Water in trap of infrequently used toilet turns murky (brown) – there is no ‘blockage’ so why?
Sorry about this question! But we have some problems with the plumbing in a relative new house. One of them, is that the water in the trap of a toilet for a guest room that is infrequently used gradually turns a murky brown. The soil pipe has been checked for blockages by a professional… I can only assume it is caused by the fact that either a) it is a soil pipe shared with another toilet and there is some ‘return’ flow and/or b) some sort of emissions from the sewer is dissolving in the water….. any views?!
It’s called bacteria.Just because you don’t use it that often doesn’t mean it needn’t be cleaned.
we have the same problem but in two of the three bathrooms we have and my dad (a plumbing inspector for a large city) told us it was due to the non usage of the toilet combined with the chemicals used in the water. he also explained a cup of bleach once in a while in the bowl will keep the brown colors and murkiness from returning. we have done as he suggested and go in and flush the toilet twice a week or so and add new bleach and we have sparkling clean germ free toilets.
Irregardless of how clean you believe your water to be, their is ALWAYS and here is a short list: lichens, mold, bacteria, mosses, etc… When left alone for long enough these things will begin to grow, like any pond. My best suggestion is to use one of those toilet blue products and make a habit of flushing it every day at least once. If you like experiments try putting some tap water in a glass and leave it for a week. For faster growth leave it on top of the frig for the week. Not too long though or it will stink up the room.
Probable causes can include some form of backing up,usually from the main sewer.However,most loos that are little used tend to suffer from evaporation of the trap water,resulting in nasty niffs!Unless you want to start getting into tracing and dismantling scenarios,that can be both expensive and not always 100 per cent sucessful,i recomend the tried and tested method of flushing tht loo on a regular basis ie every couple of days.