It’s not ideal when something other than toilet paper ends up in the toilet. It’s even worse if it’s something valuable like a wedding ring, which holds a lot of sentimental value. This situation is uncommon, but it can happen to anyone. The key is to stay calm and not fret.
Don’t worry, there are tricks to rescue your jewellery from being lost down the drain. Follow these handy tips, and your precious items will be back with you instead of stuck in plumbing limbo.
Heavy jewellery, such as a wedding ring, may settle at the bottom of the trap if you are lucky enough not to flush the toilet straight after and from being completely flushed into the sewer.
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How Can You Retrieve Your Ring From The Toilet?
If you’ve just realised your jewellery has slipped off your finger in the bathroom, have a quick check in the toilet bowl. With any luck, your ring may still be there or sitting in the trap. In that case, you can use a wire or your gloved hands to retrieve it.
Rings and other valuables in a bathroom or kitchen sink are easily accessible from the toilet trap, the waste opening, or the cranny of a curved pipe. By disassembling the trap and components, you will find the ring inside. You can take it out, clean it, and carry on with your day.
You will be very fortunate if you locate your jewellery at the toilet drain opening or inside the trap. The first piece of advice would be not to use the toilet flush.
What happens if you flush a ring down the toilet?
A ring that is flushed down your toilet may be difficult to find. Accessing your sewer drain will take some time and a step-by-step process. The item will get pushed into the toilet drain because of the strong pressure of a toilet flush and the water.
Can you retrieve something that was flushed down the toilet?
In the worst-case scenario, you’ve flushed the toilet while your ring was still in there. It’s not the best situation, but don’t lose hope. There’s still a chance to get your ring back. Just carefully follow these steps, and you might be able to retrieve it.
Step 1
The first step is shutting off the toilet cistern’s water supply line. The toilet water supply is located behind or on the wall. Turn the shutoff valve clockwise, then drain the toilet tank and bowl using a container. Once the water is empty, proceed to the next step.
Step 2
Put on some durable rubber gloves to shield your hands, and then have a look at the trap inside the bowl. If the item is right there, you can simply take it out. If not, grab a plumber’s snake to help you along.
Step 3
You can learn how to use a plumbing snake from one of our other blogs. Once you’ve got the hang of it, using an auger is a breeze. Carefully feed your snake into the toilet drain. When you hit an obstruction, turn the handle clockwise. Keep going until you feel resistance, then turn the drill counterclockwise to retrieve the item.
You can move on to the next step if you still have not found the stuck item.
Step 4
If you still haven’t located your ring or other item using a drill, you can remove the toilet bowl by removing the plastic caps covering the bolts that hold the toilet onto the bathroom floor. Then, using a wrench, you can unscrew the bolts.
Once the bowl is loose, remove it and put it safely aside. Replace the toilet wax ring with a new wax ring whenever you remove the toilet. From there, you will be able to inspect the drain trap. If you still cannot locate the jewellery, further inspection is needed.
Step 5
Now, take your plumber’s snake and feed the auger through the floor drain pipe. Keep turning the handle until you come up against resistance—this likely indicates you’ve reached the flushed object. Once you’ve got it, you’re ready to move on to the next step.
Step 6
The first step is to prevent odours from escaping into your bathroom. You can place an old rag and fit it into your drainpipe. Then, find your property’s sewer line cleanout plug in the crawl space or basement.
Make sure to have a bucket placed below the plug to catch wastewater. By using a wrench, loosen the plug carefully by turning it counterclockwise. Wastewater should start to drain out into the bucket.
Empty the bucket when it fills up and drain the water until the cleanout is empty.
Step 7
Once the wastewater is drained, you can remove the sewer cleanout. You can then insert the auger through the sewer pipeline.
When you feel resistance, start turning the auger handle clockwise. You can then remove the snake and inspect whether any item has been unblocked.
If you don’t feel up to the job, you can always contact a professional plumbing team to clear your blocked drain and locate a lost ring, car keys or any other household item that may have been accidentally flushed down your toilet bowl.
For round-the-clock help, call the experts at Fixed Today.
