Plumber to the Rescue

For anyone doing dishes or having a relaxing bath, watching something fall down the drain is their worst nightmare. Maybe you forgot to take your wedding ring off before scrubbing the tub, or an earring just happened to fall out while washing your face over the bathroom sink. Regardless of how it happens, strange things frequently end up falling into all sorts of drains.

If it ever happens to you, the first thing you’ll need to do is find a certified plumber to retrieve your lost valuables. You may feel inclined to look up ‘how to’ videos on YouTube or Google DIY options, but here’s why calling a plumber to help fix the situation is a far better idea than trying to shove your fingers into your kitchen sink.

Don’t Trust the Internet

So you’ve dropped something down the sink and immediately turned to the Internet for help on how to get it back. After a quick Google search, you come across something known as a P-trap, which seems pretty easy to undo and most probably caught your lost item. That’s what it’s for, right?

To an extent, yes, P-traps do catch things and more often than not a missing ring will be found lodged in this piece of piping under your sink. However, it is not as easy to remove and re-attach as the Internet may imply. Not only do P-traps capture large materials that fall down drains and prevent clogs, they also stop noxious sewer gasses from stinking up your home. So, if you try and dismantle the P-trap yourself, you could end up with a terrible, if not dangerous, smelling house. If you don’t re-seal the P-trap properly it could end up leaking or letting small amounts of gas diffuse into your home. If this ever happens, you will have to call a plumber to fix the problem anyway, so rather avoid any horrible smells or messy leaks by hiring a qualified technician to find your missing item, rather than having to re-do a botched DIY job.

Don’t Stick Your Hand into The Toilet

Yes, it has happened many times, and yes, it is awful. People think that toilet drains are quite large, and therefore easier to stick their hands into in order to retrieve lost items, but in reality, the drain becomes quite small once out of sight. Regardless of whether or not you just flushed and everything seems clean, if you can’t see your property at the bottom of the bowl don’t try bending your arm to get it, because getting stuck is both dangerous and embarrassing. Instead of ending up online, call a plumber to come and properly retrieve whatever you dropped down the toilet using specific instruments and even cameras, if necessary.

Of course, you shouldn’t stick your hand down any drain, even if it looks like you might just be able to reach your lost item. There are so many stories out there of people trying to retrieve missing valuables and having to call the Fire Department to cut them loose, or trying to DIY a retrieval job and ending up with giant puddles in their kitchen. Rather don’t risk it, and instead find a plumber to come and help you recover whatever it is that fell down the drain.