What To Do If You Drop A Ring Down The Sink

It happens to the best of us. We’re doing dishes or washing our hands and our wedding, engagement, or valuable ring slips off our hands into the drain.

If you’ve dropped a ring down the sink, don’t panic. We have two very effective ways for you to get it back:

The P-trap and J-Bend Removal Trick:

This trick takes about 10 minutes in total but is a very effective way to get a ring back from inside a drain. No tools are required except for a bucket and a pair of kitchen gloves. When most items fall into a drain they end up at the bottom of the J-bend in the P-trap before they disappear for good.

The P-trap is the pipe mechanism under your sink that looks like the letter P and the J-bend is, not surprisingly, the part that looks like a J.

First, turn off your water then place the bucket under the J-bend. Turn the slip nuts (the round parts holding the J-bend in place) to the left to unscrew them. Under the slip nuts are nylon washers but you don’t have to worry about those. Slide the slip nuts up and away from the horizontal section of the P-trap and hold the J-bend in your hand as it will fall off. Your ring should drop into the bucket once the J-bend has been removed.

Insider Tid Bit: Your ring may be covered in debris, water, toothpaste, soap and hair which is why you’ll need the kitchen gloves.

Once you have your ring, place the J-bend back in place and tighten the slip nuts. Now, you can turn your water back on and remove all the debris from your ring.

The Easy Vacuum Trick:

This trick will only work if your ring hasn’t travelled too far. You will need a vacuum cleaner with a hose attachment.

Like with the P-trap and J-bend removal option, you will have to shut off your water for a bit. Once the water is off, simply place the vacuum’s hose over your sink drain and turn it on. Keep the vacuum on until you hear the ring as it is being sucked from the drain. Check your vacuum’s holding bag and your ring will be inside.

Insider Tid Bit: Like with the former method, your ring may also be covered in sink debris, so wearing kitchen gloves to remove it from the holding bag is advised.

If you do not feel comfortable retrieving your ring yourself, call our team! Brothers Plumbing will get your ring back safely.