Drop Your Jewelry Down the Drain? Don’t Panic!

If you have accidentally dropped your wedding ring or other jewelry down the drain of your shower, don’t worry. It actually is quite common and the solution is generally really simple.

Rings that are new and don’t fit properly are the most likely candidates for falling into shower drains. But cold temperatures also can cause hands to contract slightly, just enough for rings to slip off and fall into the drain.

Do-It-Yourself Recovery

Before you call a plumber — who is likely to charge you a steep price for a simple job — why not try to recover your ring or jewelry yourself?

First, before you disassemble your shower drain, try the magnet trick. If you have a magnet lying around your house, hold it over the drain and see if it is powerful enough to pull your jewelry up through the drain cover. If so, problem solved!

If the magnet doesn’t work, you are going to have to take further steps. The first one is to remove the drain cover. Typically, it will be screwed into the floor. But if you don’t see any screws holding the cover on, you usually can just pop it off using a screwdriver.

Fit the head of the screwdriver behind the screen’s edge then pull it up at an angle.

Retrieving the Jewelry

If you can see the ring or jewelry, try to reach it with your hands. If your hands are too big, ask your child to give it a shot.

If that doesn’t work, remove it using a flexible retrieval tool, a simple, inexpensive device that can be found at your local hardware store.

If you can’t see the ring or jewelry, try sucking it out using a wet-dry vacuum. Turn the vacuum onto the “wet” setting then insert the open end of the hose all the way into the drain until you can feel it touch the bottom.

Turn the vacuum and listen for the sound of the ring plinking into the chamber. Task completed!