What are Those Pink Stains on My Toilet Bowl?
If you’re seeing pink stains in your bathroom, don’t worry. This is a common problem it’s not caused by water quality. Pink stains in bathtubs, toilets, and showers are caused by a bacteria called Serratia marcescens, which is found naturally in the environment. This bacteria is airborne and finds a home on moist surfaces.
Why Does This Happen?
Customers occasionally contact us about pink stains or residues that develop in moist areas of their homes. This is generally observed in toilet bowls, around sink and tub drains, on shower curtains and other shower surfaces, and even in pet water dishes. Customers naturally want to know if there is something wrong with their water.
Is This Dangerous?
Don’t worry, having a pink residue is not harmful or a problem with your water quality. Serratia Marcescens is the common bacteria that causes this.
Besides soil, mulch, dust, and surface waters, these bacteria exist universally, but they flourish in damp and phosphate-rich surroundings. It is more common for people to experience this problem during the summer when temperatures and humidity are higher, and especially when windows are kept open for a long period of time.
In chlorinated drinking water, Serratia cannot survive. Yet, when residual chlorine disinfectant dissipates due to prolonged water exposure in a guest bathroom toilet, it can cause a pink color to appear.
Moreover, water conditioners and whole home water systems with activated carbon filters do eliminate chlorine, increasing the likelihood of this happening due to chlorine removal.
How Do I Get Rid of the Stains?
To control Serratia, regular and thorough cleaning, followed by disinfection with chlorine bleach, is the best method.
Dry bathtubs, shower walls, curtains, and drains, then spray or mist with a disinfectant such as bleach.
The first solution is to clean the toilet bowl regularly. For longer lasting results, add 14.5 cups of bleach to the toilet tank, the let it stand for 15–20 minutes. After waiting, then flush it again to completely rinse the disinfectant. The bleach will damage the rubber seals and valves in the toilet tank if it remains for an extended period of time.
When using abrasives, be careful not to scratch surfaces or fixtures, which could lead to bacterial growth.
You can clean pet water bowls by soaking them in a bleach solution for 15–20 minutes, followed by thorough rinsing.
Finding the Right System
Getting the right system includes testing your water to understand what’s in it. Keep in mind a water conditioner addresses the hardness of the water, it does not necessarily remove all the contaminants to ensure it is ideal for drinking.
Purity Bay specializes in a wide range of home water solutions, including water softeners, reverse-osmosis systems, whole home water filtration systems and anything in between. Whether you need help selecting a water system or servicing an existing system, our experienced teams in Tampa, Florida and El Paso, Texas can help you out!
