[SOLVED] HELP! Son flushed his underwear down the toilet! - slow draining

[mrwoopey]

Hi,

My three year old son flushed his underwear down the toilet! My wife then started flushing the toilet to get the underwear down into the sewer. I even tried a plunger. When we flush the toilet, the toilet bowl fills up and then slowly drains. This tells me that the underwear is still in the pipes. What can I do to get the underwear out? Is there something that I rent from a hardware store? Or some other technique that I can use without having to call a plumber?

Please post the answer because my email gets very full with spam!

Thanks,

Phin

[Chuckles]

Enzymes? Muriatic acid?

At least it wasn't a cell phone.

Seriously, it's quite possible it hasn't gone very far. Try taking the toilet bowl off. You will have to use a wax ring or plumber's putty when you put it back again.

[Dave Balderstone]

Plumbing snake. They're not expensive, a 25' one should suffice. If you can't fit it through the trap in the toilet, then pull the toilet off and run the snake through. Check the trap in the toilet too.

djb

[LCD3]

You could start by buying one of those short plumbing snake devices that are made for toilets. They sell them at Home Depot, etc. They are made to snake into the toilet and go only a couple of feet into the drain, and they have a crank handle on them. If you are lucky, it will snag onto the underwear and you can pull it back out. If the underwear gets pushed down further, there's a good chance that it will get stuck somewhere else in the drain line.

The other option was already suggested -- take the toilet off -- and see if the underwear is stuck in the toilet.

[Loose Cannon]

Think he will ever do that again?

[Tony Hwang]

[Thund3rstruck]

mrwoopey Spilled my beer when they jumped on the table and proclaimed in :

I would start with one of those wire plumbing snakes, and hope I snag the skivvies. If that doesn't work, only other way might be to take the toilet off the floor and hope the undies aren't too far down the pipe...

NOI

[mrwoopey]

Hi,

Thank you for all your replies! I used the snake (toilet auger) and was able to get the underwear out of the toilet!

Thanks!

Phin

[Corey872]

I would start cheap and easy...unwrap a wire coat-hanger, bend a a hook on the end and go fishing for undies. Chances are, they haven't gotten very far. If they are beyond the hanger, then maybe step up to the snake. Personally, pulling the toilet out would be my last resort...if the water shut-off valve is old, it will probably break or leak ever after (if you even have one) plus you will have to install new seal rings, too.

Corey