Home Drain Dilemma – What to Do if you Drop an Earring Down the Drain?

Did you ever drop anything down the drain? Don’t worry, it’s not lost forever. Keep reading to find out how you can retrieve anything including your earring that you dropped down the drain!

Photo: Apartment Therapy

If you have removed your earrings, and left them on the side of the sink as you wash your face, it’s all too easy for one, or both, of them to end up falling down the drain. All it takes is for you to knock the earring accidentally, and not be quick enough to stop it from falling.

If this happens to you the most important thing to remember is that you should immediately switch off the tap, if it’s running. If you do not do this the earring could be washed so far down the drain that it cannot be retrieved. Once the tap is turned off, you need to set about getting your earring back. If you do not feel confident about doing this yourself, you can click this link to find out about getting professional help. If you want to give retrieval a try, here is what you need to do.

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Turn off the Water

You should never attempt to retrieve an item that has fallen down the drain without turning off the water supply. You do this by using the appropriate shut-off valve, or by switching off the water supply to your home.

Prepare for removal of the P-trap

In order to retrieve your earring, you will need to remove the P-trap that is located underneath the sink. The P-trap is there to stop the smells of the sewer from coming into your home, but it’s also quite useful for trapping items that are accidentally dropped down the sink drain. Before you start to remove the P-trap, you should cover the floor, and place a bucket underneath the P-trap, to protect the area from any residual water that is in the drain.

Photo: Via Pinterest

Remove the P-trap

P-traps can be either plastic or metal. In either case they have nuts or fasteners at each end which need to be unscrewed in order to remove the trap itself. You may be able to do this with your hand, especially if you are dealing with plastic fasteners. If not, you can use a wrench, but be careful when using a wrench on plastic as the plastic can crack.

Once you have unscrewed the nuts or fasteners, you should be able to remove the P-trap and recover your earring. If the earring has become lodged further up the pipe you should be able to see it. You can try to dislodge it using a coat hanger.

Finish off the job

Once you have retrieved your earring, you need to put the P-trap back in place. Make sure that it’s securely screwed back into position before you turn the water back on.

You can see that it’s possible to retrieve an earring that has fallen down a sink drain, so do not panic if you are ever in this position. However, you may want to think about always using a plug in the sink, or using a jewellery holder that is located elsewhere, to help stop the problem from happening in the first place.