It’s All Gone Down The Drain – HELP!!!
Getting Valuables Back From Down the Drain
Valuable items can vanish down the drain in the blink of an eye.
That beautiful wedding ring you took off to do the dishes?
An earring that slipped down the bathroom sink?
Panic sets in…. “Have I lost this forever?”
Well, with a little lady luck, you can retrieve your sunken item, with hopefully, no harm done.
Below Solutions Plumbing & Heating give you a few tips on how to get that gold back!
The Saving Grace of a P-trap. The first port of call when you spot that valuable slide away into the drain is to turn the tap off immediately. This will decrease the chance of whatever it is from getting carried all the way to the main stack, at which point it will drop into the sewer line and you will never see it again. If you stop the water in time, however, the item will likely remain in the trap under the sink where we can get at it.
To get your valuables back, you need to open up the trap. The exact procedure will vary depending on your specific drain plumbing, but some general principles apply, and the process shouldn’t be too difficult even for a relatively modest DIY-er.
First, set a bucket under the trap to catch any water that spills out. Most traps should only be hand tightened. Loosen the nuts, left to loosen, right to tighten, or Lefty Lucy, Righty Tighty, to help you remember.
From there you can pull the trap off the pipes and remove your lost item. This is also a good opportunity to clean the trap – they often get filled with gunk over time, which can potentially harbor harmful biofilm.
To put it all back together once you have your item back, all you need to do is put the drain plumbing back together the same way it came apart. Make sure all rubber washers are sitting correctly and there is no strain on the pipework. If you do not succeed on your own and need help retrieving a valuable item that washed down the drain, contact Solutions Plumbing & Heating on 07825268097.
