So....how screwed am I?

Here's the story...wife was helping my daughter in the bathroom when she ran out of toilet paper. Wife grabbed the empty roll off the holder and proceeded to drop the metal toilet paper holder in the toilet as it was flushing....just another day in my life!!!

So I reached into the bowl as far as I could and couldn't feel anything. Shoved a flexible magnet down the bowl as far as possible and came up empty. Great, time to pull the toilet. Pull the toilet, can't see anything (4" drain pipe). Reached as far in as I could, nothing. So here's where I'm at now. I figure it went down the pipe far enough to be out of reach with the initial flush so there's a slim chance of digging it out.

What are the chances it takes a ride straight through into the main sewer line and doesn't get stuck along the way? We're on a slab and the plumbing is pretty straight forward. Even though the toilet is in the back of the house, there is only one other drain that T's into the line. Should be a fairly straight shot. I shoved a hose down the pipe on full blast and also launched some balls of toilet paper in there as well hoping that it would either back up or flush it down the whole way. It didn't back up so I might be in the clear.

Anybody else have this fun little experience? If so what was the outcome?

I would venture to say your'e in the clear. iv'e seen some crazy shit (no pun) go down those pipes and make it to the sewer system. and iv'e been through two girls...well still going, both live with me most of the time 19 & 14 now..and back in the day they flushed some interesting things down the toilet! lol! good luck in your quest! :thumbsup

Thinking you should be OK once it got to the drain dipe, but I would have defineitly stopped at the bowl, or less...........yuck!

I'm just a dumb carpenter, but I know that shit runs down hill so I feel comfortable making an educated comment. If you ran a hose down the 4" sewer line I would guess that the roll made it past the 90. Put the toilet back on and let it go. If it plugs up your paying the same fee to have it jetted. You could go to your big box store and buy a snake and try and push it down stream further to the main in the street, just depends how far that is from the cleanout or as you described, the toilet base. If you had a crawl space I would suggest you find the closest clean out and try and fish it out, but your on slab on grade.

Good luck. Drano wont dissolve that.

Like I said, I'm just a dumb carpenter but I work for a large union general contractor in a superintendent position. One of the first things that happens when we turn over an office building is that the plumbing always seems to get plugged up. 99.9% of the time it comes down to tampons and the wrappers being flushed down the drain or the cleaners trying to flush dirty rags down the women's toilets, by women cleaners.

If your a mom and reading this, you need to train your daughters to not put anything down the toilet at work that you wouldn't at home! Seriously, the last job I closed out had 5 sewage plugs in 2 weeks after the staff moved in, all because of tampons. I saw first hand when one of them happened while I was in the men's locker room below grade in the garage. The floor drains were flooding the men's locker room. I flushed a toilet and the water boiled out of the floor drains. Still recall a guy getting out of a shower and standing in the huge puddle asking if it was ok. I told him he was standing in raw sewage water and no, it wasn't OK.

The property manage is still struggling with this to this day. At first they said the pipe wasn't graded correctly, we proved that incorrect.

Ya, I'm hoping that since I was able to run the hose down quite a ways with it blasting water that I should be good. Just looking for a little reassurance and from the comments, sounds like I should be good. Let's hope!!!

Thanks for the comments, they're much appreciated.

You're talking about the little spring loaded tube between the legs of the TP holder? I'd bet it never made it past the trap in the toilet. If it did, it will probably pass. If not you'll know soon enough. I'd imagine it's made of stainless or plated plated brass so it wouldn't be magnetic.

Sewer camera will show where it is or if it passed. OR Just throw the toilet back on and if you have a main stoppage you know why.

You can hire a sewer camera to come out.. $250.

I'd just let it go. If it clogs you'll find out soon enough...

If it made through the toilet S turns I bet it made it and its on the way to the sewer plant.

We will keep an eye out for it on the lake

Invite RiverDave over and feed him China Buffet to test the lines.

n2otoofast4u said:

You're talking about the little spring loaded tube between the legs of the TP holder? I'd bet it never made it past the trap in the toilet. If it did, it will probably pass. If not you'll know soon enough. I'd imagine it's made of stainless or plated plated brass so it wouldn't be magnetic.

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2Driver said:

If it made through the toilet S turns I bet it made it and its on the way to the sewer plant.

We will keep an eye out for it on the lake

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Yup, my guess is IF it made it thru the toilet trap then you're probably good.
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GRADS said:

Invite RiverDave over and feed him China Buffet to test the lines.

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[emoji4] Not enough firm mass with C-Buffet to push anything..lol...it's free flowing food.

Ziggy said:

[emoji4] Not enough firm mass with C-Buffet to push anything..lol...it's free flowing food.

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Yeah but with Rd velocity will make up for the lack of mass.

Ziggy said:

Yup, my guess is IF it made it thru the toilet trap then you're probably good.
.

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I agree, I wouldn't expect it to do a drain line pole vault! I think you are clear!