[Cathy73]

My son accidentally through his 2inch ball down the vent pipe on the roof. It has been almost 2 days since and we haven't had any plumbing problems, and have used water throughout the house. Could it have possibly passed through the pipe with no problem, or are we looking at potential problems later?

[ma0641]

Typically the vent will go into the main drain which will be at least 3", usually 4". It may catch on an elbow. Keep an eye on bubbling toilets.

[massplumber2008]

Hi Cathy

Yeah, I agree with Ma0641. I'd wait to see what happens here. When (I did say when, not if) you see an issue with the drains, it should help you to isolate the location of the ball in the drain and then you guys can decide how to go about removing/retrieving it! If you have PVC or ABS plastic drains this may not be so bad...

Your only other real options are to try to push the ball out into the main drain in the street using a sewer drain/snake or having the drain line videotaped so you can see exactly where the ball is... both quite costly for something that may roll out to the main drain at the street by itself.

Mark

[Cathy73]

Thanks guys for the info. I am hoping since it has now been a few days and we have run the water, used the washer, dishwasher, shower and flushed the toilet umpteen times and still have no issues that the ball has maybe rolled to the street lines by now. Do you still think I should wait it out at this point or have it checked?

[massplumber2008]

I'd wait it out. In this manner, if the drain does clog up and say it only clogs up some of the fixtures instead of all the fixtures you'll have an idea of where to cut into the drain line (if needed) or where to begin snaking the drain!

Good luck!

[Cathy73]

Thanks again. I appreciate your time.