What Causes Black Mold to Grow in a Toilet Water Tank?

The next time you see black mold in your toilet bowl or toilet tank, don't think it's some alien life form coming to take over your bathroom. Although black mold likes to grow in dark and humid areas, and a toilet tank is the perfect breeding ground, black mold is easy to clean up. You most likely already have the weapon that will defeat the mold right in your cleaning arsenal.

There are a couple of reasons why your toilet can become a breeding ground for mold. Mold is a fungus, and, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), mold likes to grow in places with a lot of moisture. Black mold can grow in your toilet if it hasn't been used for a couple of days or if a little bit of waste is left in the bowl. Also, since mold likes to grow in dark and humid areas, you can often find black mold in your toilet bowl and your toilet tank.

Although mold is unsightly and no one ever wants it in their house, if you have black mold in your toilet, it's relatively easy to get rid of, even without using harsh chemicals. Even though it's easy to get rid of, you don't want black mold sitting in your toilet for long. Mold can be a hazard to your health, even if you are in the healthiest of conditions. According to the CDC, exposure to mold can lead to a stuffy nose, wheezing, red or itchy eyes and skin, hay fever, and shortness of breath.

Before you start cleaning black mold out of your toilet bowl or toilet tank, you need to equip yourself with the right cleaning gear. Wear an N95 face mask, long gloves, and goggles to avoid getting mold spores in your eyes. The best natural solution to rid your toilet of black mold is white vinegar. You can put the vinegar right in a spray bottle. Here's how to get rid of black mold in a toilet:

1. Spray white vinegar inside the bowl and let it sit for a minute.
   
2. After you let the vinegar sit, use a toilet bowl scrubber to scrub the black ring off.
3. Repeat these steps until you get rid of the black ring.
4. When the black ring is gone, flush the toilet a couple of times to ensure that the vinegar is gone.

After you clean the bowl, you should clean the tank. Here's how:

1. Pour a cup of bleach into the tank and let it sit for 20 to 30 minutes. If you have black mold in the tank, scrub the tank walls, but be careful to steer away from the tank's parts.
2. After the black mold is gone, flush the toilet and dispose of the gloves and brush so there aren't any lingering mold spores.

The best way to stop black mold is prevention. One recommended method is to purchase preventive tablets to put in your tank. A preventive tablet sits in the tank, and every time you flush, it will release a little of its chemicals into each flush. This will keep your toilet clean of any grime and black mold.