[turtletom]

Hi,

I was replacing my toilet in my master bathroom, and due to shower drainage issues I decided to snake the toilet drain.

Well there was no problem with the toilet drain. In fact the snake went down so easily that I did not realize I was at the end. The snake came out of the plastic housing and slid right down the drain! It seemed to slide down far, maybe even to the basement.

What kind of a problem do I have? Do I need to get this out? Is this going to catch things and clog my drain in the future?

If it's a problem, how do I get it out, or am I out of luck? Should I be calling a plumber?

Thanks in advance for any help.

The snake I was using looked like this one:

[Stratmando]

Til a Plumber gets here. I would remove toilet and see if I could get a hold of it, It may go past the downstairs toilet as well, then remove downstairs toilet and see if you can grab with a wire with a hook formed on the end. Any outside cleanouts.
You may want to wait for a Plumber on this site as they may have an easier/better method. Good Luck

[speedball1]

We have a methods we use to get a lost snake out, and you will have to remove it before it clogs your system.
This involves another snake with a retrieval tip, (see image).
Send the snake down the drain. When then two snakes join up the retrieval bit will auger into the lost cable and you can pull both back, Good luck, Tom

[turtletom]

We have a methods we use to get a lost snake out, and you will have to remove it before it clogs your system.
This involves another snake with a retrieval tip, (see image).
Send the snake down the drain. When then two snakes join up the retrieval bit will auger into the lost cable and you can pull both back, Good luck, Tom

Thank you very much! I'll check the local Home Depot to see if they sell that.

[massplumber2008]

Hi TT..

Check the local home depot plumbing section, of course, but also check the rental department while there. They may rent a snake with a retriever head for pretty cheap... ;) Otherwise, a local tool rental store may also be helpful. Be sure to wear some leather gloves and some safety goggles for your own protection!

Good luck...

Mark

[turtletom]

Hi All,

I wasn't able to find a removal tip at the various places I went to. So I ended up getting a larger snake (3/8") and bending the ending out a bit in order to catch the first snake. It took a few tries but it finally worked!

Thanks for all your help! Great site!

Tom.

[massplumber2008]

Hi Tom...

Now that's using your head... ;) It took me some time, but at some point I eventually opened up a regular head just like you did to do some retrieving... think it took me years until I figured it out though! Good for you... bit brighter than me, for sure! Glad you're all set!

Mark

[Widdershins]

Thank you very much! I'll check the local Home Depot to see if they sell that.

For your future edification, Tom -- The snake you used (if the same one in your photo) is designed for cleaning out sink drains, not water closets.

[oops8510]

Sorry to mooch off your post turtletom, but does anyone here have any thoughts for a similar situation of mine where I lost my auger down the bathroom sink in my apartment buildling?

I pushed my auger down wayyyyy too far (20-25'), probably well into the main line, and as I neared the end, the auger line pulled right out of the housing and ZING! Down the drain, around the trap and gone.

I'm not interested in recovering the auger but I would just like to know if I should plan on moving out of my apartment buildling before something terrible happens...

The good news is my drain is working absolutely brilliantly now (to bad I'm feeling too guilty to celebrate that right now).

[hkstroud]

Ethical thing to do would be to advise the apartment management of what has happened. There should be a clean out hub at the base of the stack, hopefully the snake can be retrieved from there. Who pays, who knows.