Four Unexpected Objects Plumbers Find in Blocked Drains
Few plumbers will argue that trees roots are the most common cause of blocked drains in Australia, but tree roots are not always the case. Sometimes the most unexpected items get pulled out of drains by plumbers called in to sort out .
Four of the most unlikely – or likely - things that plumbers find are:
- plastic dolls including stylish Barbie and Ken dolls,
- tennis and other rubber balls,
- beer and cold drink cans, and
- building material, including mortar and blocks of wood.
Children are often blamed for these problems, because toys do top the list. But for the rest, it’s probably just laziness – and possibly sometimes due to vindictiveness, with nasty characters inserting foreign items into the system to cause problems for clients, employers or simply people they don’t like.
The idea of people running around popping toys and other foreign objects into drains is enough to get most people shaking their heads. Nonetheless, this is what plumbers find! So how on earth does it happen if it isn’t deliberate?
Let’s get back to the kid and a young mother with a child that managed to push a toy into their toilet. They had no inkling there was a toy inside the system until the toilet became clogged. When they realised it was blocked, they plunged and plunged, she says “ incessantly”. But then she got over herself.
“I bit the bullet and stuck my hand in there and found one of the plastic nesting cup baby toys wedged in the first loop of the toilet. I can touch it, but when I try to grab it, it won't budge.”
Having discovered the culprit, she posted her story in a blog in the hope that someone could help her. She was trying to avoid lifting the toilet and thought her “best bet” would be to break the toy.
“...but I don't know what to use to break it. A drill won't hit it due to the curve of the toilet. As you can see... I'm really trying to avoid a plumber and avoid purchasing a new toilet.”
Chances are she’ll be calling in a plumber soon! And she may have to buy a new toilet.
So you can see that if kids shove toys and objects into toilet bowls, this will block the drain. Quite why they do it is beside the point.
It doesn’t even always happen via the toilet bowl and pipes and drains that connect to it. Sometimes it happens outside. Balls, for instance, generally get thrown about the garden, and if drain covers are not securely in place, balls can easily get into the drain. Chuck a ball around the garden and it will find a hole to roll into! If it leads to a drain, you’re done.
Cans can also roll, but more often than not they probably find their way into drains with the help of people. So too when it comes to building material, although this may be more likely to be the result of good old sloppiness, which isn’t good at all!
