How to Recover Fallen Earrings in a Bathroom Sink Pipe
You were trying to quickly put on your earrings before going out for the day. Just when you were placing the back on, the earring fell into the sink and down the drain. Fortunately, all is not lost. The sink trap in the bathroom sink pipe is designed to catch objects like earrings before they go through the entire drain. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Locate the sink trap in the cabinet under the sink. The sink trap is the u-shaped pipe that connects the sink drain to the drain pipe coming out of the wall. Some sink traps have a plug that can be removed, but most sink traps must be removed entirely to get your earrings out of them.
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Place a small bucket under the sink trap to catch the residual water that remains in the pipe. If your sink trap has a plug, remove the plug with a pair of pliers. After removing the plug, reach your fingers inside the sink trap and retrieve your earrings. Replace the plug after you have grabbed your jewelry. For sink traps that do not have a plug, you will have to remove the whole trap.
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3
Use channel lock pliers to loosen the slip nut attaching the sink trap to the sink drain. Once the slip nut is loosened you can turn it by hand and slip it off of the sink drain pipe. Loosen the slip nut that connects the sink trap to the wall drain pipe. Remove the sink trap from the drain lines and empty the contents into the bucket. Grab your earrings out of the bucket and place them somewhere safe.
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Wrap a new layer of plumber's tape around the exposed threads of the sink drain pipe and the wall drain pipe, pulling tightly as you wrap. Line the sink trap back into position and thread the slip nut onto the wall drain pipe, and then thread the slip nut onto the sink drain pipe. Tighten both slip nuts evenly with the channel lock pliers.
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Tips & Warnings
Note that there are two types of plumber's tape, only one of which will help in this situation. Look for a small roll of soft white polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) tape, not the steel tape also known as plumber's strap.
