Flushing anything down the sink drain of the toilet other than toilet paper is an unfortunate thing to happen. Especially if the item is valuable, such as a wedding ring. Wedding rings have sentimental value for people, after all. But it can happen to anyone, even though it is rare. The most important thing to remember is not to panic.
There are ways to save your jewellery from being lost forever. With these handy tips, your valuables will be in their rightful place, not at the bottom of a drainpipe.
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?
Search the toilet bowl if you have just finished using the bathroom and notice that your jewellery has slipped off your finger. If you are fortunate, the ring will sit in the toilet bowl or at the bottom of the trap, and you can easily retrieve it using a wire or your protected hands.
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, you have flushed the toilet while the ring is inside the bowl. This is not an ideal situation, but all is not lost. You can still try to get your ring back. Following these steps carefully can save any item accidentally flushed down the toilet.
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
Wear durable rubber gloves to protect your hands. Access the trap located inside the bowl. The item is at the trap’s opening, where you can easily remove it. If it is not there, you may use a plumber’s snake.
Step 3
One of our other blogs can learn how to use a plumbing snake. Using an auger is easy if you know what you are doing and take the correct steps.
Carefully take your snake and feed it into the toilet drain opening. Once it hits the obstruction, turn the handle clockwise. Keep rotating the handle until you are sure it has come to some resistance. Turning the drill counterclockwise will remove the snake with the item attached.
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
Use your plumber’s snake and feed the auger through the floor drain pipe. Keep rotating the drill handle until you feel resistance. This means you have hit the flushed object, causing the obstruction. When you dislodge the item, you can proceed to the next stage.
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.
