Toilet seems to be spitting up, help?

November 5, 2019 11:21 PM

We have a toilet that gets super stinky and accumulates dark flecks on the underside of the seat and lid. Cleaning it temporarily removes the odor and the dark flecks, but they soon return. I believe nobody in the apartment is taking super-messy poops in there. We've cleaned it, gone away, and come back to find it dirty again. But I don't think it's backing up because we're on the fourth floor, the sink and tub drain fine, and we never see anything in the bowl. Help?
posted by meaty shoe puppet to Home & Garden (10 answers total)

My guess would be that it's some kind of mould although I don't know why it would keep coming back. Can you possibly just replace the seat and lid?
posted by crocomancer at 2:21 AM on November 6, 2019

Is it one of the thick, heavy seats made of some pressed wood product and painted? Something (mold or fungus?) hosted in the core and bleeding through the finish was my first thought.
posted by jon1270 at 3:27 AM on November 6, 2019 [2 favorites]

With the smell coming from ours, I eventually realized the slight discoloration of the white seat was actually some sort of mold/microbe. I replaced the seat and -voila- no more smell.
posted by intermod at 5:09 AM on November 6, 2019

The "we have a toilet" phrasing leads me to believe this is not your main toilet? Because I had a toilet like that -- the never-used toilet in the dog's bathroom, used only for flushing things found in the dog's potty. Anyway, I figured moisture inside the bowl, especially post-flush was causing mold to grow and since it was pretty much always closed because it was never used, this just created a warm moist environment. I leave the toilet seat up now 24/7 and there's been no more problem. Obviously that might not work if this is a toilet you actually use.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 5:15 AM on November 6, 2019

This used to happen in my old apartment, in a bathroom that wasn't the primary bathroom and that did not have adequate ventilation. It seemed to be a pernicious mold or mildew situation, if left alone for too long it would spread down into the bowl and the toilet water would develop a gross skin. Given some other issues with the toilet, like a slight leak and general jankiness, I suspect there may have been a problem originating in the toilet tank, but since I had two bathrooms and was moving out in a few months I just ended up flagging it for my landlord in my move-out paperwork. Since you're in an apartment, why not put in a maintenance request, and specify the level of filth you return to when the toilet has been unused for a time?
posted by palomar at 5:20 AM on November 6, 2019

Clean it as you normally would, then wipe it down thoroughly with a strong bleach solution.

If it returns, replace the toilet seat. If it returns after that, start to examine the humidity level in that room and reduce it.
posted by wenestvedt at 7:18 AM on November 6, 2019

The last time I bought a toilet seat at Home Depot (a couple of years ago), there was a model available for $5. I hate to advocate for sending something to the landfill, but I would probably start by replacing the seat if it was me.
posted by pinochiette at 7:49 AM on November 6, 2019

When this happens in my home it’s a sign my type-one diabetic stepson’s sugars are out of whack and causing black mold that springs up within a day or two of the toilet being cleaned. The same thing happened after my stepson moved out and it turned out my husband had undiagnosed type-two diabetes.
posted by _Mona_ at 11:09 AM on November 6, 2019 [1 favorite]

When you clean the actual toilet bowl are you getting up and underneath the rim? There are lots of little holes up there that allow water to come down the sides of the bowl when you flush. If you're not regularly scrubbing it out, you can grow big molds, pieces of which can get dislodged at every flush. If you have the seat down when you flush, some of the mold pieces can fly up a bit and get stuck to the seat and cover. Take a look under the rim by using a mirror and you may find your reason.
posted by quince at 12:15 PM on November 6, 2019

Seconding quince - get a toilet brush with an extra loop or an extra set of bristles that lets you reach the under-rim of the bowl.

I'm a huge fan of bleach pucks - I hate hate hate the blue ones, but they come in clear. Lysol brand is very good, 2000 Flushes is ok. The Walmart brand, especially blue ones, are absolute garbage.

Lift open the tank (an take a look inside to see if it's yucky, too - if it is, you can turn off the water main, drain the tank, then clean it out with bleach) lid and drop one in. Lasts a couple/ three months.
posted by porpoise at 2:38 PM on November 6, 2019 [1 favorite]