Pink Slime in Your Bathroom?
The Basic Home Maintenance Series
Pink Slime in your bathroom? Here is an easy solution!
How often? As Needed
When? All Year Round
Estimated Cost? < $1.00
Time Commitment? 1/2 Hour
It’s a potential health hazard. Get rid of it ASAP!
Ever notice red or pink slime forming inside your toilet or on your shower walls? It’s a bacterium called Serratia marcescens. Serratia marcescens is a bacillus that occurs naturally in soil and water and produces a red pigment at room temperature.
This bacterium has been known to cause pneumonia, wound infections and urinary tract infections in hospital settings, so it’s important to get rid of it.
Chlorine in city water helps prevent it, but if you have an activated charcoal filter, you’re removing the chlorine. Water from a private wells has no chlorine.
Stains are easy to remove with a general-purpose cleaner containing chlorine bleach. You can also add 1/4 cup of bleach to your toilet tank, let it sit for 20 minutes, and then flush the toilet a few times to remove all the bleach. If Serratia marcescens is in your tank, add bleach to your tank, but make sure to flush the tank several times as the chlorine in the bleach can damage rubber valves and seals.
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