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You did the right thing... trying the simple, quick and easy
way first. Often the best approach to problems is to use the "escalation
of aggression" method, which is basic: start with the
easy things and progress to the more serious remedies. With a
lot of experience you begin to know when to skip certain steps
and jump right to the heavy artillery.
If you did anything
incorrect, it might be: using the wrong auger.
There is a tool called a
toilet auger (or a toilet snake), that has a long hollow steel
handle with a curve at the end. The curved part is covered
with plastic or rubber, and the flexible auger part begins
down stream from the curve. The idea is to keep the moving
metal parts away from the visible parts of the toilet bowl.
Using an ordinary plumbing
snake or steel auger in a toilet will almost always leave
black marks where the metal scrapes against the vitreous china
surface. You'll also see similar black marks whenever you
scrape an aluminum object across most any surface, like a
painted wall for instance. I understand that what is happening
is a tiny amount of metal is being scraped off and deposited
on the surface, and this oxidizes right away, leaving a black
mark. Years ago I did exactly what you did, and left a bunch
of black marks in the toilet. I recall that some of the marks
went away after a few years.
I'm not sure if this will
work, but I would try this easy step first: use a rust remover
chemical, the kind that's meant for cleaning hard water
deposits, and see if that works. There are many different
products on the market, such as CLR and Zap, which are two
products I use. These are strong acids, so be careful. If you
splash them in your eyes you'll really hate it, and they'll
make your skin burn if you don't wear rubber gloves. They
won't hurt a normal toilet.
I would try shutting off the
water to the toilet, flushing the thing and then using a
plunger to shove more water down the drain. Next I would use a
rag or sponge to soak up the last bit of water in the bowl.
Then I would apply the acid chemical, using a plastic-bristle
brush or one of those plastic pot scrubber pads. These
chemicals take a little time, so let them sit for five minutes
or so. Whatever you do, don't try mixing these acids with
chlorine bleach, or you'll get chlorine gas, which is rather
toxic. And keep an eye on your 2-year-old while you're doing
this!
This is also a good time to
do some extreme cleaning on the rest of the toilet bowl. With
the water gone from the bowl you can clean more effectively
since the chemistry isn't being diluted. Clean under the rim
and everything, and your wife will probably put a gold star
beside your name.
Bruce W. Maki, Editor.
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