Ring Around the Toilet!

A few weeks ago, Patricia Brogdon of Chelmsford, was up early to take her sister to the hospital for surgery. She noticed her wedding ring needed cleaning and put it into the jewelry cleaning solution. After removing the ring and rinsing it off, she wrapped it in a tissue to dry and put it on the sink.

In her hurry to get ready, she used several tissues for makeup and left them on the sink as she was running back and forth to get ready. As she was leaving, she noticed the pile of tissues, grabbed them off the counter and flushed them down the toilet not realizing that her newly-updated diamond engagement ring and wedding band went along with them.

She was just about to leave and went back into the bathroom to get her ring and had that moment of complete panic when she realized that the rings she just had reset to celebrate her 20th anniversary were gone.

Patricia woke up her husband Steve and they called us. We promised that a technician would be sent to her home that day. In the meantime, her husband and son were under strict instructions NOT to use the toilet!

Believe it or not, this happens more frequently than you may think. According to a recent finding, the average city with 1 million people accidentally flushes $13 million of precious metals down the drain each year.

Our technician put a camera into the mainline piping leading to the sewer and was able to locate and retrieve the ring for Patricia.

While she was waiting in the hospital for news on her sister’s surgery (which turned out fine) she got a call from her husband who gave her more welcome news - “WE GOT IT!”

After a deep, thorough cleaning the ring is back on her finger.

Should this happen to you, don’t panic. Here’s what you need to know:

1. DO NOT flush the toilet a second time. This could push the ring farther into the pipes or out to the sewer and your chances of retrieving it are lessened.
2. The ring may still be inside the toilet. Grab a wire coat hanger and fish around or look with a flashlight to see if you can locate it.
3. It may be in the toilet trap and that means you will need to remove the toilet. You can either do this yourself or call a professional and remember, like Patricia, do not use or flush the toilet until a plumber arrives.
4. It might be just outside the toilet in the pipe leading to the sewer or septic system. Technicians can snake a lighted camera into the pipe and locate.

Fred Webster Jr. is the owner of MillTown Plumbing, Heating, Air Conditioning and Drain Cleaning in Chelmsford.