How to Get Jewelry Out of Your Sink or Shower Drain

We’ve all had those “uh-oh” moments when it comes to plumbing. But there’s almost no worse feeling than dropping your favorite piece of jewelry down the sink or the shower drain. If this has happened to you, don’t panic! Just when you thought you lost it for good, we’re here to help you get it back. Here’s how:

The Sink

Step 1. Try a magnet: Before trying to revive it from the drain by hand, see if you can try to snatch your jewelry using a long magnet. However, if you’re not having luck with this trick or your jewelry is anything but gold or silver, move onto the next step.

Step 2. Turn off the water. If you can find the shut off valve under the sink, your next best bet is to shut off the water supply. Call your plumber if you’re unsure where yours is located.

Step 3. Take apart the P-trap. Do you see that U-shaped pipe under your sink? You’ll want to remove that, but first place a bucket underneath the pipe to save yourself a potentially big mess. Next, if your trap has a drain plug, go ahead and remove it to release the water. Then, take apart the P-trap by loosening the slip nuts on both sides. Dump out what’s left of the water and your diamond should be there.

The Shower

Step 1. Remove the drain cover. If there aren’t any screws holding down your drain cover, go ahead and pop the cover off by “wedging” a screwdriver behind it and popping it off. If the screws are there, you’ll need your screwdriver to loosen them.

Step 2. Look for the artifact. If you see your jewelry, you can retrieve it by using a flexible retrieval tool. You can buy this at your local hardware store if you don’t have one already. 

Step 3. Vacuum it up. If you can’t see your jewelry, you next plan of action is to try sucking it up with a wet-dry vacuum. First, you’ll want to turn the wet setting on and put the end of the hose into the shower drain as far down as it can go. While the vacuum is running, remove the hose and hold it straight up in the air. If your jewelry is there, great news - it will fall into the vacuum tank! Lastly, shut the vacuum off, remove the top of the tank, and dump out the gucky contents onto an old towel. You have to do a little digging to find your piece of jewelry and shine it up.

Step 4. Put the drain cover back on. Be careful putting your drain cover back on, especially if it needs to be screwed on - screws can fall down the drain too, which is a whole other problem you want to avoid!

If you need help retrieving your (almost) lost jewelry, contact Nassau County Plumbing and Sewer Rooter! We are here to assist you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Give us a call at 516.874.7937 or visit our website for more information.