Every once in a while you’ll hear a bizarre story of a ring that was accidentally flushed down the toilet. It happens more than you’d think and most stories don’t have a good ending.
In fact, my sister has an interesting story that involves a flushed engagement ring. During work, she would keep her ring in her pocket.
She thought she was being smart and taking good care of the ring, however, we know that items occasionally fall out of our pockets when we’re sitting down.
That’s exactly what happened. At the end of the day, she couldn’t find her ring and she retraced her steps.
They all led back to her time on the toilet and the strange clink of metal she heard when she stood up after using the toilet. Could it be that her ring was flushed down the toilet?
Unfortunately for her, she was on a ship. Her boss allowed her to empty a holding tank and sift through the waste. It was a stinky job, but after hours of going through poop, she left empty-handed.
Hopefully, you’re not on a ship when you flush your ring (or jewelry) down the toilet. If you’re at home there might be a way to retrieve your ring before it travels through the sewer pipes. In this article, I’ll share the necessary steps to retrieve a flushed ring from the toilet.
If the ring is precious, the steps will be more than worth it. If the ring doesn’t mean much, I wouldn’t recommend following all the steps below.
9 Recovery Tips – Help! I Flushed My Ring Down The Toilet
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Don’t Flush The Toilet Again
This may seem like common sense, but it’s extremely important the toilet isn’t flushed a second time. Each flush will push the ring or jewelry farther down the pipes, but your goal is to keep it from going any further.
If you’re lucky, the ring won’t escape the toilet bowl, even after being flushed.
Although you probably wouldn’t make the mistake, there may be other people in the house who use the toilet. Put a sign, or verbally tell your family to avoid the toilet while you do some sleuthing.
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Turn The Water To The Toilet Off
Another actionable step to take is to turn off the water to the toilet tank. Doing so will ensure the tank isn’t filled again. While you’re looking for your ring or jewelry, you will want to remove as much water as possible. Less water means less mess to clean up later.
Turning the water off will also prevent others from flushing the toilet in case they forget.
To turn the water off, find the valve that connects the water from the wall to the toilet. It’s usually behind the toilet. Turn it to the right to close the valve (don’t forget to turn it on after you’re finished).
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Stick Your Head Near The Toilet Bowl and Look Around
If the ring didn’t leave the bowl it’s your lucky day. If you’re looking down into the bowl it’s hard to view the back area. Move to your knees to get a better angle. A flashlight can also be of big help.
If you don’t see the ring in the bowl, there are still other options but they require more work.
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Find A Wet and Dry Vacuum
A wet/dry vacuum will help your efforts and will suck up the water in the bowl and tank. It might even suck up your jewelry then it can be recovered from the vacuum.
If you don’t have a wet/dry vacuum ask a neighbor (someone in your area has one). If you can’t borrow one you’ll have to work a little harder and use towels and sponges to soak up as much water as possible.
Removing water from the tank and bowl will make the toilet easier to remove and it will make less of a mess.
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Remove The Toilet
Removing the toilet may seem intimidating, but it’s an easy DIY task with 2 steps. First, unscrew the water line to the tank (make sure the valve is off first).
Second, find the two bolts located on either side of the toilet (sometimes they have caps on top that need to be removed). Using a wrench, the bolts can be removed.
From here, the toilet can be removed in 2 ways. If you have a 2-piece toilet the tank can be unscrewed from the bowl. This makes moving the toilet much easier.
If you have a 1-piece toilet the tank and bowl will have to move together.
When you’re ready, simply pull up on the bowl. It may feel stuck but that’s because it’s connected to a wax ring (learn more about replacing the wax ring when you re-install). Move the toilet away from the flange and have old towels ready to clean up any water that spills out.
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Shake The Toilet Once It’s Removed
Ideally, the ring will still be inside the toilet. Shake the toilet bowl and listen for the sound of a ring (metal sound against porcelain).
You can also gently lay the bowl on its side and look around with a flashlight.
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Get A Flashlight And Look Down The Flange In The Floor
It’s not your lucky day if the jewelry has left the toilet. You’ll need to focus your attention on the flange in the floor.
Use a flashlight to look down in the pipe. Do you see anything? If so, you can bend a clothes hanger to reach down and pluck the ring from inside the pipe.
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Still Nothing? Call A Plumber And Ask Them To Bring Their Pipe Camera
If you don’t see anything, there is still hope. Plumbers have a tool that allows them to put a camera in the pipe. These are normally used to identify blockages, however, they also work great for finding valuables accidentally flushed down the toilet.
Plumbers can do impressive things, so just because you can find your ring it doesn’t mean your plumber won’t either.
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Start Removing Pipes Under The House (Consult Plumber First)
As a last resort, your plumber can begin to remove pipes from under the house. This will be expensive and it could do damage to your foundation (depends on the type of house).
A plumber will be able to assess your pipe system and come up with the best strategy. If the ring is important, it can likely be found!
Conclusion
You flushed your ring down the toilet, help! It may seem like a nightmare, but it happens all the time. It even happened to my family member.
When a toilet disaster strikes, know that there’s still hope. If you’re at home, you’ll likely be able to recover your jewelry, however, you may need to remove the toilet to retrieve the item.
First, you’ll want to turn the water off to your tank and make sure you don’t flush the toilet again. It sounds obvious, but another family member might walk into the bathroom and unknowingly flush the toilet. Each time the toilet is flushed, the ring will be pushed further down the pipes.
After removing as much water from the bowl as possible (with wet/dry vacuum or towel), peer into the bowl with a flashlight to see if the ring remained in the bowl. If not, you’ll want to remove the toilet.
Once you’ve removed the toilet, give it a shake to see if you hear anything in the bowl. If so, it might be your missing ring.
If not, you’ll want to use a flashlight to look down the flange. If you’re not having any luck, it’s best to call an expert to look into the pipes with a camera. A plumber will be able to assess your plumbing and they will have a good idea as to where the jewelry has settled.
We rarely have any problems with our toilets but when we do it’s usually a big one and a stinky one. It’s too bad you lost your jewelry, but know there’s hope! Follow these tips and with a little luck, you’ll find your missing treasure.
Thanks for reading another Toilet Travels article. Check the blog to find more helpful toilet tips.