It’s almost everyone’s nightmare: you’re washing your hands, leaning over the sink, and suddenly you hear a heart-breaking clink. You look down just in time to see your wedding band fall into the drain. The heartbreak is even worse if the ring was a family heirloom. Or maybe you set your gold chain next to the faucet and it slipped down the same drain. What do you do then?

How to recover jewelry from the drain

If the inevitable happens to you, the first thing you need to do is turn off the water. If you’re lucky, you might be able to catch your jewelry right before it slips down the drain.

If it does slip into the drain, don’t worry –– not all hope is lost.

One common trick is using a magnet. The magnetic pull can bring your special item right to the palm of your hands. Unfortunately, depending on the distance and the strength of the magnet available to you, this may not work for you. It can also be challenging making a magnet fit in a drain hole, if not impossible.

If the magnet trick doesn’t work, the next thing you can try is sliding down something you can hook to your ring or chain or whatever the case might be. To make the process easier, you might want to use a flashlight and shine some light so that you can see where you are going and where your jewelry is.

Disassembling pipes

This is something not many people want to do –– and in fact, many are willing to just let the ring go.

But sentimental value –– not to mention money –– can make people do things they otherwise wouldn’t do, such as disassemble drain pipes. And while temporarily removing a P-trap is not as hard as it sounds, it does take some skill and careful attention to detail –– otherwise you might be left without a sink.

If your jewelry fell down the kitchen sink, things might be even more daunting. How do you go about removing a garbage disposal? While that is also easier than it sounds, some things are just better left for the professionals

Call a plumber

If you want to play safe and the magnet trick didn’t work, maybe don’t message your sewage system and just call a plumber. They can help you retrieved precious jewelry without damaging your sink infrastructure.

Preferred Plumbing & Rooter has a staff of dedicated plumbers ready to come to your rescue. Give them a call today: (877) 298-8105