Struggling With Toy Stuck in Shower Stall Drain
#1
05-17-14, 12:23 PM
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Struggling With Toy Stuck in Shower Stall Drain
Hey guys,
I've been searching for a good solution and haven't quite found what I was looking for.
Here's what I'm dealing with...
My daughter dropped a Weeble toy down our shower stall drain a couple weesk back (it was just brought to my attention today) and it has disappeared from view (presumably beyond the P trap?) and we believe it to be causing the drain to back up as the stall is filling with water when we shower.
This is what the toy looks like:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]31852[/ATTACH]
I have tried to use a wet/dry shop vac to remove the backed up water and attempt to suction the toy.
NOTE: Something that really confuses me is that we first noticed a backup in our kitchen sink, two rooms away from the bathroom. I cleaned out some clogged gunk from the kitchen sink drain and went to take a shower. That's when I heard a weird gurgling sound from the drain (shower was not running at the time) as well as the bathroom sink. After jumping in the shower, I noticed that it was backing up pretty bad and water was moving extremely slowly down the drain.
I am thinking about trying to use a snake or wire hanger to try and hook the toy if I can locate it beyond the P trap, but my concern is that I'm going to push it further down the drain and compound the problem.
I haven't used any sort of drain cleaner or chemical as it seems ineffective and I would be cautious to start rooting around down the drain once the chemicals go in.
Any advice is much appreciated and I'm happy to provide more information. Thanks for your help! I can't really afford a plumber at the moment but I'm not afraid of doing the work to get it taken care of, just not sure which direction to go.
I've been searching for a good solution and haven't quite found what I was looking for.
Here's what I'm dealing with...
My daughter dropped a Weeble toy down our shower stall drain a couple weesk back (it was just brought to my attention today) and it has disappeared from view (presumably beyond the P trap?) and we believe it to be causing the drain to back up as the stall is filling with water when we shower.
This is what the toy looks like:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]31852[/ATTACH]
I have tried to use a wet/dry shop vac to remove the backed up water and attempt to suction the toy.
NOTE: Something that really confuses me is that we first noticed a backup in our kitchen sink, two rooms away from the bathroom. I cleaned out some clogged gunk from the kitchen sink drain and went to take a shower. That's when I heard a weird gurgling sound from the drain (shower was not running at the time) as well as the bathroom sink. After jumping in the shower, I noticed that it was backing up pretty bad and water was moving extremely slowly down the drain.
I am thinking about trying to use a snake or wire hanger to try and hook the toy if I can locate it beyond the P trap, but my concern is that I'm going to push it further down the drain and compound the problem.
I haven't used any sort of drain cleaner or chemical as it seems ineffective and I would be cautious to start rooting around down the drain once the chemicals go in.
Any advice is much appreciated and I'm happy to provide more information. Thanks for your help! I can't really afford a plumber at the moment but I'm not afraid of doing the work to get it taken care of, just not sure which direction to go.
#2
05-17-14, 12:29 PM
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Those toys are very hard and smooth so I would think it would be hard to hook it. I suspect the plastic would be quite immune to most chemicals. Do you have access to the plumbing from below in an unfinished basement or crawlspace? I think your best bet would be to find where the toy is located and cut out that section of pipe.
#4
05-17-14, 12:33 PM
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Do you have access to the plumbing from below in an unfinished basement or crawlspace?
I think your best bet would be to find where the toy is located and cut out that section of pipe.
#5
05-17-14, 10:08 PM
How did something that big get through the grate on the shower floor? The grate should have holes no larger than about 3/8 of an inch or slots about 1/4 inch wide. Or is your drain grate missing?
#6
05-18-14, 08:23 AM
Unfortunately something like this happens with one of my rental houses every few years though it's usually a plastic/rubber ball though I have found the odd race car and headless Barbie. Do you have a drain snake or rod? I'm not convinced you have a simple Weeble problem.
A Weeble should pass through the system pretty well unless there was a preexisting clog and the toy got snagged making the problem more evident. You may also have two separate clogs. I would not use any water in the house for an hour. Then run water as fast as possible in a problem fixture (kitchen sink or shower) until you get the water to back up. How long it takes from each location will give you a general idea how far away the clog is located.
If the shower or kitchen sink backs up almost immediately I would remove the trap and clean it out as this can be done without special tools. A coat hanger wire or big plastic wire tie can work in a pinch. The shower may require you to go underneath the house and make the long, dirty crawl to reach the trap. If it's not either of them then you're going to need at least a drain snake or drain cleaning rod.
A Weeble should pass through the system pretty well unless there was a preexisting clog and the toy got snagged making the problem more evident. You may also have two separate clogs. I would not use any water in the house for an hour. Then run water as fast as possible in a problem fixture (kitchen sink or shower) until you get the water to back up. How long it takes from each location will give you a general idea how far away the clog is located.
If the shower or kitchen sink backs up almost immediately I would remove the trap and clean it out as this can be done without special tools. A coat hanger wire or big plastic wire tie can work in a pinch. The shower may require you to go underneath the house and make the long, dirty crawl to reach the trap. If it's not either of them then you're going to need at least a drain snake or drain cleaning rod.
#7
05-18-14, 11:35 AM
Banned. Rule And/Or Policy Violation
Good advice so far. Weebles wobble but they don't fall down. Just be glad it wasn't a Mighty Morphin Ranger. I have had to actually destroy toilets to get them out. They open and "morph" into really bad clogs. Then everything else hangs on them on the way down. I have a feeling it is in the trap below the tub/shower area.
