Seeing the ugly yellow stains on the toilet seats is irritating and disgusting. In that case, regular cleaning is the ultimate solution to remove the dirt and stubborn stains. Generally, you may clean your toilet with Bleach. But what if the toilet seat turned yellow after bleaching?
The only solution to remove these yellow stains is repainting your toilet bowl and seat. For this, you have to use an epoxy side primer to cover the yellow stains. It’ll be better if you apply two coats, the first coat will cover the stains, and the second coat will make your toilet shine.
Get in touch with us to know the exact procedure to prevent toilet seat yellowing and how to remove it once it occurs. Here we’ll also cover some frequently asked questions that people want to know about their toilet.
Table of Contents
Toilet Seat Turned Yellow After Bleaching, Why?
It’s mandatory to know the reasons for toilet stains. Otherwise, it’s difficult to solve the problems without knowing the causes. Let’s determine why Bleach leaves yellow bleach stains on the toilet seat, and what to do to prevent skid marks in the toilet.
Bleach is a complex and hard acidic chemical, and its nature is burning. So it removes the color and resulting discoloration for improper or excessive use.
If you follow the guidelines, it may not leave such stains on your toilet seat. But once it turns yellow after bleaching, such discoloration is permanent. And there is no other chemical that can remove those stains of discoloration and turn them as before.
But to avoid those yellow stains on your toilet seat, you may follow these four preventive steps.
- Don’t use regular chlorine bleach.
- Make your bleach solution thin for the plastic-built toilet seat.
- Don’t mix it with any other chemical stuff.
- Don’t leave your toilet for a long time to soak in the solution.
How to Paint a Toilet Seat?
If you follow these preventive steps, your toilet seat won’t turn yellow. But, if it has already turned yellow, Either you may change the toilet or repaint. However, repainting is less expensive than changing and it will help to hide those ugly stains from people’s eyesight. That’s why we will tell you the entire step by step guideline to repaint your toilet. But you have to collect some tools to repaint your toilet.
The things you will need
- Fine-grit sandpaper
- Painter’s tape
- Disinfectant cleaner
- Dropcloth
- Scrub brush
- Sponge
- Utility knife (optional)
- Spray primer
- Spray paint
Step 1 – Clean the toilet
First, wear hand gloves and a facemask to cover your hand and mouth. Though the toilet is already turned yellow, you have to clean it with disinfecting cleaner to avoid germ contamination. Spray the solution to the toilet, wait for 15 minutes, scrub the toilet with a scrubbing brush, and rinse it with clean water.
Step 2 – Uninstall the toilet
You have to uninstall the toilet by removing the toilet nuts and bolts and laying them on the dropcloth.
So it’ll not get a direct touch on your toilet floor. As a result, the toilet floor won’t get messy using primer and painting. If possible, do it outdoors, or open your toilet ventilated window.
Step 3 – Tape the space where you don’t use primer
If you don’t want to paint the entire toilet, you have to cover the space (like toilet hinge) with painter tape. If you find it challenging to apply the painter tape in any small space, wrap that area with regular tape and trim off the extra tape with a knife.
Step 4 – Sand the toilet
Next, you should sand the toilet with fine-grit sandpaper to remove the yellow stains as much as possible. Otherwise, the primer and paint won’t be permanent.
Step 5 – Toilet wiping
Wipe the toilet with a damp sponge to remove the sanded particles. Now, pick the spray primer container and vigorously shake it for mixing. You have to choose the primer according to your toilet material. Generally, primer helps to bond the paint with the toilet.
Step 6 – Primer application
After drying the toilet, spray the primer over the exposed areas from different angles by following a light and sweeping motion. As a result, there will be no chance to leave any space without using the primer.
Step 7 – Opposite side primer application
After that, wait until the primer dries and go to the next step. Then turn the toilet to the other side and follow step 6 to apply the primer to this section.
Step 8 – Painter application
When the entire toilet primer dries, pick the painter container and shake it to mix the paint. And by following the same process that how you use primer, use the painter. First, coat one layer and after drying it coat the second layer.
Step 9 – Reinstall the toilet
Finally, when the paint dries, release the tape and reinstall the toilet. When reinstalling, do it carefully. Otherwise, the harsh handling may scratch the new paint of the toilet.
That’s the entire process of toilet repainting. But, if you are not confident to complete the process, we’ll suggest seeking help from a professional plumber to do it.
What Causes Yellow Stains On The Toilet Seat Without Bleaching?
Wherever the place is, it would be home or office. Yellow stains on the toilet seat are widespread. There are many things except bleaching, which causes yellow stains on the toilet seat.
This portion will inform you about those things that cause yellow stains on the toilet seats except bleaching.
Urine Staining
Urine staining is prevalent to leave yellow marks around the toilet seat. It occurs when you leave your toilet uncleaned for a long time. The stain became more visible and seemed more terrible and nasty as time passed.
So regular washing and cleaning of your toilet bowl and seat is the primary way if you don’t want to cause urine stains.
Sunlight
It sounds slightly surprising that sunlight can cause yellow stains on the toilet seat. Such stains are the cause of sun burning. If your toilet gets direct sunlight, such burning stains can occur.
So you always have to keep your toilet door closed or change the direction of your toilet seat if you don’t want to see any further sunlight burning marks on your toilet seat.
Hard Water
You may think, how can water cause yellow marks? Okay then. It is the hard water that causes such marks on the seat.
Hard water is a kind of mineral water that contains so many minerals like magnesium, iron, calcium with some impurities. So as long as you use this water to clean or even for a flash, it ultimately causes yellow stains on the toilet seat.
So, better to use soft water to clean your toilet stuff.
How To Remove Yellow Stains From Toilet Seats?
Removing yellow stains from the toilet seat mainly depends upon the causes of such stains. It is quite impossible to recover the toilet seat like new, but it can be cleaned.
What if it is not for bleaching, either for other reasons like Hard water, Sunlight burning, Urine strains, and so on? Then you can get rid of those stains by following some methods. Let’s learn 5 easy and simple strategies.
Method 1 – Bleach soaking
Are you surprised? Don’t be. Believe it or not, Bleach is one of the best household appliances to clean things. So to remove such awful stains, soaking in Bleach is one of the best options. But you have to follow the instructions for bleach stained toilet seat.
- First, remove the toilet seat and soak it in the bleach solution for 10-15 minutes.
- Now, keep scrubbing until the stains are removed with a bristle brush.
- Then rinse the seat thoroughly from all corners and then fix it.
NOTE: Try not to soak for more than 10-15 minutes. Otherwise, the Bleach itself may cause yellow stains.
Method 2 – Baking Soda
Baking soda is another ingredient used for stain removal. So how to remove yellow stains from the toilet seat with baking soda, you may follow some steps.
- First, you need to make baking soda paste with warm water.
- Then coat it upon the stains.
- Now, wait for around 30 minutes.
- Then scrub with a brush or scratch-free sponge.
- Finally, wash with soft water.
Method 3 – White Vinegar
Here, white vinegar is another acidic home stuff that is used to clean and remove stains from the bathroom floor and toilet. So to free your toilet seat from stains, you can follow the steps.
- First, make a white vinegar paste and spread it all over the stained area.
- Now, wait for around 1 hour.
- Then take your toilet brush and scrub the seat until it gets cleaned.
- Then pour soft water over it and rinse it. All done.
Method 4 – Coke
There is nothing to be surprised about hearing about coke. Because coke contains Phosphoric acid, that’s why you can also use this soft drink item to remove the yellow stains from a toilet seat.
- First, pour a bottle of coke into a bowl or container and take a towel or a cotton cloth to dip it into the coke.
- Now keep the towel on the stains.
- Leave it for around 1 hour.
- Then remove the towel.
- Lastly, scrub the stained area with a brush or sponge until clean.
- At last, rinse the stained loosen particles to clean the toilet.
Method 5 – Lemon Juice
Lemon juice is another acidic item that can remove such yellow stains from the toilet seat. To clean the stains with lemon juice, you should follow some instructions.
- First, mix a cup of lemon juice with some drops of any cleaner oil like tea tree oil, lavender or pine oil, etc.
- Now pour the mixture into a spray bottle.
- Then spray the mix all over the toilet seat, mainly on the stains and leave it for 15-20 minutes.
- Now rinse the whole seat with clean water and dry it. That’s all.
There are so many other ways you may find to remove the yellow stains from a toilet seat. You may try them also. But as we mentioned before, if you are sure that such stains are the effect of bleaching, you should repaint them. Because they are not the stains, instead they are discoloration of your toilet seat.
FAQ
Does The Built Material Of The Toilet Seat Be A Reason For Yellow Stains?
Yes, another reason for such yellow stains of discoloration is the built material of the toilet seat. If the seats are made of plastic and porcelain-enameled, plastic toilet seat yellowing is a must after bleaching. In that case, you have to either repaint it or change it. But you can remove those stains if they cause other reasons, not bleaching.
On the other hand, those toilet seats made of direct porcelain and fireclay have less possibility to leave any yellow stains even after bleaching. However, before using Bleach, try to follow the instructions.
Which toilet seats are yellow stains-free?
There are no such toilet seats that are stains-free. Regular use of it must leave some stains. However, porcelain and fireclay-made toilet seats are bleaching stains-free. But still, you have to follow the precautions. Try to avoid plastic-built seats.
Is the toilet seat discoloration for bleaching permanent?
Yes, such discoloration for bleaching is permanent. So you have to be more careful when using bleach on your toilet bowl, seat, and other areas.
Final Words-Why Is My Toilet Seat Turning Yellow
Here, we have tried to describe reasons and solutions about; toilet seat turned yellow after bleaching. Although Bleach turns the toilet seat yellow, it is the ultimate cleaner. So to avoid your toilet seat discoloration for bleaching, follow the preventive steps mentioned above. Otherwise, once your toilet seat turns yellow after bleaching, there is no way out without repainting.
And if such discoloration is the result of other causes (hard water, sunlight, urine staining), regular cleaning following proper cleaning instructions on how to remove bleach stains from toilet seat.