Retrieving screwdriver from toilet drain pipe?

Presumably, you've already been through the obscenities, two glasses of scotch, and your wife doesn't know about this yet. I would get to Radio Shack to pick up the biggest donut-shaped magnet you think you can slip down the pipe without losing it. If the screwdriver's not tightly wedged, this should do the trick. To hold the magnet, I'd take a piece of 12 or 14 gauge

Good luck. Times eight.

Whenever I drop such a worthless item into the toilet I follow up by throwing in a few silver dollars or expensive jewelry. No way am I going to reach into the toilet for something worthless.

Ivan Vegvary

I think he needs to get it out so future contributions can pass.

After I pulled the pump and pipe from my well, it felt as if the 6" casing was tugging at anything small and droppable until I covered it up. Funny how that works.

Big magnet. Rope. No problem. Dont' worry too much.

-rev

W> Yes, I'm a dumbass. This has become quite apparent, so there's no need

I BELIEVE some plumbers have a camera for inspecting sewer lines with a claw to grab foreign objects..... might call around.

have you considered a bulldozer? level home and start over

i am sorry this stiory is priceless and after today i needed a good laugh

Bulldozers are for babies. Douse the place with gasoline and break out the hot dogs.

I'm not sure every homeowner has one of those junk hard drives, but I think that's a good suggestion.

If you haven't ripped open a broken hard drive, I recommend it. There are magnets in those things that are insanely powerful. Just be careful handling them. It's not hard to hurt yourself with them. You will pinch your fingers before you know it.

They aren't made to be opened, I found drilling out the security screws worked best.

The hard drive magnet will work if it's plastic pipe and the screwdriver isn't wedged in too well. Since you dropped it tip first, a big tripple fish hook might grab it if you are lucky or patient.

Bob

...

Assuming it's not cast iron drain, magnet has reasonable shot at it, otherwise may not be able to get it down there.

Don't guess there are any cleanouts anywhere closer? Perhaps it's time to install one--if it's plastic and an hour of fishing doesn't get it, it may be simpler to just make the cut and go get it and put either a cleanout or a coupling in to repair the damage.

I assume it's a cast iron pipe so a magnet is out of the question. Fabricate a three prong fish hook retrieving device. Take a similar screwdriver as a guide and apply the correct dimensions to the hooks in order to facilitate successful hooking. Measure the exact length of line you need to position the hook appropriately. Pretend you're fishing and eventually you'll hook the tool.

Then don't be a dumb ass again.

How far down the pipe is the tool?

Here's a 24" grabber/pickup tool, but I bet you can find longer ones

Can't say more than others have, but to make you feel better, I've dropped things down the toilet also.

I also dropped a big set of car and other keys down a water drain at Union Station in Baltimore, right near Charles St. but before the remodeling in 1995. I had to leave and come back the next day with a bunch of nylon string and a big magnet from a junked speaker It came with screws in it for easy attahcment. I put the magnet down the drain, which was at least 15 feet deep to ground level, and tried to pull up the steel part of the keyring. I never got it, but I did pick up a 4 foot section of rebar. It's a good magnet.

LOL!

It's a copper pipe, so I'm going to give the magnet a try first, then the hook.

Thanks for all the replies, everyone!

Copper drains? Somebody has money to waste.

:Presumably, you've already been through the obscenities, two glasses of :scotch, and your wife doesn't know about this yet. I would get to Radio :Shack to pick up the biggest donut-shaped magnet you think you can slip down :the pipe without losing it. If the screwdriver's not tightly wedged, this :should do the trick. To hold the magnet, I'd take a piece of 12 or 14 gauge :3-conductor house wire, strip it back, and pull out just one conductor. I've :used that stuff as a snake in the past because it can be sort of shaped to :get around bends. Just be damned sure you put enough twists in it so the :magnet doesn't come loose. If you need something more flexible, use some :good quality nylon rope, and use a real knot, like a bowline to fasten the :magnet. : :Good luck. Times eight.

Sounds like good advice. I still have a real nice screwdriver I fished out of the bilge of a boat I was working on using a magnet attached to a nylon line as recommended. I was trying to get a different ferrous object out and the screwdriver came as an added bonus.

Of course, this will only work if your sewer pipe isn't cast iron or galvanized.

Good luck!

:> have you considered a bulldozer? level home and start over :>

:> i am sorry this stiory is priceless and after today i needed a good :> laugh :>

: :Bulldozers are for babies. Douse the place with gasoline and break out the :hot dogs.

Oh, gee, now you're bringing back memories of Goodfellas and Office Space (pyromaniacal episodes in those flicks).

: : snipped-for-privacy@mucks.net wrote: :>

:> I assume it's a cast iron pipe so a magnet is out of the question. :> Fabricate a three prong fish hook retrieving device. Take a similar :> screwdriver as a guide and apply the correct dimensions to the hooks :> in order to facilitate successful hooking. Measure the exact length of :> line you need to position the hook appropriately. Pretend you're :> fishing and eventually you'll hook the tool. :>

:> Then don't be a dumb ass again. : :LOL! : :It's a copper pipe, so I'm going to give the magnet a try first, then :the hook. : :Thanks for all the replies, everyone! Copper! I was just reading a book today that said that copper DWV piping is getting pretty rare. Lucky you!

From early fifties to early seventies, 4" copper was standard issue in much of the country. Worked better than iron or galvanized, nobody used lead any more, and PVC or other plastics were just starting to be used, and not code-approved in many areas. For several years after PVC was allowed for drains, many areas still required copper feed lines. Properly installed, and in the absence of bad water or other chemical or galvanic weirdness, copper will basically last forever.

aem sends...