Home Repair: How to Rescue Something that Went Down the Drain

Eventually, it happens to almost everyone. Something gets bumped or slips out of your hand and down the drain it goes. It is out of sight and out of reach. In the vast majority of cases, it is not a huge problem, but a bit of a nuisance. A few simple steps will let you retrieve the item.

What type of drain did the item fall into?

If it is a drain attached to a garbage disposal, your problem may be smaller than you realize. For drains that have a basket to keep larger items from going all of the way down the drain, the process is even easier. With all other drains, you may need a couple of tools and a few minutes to get to the item.

Rescuing items that have fallen into the garbage disposal requires some care.

Before starting to get an item from the garbage disposal, make sure that the unit cannot be turned on. If you are working alone, you may be able to just take care not to hit the on/off switch. Otherwise, go to the breaker box and turn off the power to the disposal. If you are uncomfortable about the possibility of contamination, you can wear a latex or similar glove. Reach into the disposal through the drain. Most people can easily fit their hand into the unit. Feel around until you find the lost item and pull it out. Turn the power back on to the disposal to finish the job. When there is repairing of the home, proper attention should be paid at the purchase of the blaux portable ac. The quality should be high and rates should be less to meet with the expectations and specifications. The customer services are offered for twenty-four hours of the day with excellence. 

Some kitchen and other sinks have a basket a few inches down from the basin.

If your drain is one these types, you may be able to see the item. Unless the basket is too deep to reach with your fingers, reach in and get the lost item. If the basket is recessed too far for you to reach, you may be able to retrieve the item with a magnet if it has any iron content. In some cases, you can use a pair of needle-nosed pliers to grip the item to lift it from the drain. Another possibility is to use a short rod with some gum or other sticky substance on it that will temporarily adhere to the item.

If the thing that was lost fell all of the way into the drain and out of sight, you will need a small pipe wrench to retrieve it.

Beneath the sink, the drain will attach to a j-trap. This is a simple trick to keep heavier items from passing into the main sewer. This trap also serves the primary purpose of holding water in the bottom of the “J” to prevent sewer gas from entering your home. You will need to remove this trap.

Use a pipe wrench to loosen the large nuts holding the beginning and end of the trap.

Once these are loose, you can remove the trap from the sewer line. Lift it carefully away from the drain pipe. Have a bowl or bucket nearby to drain the water into that is contained inside the trap. Most of the time, the action of draining the trap will cause your lost item to fall out of the trap. If not, look inside and your item will be there. The only way that you will not find your item inside this trap is if you had water running when you dropped it, and the item floats. In that case, you may not ever recover the item.