Phones, toys, rings, toothbrushes, air fresheners and nappies all end up down toilets. What you do in the next few minutes makes a big difference.
If it is still in the bowl
- Do not flush. Flushing pushes the object into the trap or the drain, where it is much harder to reach.
- Put on rubber gloves and retrieve it by hand. A pair of tongs or a grabber can help.
- Clean and disinfect the object and your hands. For phones, switch off and dry the phone before trying to use it.
If it has gone round the bend but you did not flush
The object may be sitting in the toilet’s trap, just out of sight.
- Turn off the water to the cistern, if there is an isolation valve on the pipe, so nobody flushes by accident.
- With gloves on, feel gently into the trap.
- Do not force a plunger: it can push the object further in.
- Do not use a wire coat hanger, which can scratch the pan and push the object deeper.
If it has been flushed
Small, soft items may pass through. Larger or hard objects, such as toys, phones, toothbrushes and air freshener blocks, often get stuck in the trap, at a bend, or at the point where the pipe joins the underground drain. They then catch paper and waste, and cause a blockage.
Signs the object is stuck:
- The toilet flushes slowly or rises before emptying
- Water backs up in other fittings
- The toilet blocks repeatedly
What a drainage company can do
- Clear the blockage and retrieve the object where possible.
- Use a camera to find where it is stuck if the location is not obvious. See CCTV drain surveys.
- Remove the toilet pan in some cases, to get to an object lodged in the trap.
Objects that have travelled into the underground drain cannot always be recovered, but the drain can be cleared so it works again.
Preventing it
- Keep lids down in homes with young children, and consider a toilet lock.
- Keep phones out of back pockets in the bathroom.
- Use clip-on air fresheners that cannot fall in.
See also blocked toilets and how to unblock a toilet without a plunger.