, it may be due to hard water stains.

The mineral in the hard water builds up in your toilet bowl, leaving behind a chalk-like residue, and that’s the grey sediment that appears and stains the toilet bowl.

#2. Bacteria 

Bacteria growth is one of the causes of grey sediment in your toilet bowl. One bacteria known as Serratia marcescens is the most common bacteria that causes a grey stain in the toilet bowl.

You can mostly find Serratia marcescens in damp environments. The reason is that; Serratia marcescens bacteria grows in areas where there’s always water, such as bathrooms, toilet bowls, bathtubs, showers, basins, and so on.

And also, Serratia marcescens grow in areas where there are materials that contain phosphorus and fatty acids.

For example, the soap contains fatty acids. So, if soap leftovers are in your toilet, Serratia marcescens will start growing on them. 

Serratia marcescens is very dangerous to your health. It causes severe infections in humans such as urinary tract infections, respiratory tract infections, tears ducts infections, and so on.

So, it would be best to eliminate the grey sediment the moment you see it in your toilet bowl to avoid sickness.

#3. Unhygienic Practices 

The toilet is one of the places in your house you use daily. Therefore, you must keep your toilet clean the same way you keep the room you sleep in clean.

Failure to clean your toilet frequently will give birth to many unwanted and unpleasant things. 

You won’t be comfortable using your toilet and won’t even want to allow visitors inside your toilet because of how dirty it looks. You can prevent such a situation.

Clean your toilet after bath, leaving no room for soap leftovers to sit around. Also, flush your toilet bowl well after defecating.

Bacteria also grow on leftover feces, and this will cause the buildup of grey sediment, which stains the toilet bowl. 

How Do You Get Rid Of Grey Sediment At The Bottom Of The Toilet?

After seeing grey sediment in your toilet bowl, the next thing that comes to mind is how to get rid of it.

Follow the instructions below to get rid of the grey stains in your toilet bowl:

  • Get an original toilet bowl cleaner, a toilet brush, and warm water.
  • Firstly, pour a small amount of warm water inside the toilet bowl so that it can soften the grey sediment.
  • Then, pour the cleaner inside the toilet bowl.
  • Use the toilet brush to scrub the toilet bowl well for some minutes. The scrubbing rate will depend on how thick the grey sediment stain in the toilet bowl is.
  • Pour warm water into the toilet bowl again. The water will help you wash away any remaining grey residue after scrubbing.
  • And lastly, fill the toilet bowl with clean water.

If the grey sediment has been in the toilet bowl for a long time, getting rid of the stains with a standard toilet cleaner and a standard brush will be challenging. 

So, if you cannot get rid of the grey sediment after following the above steps, follow the process below.

  • Get a bleach and dilute the bleach with water.
  • Pour a small amount of bleach water into the toilet bowl.
  • Use your toilet brush to scrub the toilet bowl very well. 
  • Pour more bleach water if needed and continue scrubbing until the stains remove entirely.
  • After you’re through with the scrubbing, allow the bleach water to sit inside the toilet bowl for about 15 minutes.
  • After 15 minutes, flush the bleach water and check if the grey sediment has washed away. 
  • If the stains persist, scrub the toilet bowl with more bleach water and your toilet brush.
  • And lastly, flush the bleach water and fill the washed toilet bowl with fresh water.

You can use several methods to eliminate the grey sediment in your toilet bowl. If the bleach water method doesn’t work for you, then try out the method below.

  • Get vinegar and baking soda.
  • Drain the water you met in the toilet bowl.
  • Pour a small amount of vinegar on the grey sediment stains. Scrub the toilet bowl gently with a soft sponge, and allow the vinegar to sit inside the toilet bowl for about 20 minutes.
  • Then, flush the vinegar.
  • Now, pour a small amount of vinegar inside the toilet bowl. 
  • Then, follow it by pouring baking soda into the toilet bowl.
  •  Use your toilet brush to mix the vinegar and baking soda, and as you’re mixing it, ensure that the mixture touches the entire stained area of the toilet bowl.
  • Allow the vinegar and baking soda mixture to sit inside the toilet bowl. 
  • Use your toilet brush to wash the toilet bowl well until the grey sediment stains remove totally.
  • Flush the vinegar and baking soda solution and fill the toilet bowl with fresh water.

Do you know that Coke is also a powerful cleaning solution? Apart from Coke’s primary purpose, which is its purpose as a soft drink, you can also use Coke to remove hard stains. 

Using Coke as a cleaning solution is possible because of the presence of Carbonic and Citric acid.

Cleaning products manufacturers use Citric acid and Carbonic acid when producing their products.

Therefore, you can use Coke to eliminate the grey sediment stains from your toilet bowl. To use it, follow the steps below;

  • Empty the water that’s inside your toilet bowl.
  • Pour a cup of Coke into the toilet bowl.
  • Allow the Coke to sit inside the toilet bowl for 10-15 minutes. 
  • Use your toilet brush to move the Coke around your toilet bowl while ensuring that the Coke touches the entire stained area.
  • Then, wash the toilet bowl with your toilet brush until the stains remove entirely.
  • Flush the Coke. Fill the toilet bowl with water and flush it again to ensure that the water inside the toilet bowl is fresh.
  • And lastly, fill the cleaned toilet bowl with fresh water.

Tips To Prevent Grey Sediment In Toilet Bowl

Since you’ve known the causes of grey sediment in your toilet bowl, it must be easy to prevent.

Therefore, below are the ways to prevent grey sediment from appearing in your toilet bowl;

  • Ensure that there are no soap leftovers inside the toilet bowl. If you wash your toilet bowl, or maybe you take your bath inside the toilet, ensure you get rid of any soap leftovers you see inside the toilet bowl. This action will prevent bacteria from growing inside the toilet bowl, and of course, it will also prevent grey sediment from being in your toilet bowl. In short, proper hygiene is essential.
  • If you don’t use your toilet frequently, ensure you flush it daily to prevent the buildup of hard water inside the toilet bowl. Or better still, drain the toilet bowl to avoid the water from staining the toilet bowl.
  • Remove hard water residue from your toilet bowl immediately you see it. 
  • Wash your toilet bowl with vinegar once a month. Don’t use vinegar frequently; it’s harsh and can damage your toilet bowl.

Sediment In Toilet Bowl After Flushing

Sediment stains your toilet bowl. And the stain mostly appears in two colors which are grey and pink.

So, if you’ve seen any stains at the bottom of your toilet bowl, check the table below to discover the causes;

Grey Sediment Pink Sediment 
Mineral contents from hard water often form a chalk-like residue that stains the toilet bowl. Remove hard water sediment once you see it in your toilet bowl.Some healthy water or water that runs in an old pipe contains iron. The iron residue can form pinkish sediment, which stains the toilet bowl.
Serratia marcescens is a water-borne bacteria that thrives in a moist environment. This bacteria can grow on leftover feces, creating a dark grey discoloration.Apart from faces, Serratia marcescens can also grow on leftover soaps that get into your toilet bowl and bring about a pinkish discoloration.
Improper hygiene can cause grey sediment to appear at the bottom of your toilet bowl.If you don’t use your toilet frequently, a pinkish coloration will appear at the bottom of the toilet bowl.

Conclusion 

Colored sediment stains the toilet bowl, and it makes your toilet look unpleasant. If the sediment stays in your toilet bowl for so long, it will lead to infections.

This article must have enlightened you on what causes the colored sediment. Ensure you follow the instructions above to remove any sediment from your toilet bowl. Always keep your toilet clean!

Sharing is caring! Spread The Love!

Why Trust Our Information

At Homeguideinfo.com, we are dedicated to delivering precise and trustworthy information. Our content is meticulously developed and validated by a panel of Expert Contributors, adhering to strict Editorial Guidelines. Our commitment is to ensure that you receive thoroughly researched and expertly crafted information.