How to Retrieve an Item Dropped Down the Sink Drain – Part 1

Maintenance, Plumbing | August 22, 2009 by Bob Jackson | 8 Comments

Small and sometimes expensive items are easily washed down the sink drain. Metallic items like jewelry will sink and can usually be retrieved from the plumbing drain trap under the sink. Be sure to turn off the water immediately to minimize any chance of the item getting flushed into the main sewer line. Disassembling a P-trap to recover a lost item is simple. This job took less than 15 minutes when my daughter lost an earring in the bathroom sink and required no tools.

Earring lost in the Sink Drain

The steps shown here also apply to unclogging a sink.

Bathroom Sink Plumbing: P-Trap and J-Bend

A lost item will normally sink to the bottom of the J-bend in the P-trap. The purpose of the the P-trap is to maintain a water seal to prevent sewer gases from wafting out of the sink drain. It’s called a P-trap because it looks like the letter P.

Bathroom Sink Plumbing: P-Trap and J-Bend

Removing a J-Bend

Place a bucket under the J-Bend to catch the water.

Bucket under the P-Trap

Unscrew the slip nut at the J-Bend. Remember, lefty-loosey righty-tighty. No tools are required.

Unscrew the Slip Nut at the J-Bend

A nylon washer is under the slip nut. Let the slip nut rest loosely when fully unscrewed.

P-Trap - Slip Nut and Washer

Unscrew the slip nut at the other side of the J-Bend.

Bathroom sink - J-Bend Slip Nut

Slide the slip nut up and out of the way on to the horizontal section of the P-trap as shown. I’m supporting the J-Bend with my hand here as it’s ready to drop down.

Bathroom Sink: Removing the J-Bend

Well – what do you know? The earring didn’t sink to the bottom of the sink trap because it got tangled in a bunch of hair first (yuck!).

Bathroom Sink P-Trap: J-Bend and lost Earring

Lost earring retrieved from the sink drain.

Earring Retrieved from the P-Trap

This repair is continued in Part 2.

Take care,

Bob Jackson

Tags: ball rod, ball rod retaining nut, bathroom sink, diassemble, drain pipe, drain T, drain trap, gasket, get lost item in drain, how to remove hair clog in drain, how to rescue item from sink drain, how to retrieve a ring from the sink drain, how to retrieve an earring from the sink drain, How to Retrieve an Item Dropped Down the Sink Drain, how to take apart a sink drain, how to unclog a sink, inspection and repair, instructions, j-bend, lavatory drain, lost item in drain, lost jewelry in sink drain, lost jewerly in the sink drain, P-trap, pivot rod, Plumbing, pop-up drain, PVC, removing jewelry from the drain, sink plunger, sink stopper, slip nut, spring clip, step by step, u-bend pipe

« How to Diagnose and Repair a Broken Lawnmower Fuel Line – Part 4

How to Retrieve an Item Dropped Down the Sink Drain – Part 2 »

8 Responses to “How to Retrieve an Item Dropped Down the Sink Drain – Part 1”

tim
October 24, 2009 at 8:35 pm #

you are a god!!! keep up the good work
Anneurock@msn.com
February 10, 2011 at 11:02 pm #

Hi,I dropped a exoensive earing down the sink,not knowing it,the water drains slow even when sink has water in it,what are the chances the earing is still in the elbow??Thanks Anne
Bob Jackson
February 11, 2011 at 12:15 am #

The odds the earring are in the U-bend are excellent. It only takes a few minutes to disassemble the trap, so why wait?
Rose
February 15, 2011 at 4:58 pm #

Thank you so much! I have never worked with plumbing and I was able to retrieve my earring without problem. The photos are excellent. Well done.
Nicole Z.
May 13, 2011 at 1:23 pm #

Thank you so much for this awesome tutorial! I was just able to retrieve my diamond earring from the j-bend. Thank you! Thank you! The photos were excellent…btw.
Marcia M.
May 16, 2011 at 11:50 am #

Thank you so much! The instructions and photos were very easy to follow and I retrieved my earring! Thanks again!
Kelly
January 2, 2012 at 9:21 pm #

thank you, this worked like a charm and I have never done any plumbing work before, thank you!