How do I fish a heavy screwdriver out of a floor drain?

I dealt with the same thing in my old house when a chisel slipped thru a utility sink drain. You definitly want to skip the glue tricks; the moisture and grease in a kitchen drain will compromise the bond every single time, as you allready found out. The most reliable fix is to head to an auto parts store and pick up a **mechanical grabber**. It's a long, flexible spring-steel shaft with a plunger handle on one end and a four-pronged claw that pops out of the other. Since it's a heavy-duty flathead, the weight is your biggest enemy. A magnet on a string might work, but if the screwdriver is stainless steel, it might not be magnetic enought to lift vertically. If you go the magnet route, get the telescoping 'extendo' version from the tool aisle. It gives you much more control to feel around and latch onto the shank of the screwdriver without pushing it further down the line.

When you go in with the claw, do it slowly. You want to feel for the resistance of the metal, then depress the plunger to open the prongs. Try to grab it just below the handle if posible, as that's ussually the widest point. If you can't get a good grip, another trick is to wrap some high-tack **duct tape** sticky-side out around the end of a long coat hanger or a piece of PEX tubing. It won't lift the weight, but it can help you reposition the tool into a better angle for the mechanical claw to bite into. Once you get it moving, keep a steady hand. If you drop it again while it's halfway up the pipe, the impact coud force it past a bend where you'll never see it again. And don't feel too bad about the amateur move; half the people who own a home have a 'lost tool' story involving a drain or a wall cavity. Just get that grabber tool and you'll have it out in five minutes.

Are you sure a magnet is even going to catch the shank? Have you ruled out the tool being a high-grade stainless that won't even react to a magnet? Even if it's magnetic, those heavy-duty flatheads have alot of weight in the handle, which might be dragging it down into a position where a claw can't get a flush grip. I'd be worried about the mechanical grabber just scraping the sides and pushing it into the main. Have you checked if there's enugh clearance to actually open the prongs once you're that deep in the pipe?

Back in the day, we didn't have fancy spring-claws. I used to take a stiff piece of wire—a heavy coat hanger works if you've got the old metal ones—and fold the end into a tight little 'U' hook. If that flathead has one of those holes in the handle for hanging it on a pegboard, you can fish for it like a trout. Just gotta have a steady hand and some patience. If it’s truly past the trap, you might be better off just pulling the sink cabinet floor and cutting the pipe. Re-doing a section of PVC is cheaper than a plumber and alot less headache than fishing for three hours.

If you're going the magnet route, don't waste time with those cheap telescoping pens. You need a Master Magnetics Neodymium Pick-Up Tool. Those things have a thirty-pound pull capacity which is basicly the only way you're dragging a heavy-duty flathead up thru a wet, vertical pipe without it slipping off. I used one to snag a dropped wrench from a storm drain once and it gripped like it was welded. If that doesn't grab it, nothing magnetic will.

Quick update—I grabbed that neodymium magnet as suggested, and it definately has the grip to lift it. I managed to pull the screwdriver up to the bend, but now the handle is wedged against the pipe wall. It’s stuck just a few inches from the top. shold I try the coat hanger trick to tilt it, or will that just knock it back down?