A What Clogged My Drain?!

Strange Things Plumbers Find While Drain Cleaning

There are a lot of things that we all know do not belong down the drain, but the occasional clogged drain is unavoidable and it is usually caused by too much toilet paper, hair, roots etc. But sometimes the most unusual things can turn up and plumbers often have a lot of interesting stories to tell with regard to drain cleaning. Listed below are some of the weirdest items that have been found in clogged drains.

Live Animals
Although the odd goldfish may be expected to be flushed down the drain, plumbers occasionally come across animals such as cats, turtles and snakes. Even more shocking are reports of alligators and cows turning up in drains.

Dentures
Finding these in drains is actually quite common suggesting that more care should be taken when handling dentures in the bathroom. In fact dentures are found so often by plumbers that in 2011 an English sewage treatment company even started a campaign to reunite the lost dentures with their owners.

Toys
It seems that there are many children who are fascinated by the journey they send their toys on when they flush them down the toilet. Everything from Ben 10 action figures to giant teddy bears have been found by plumbers while cleaning drains. If you have small children in the house it may be best to have a stern talk with them about what belongs down the drain and what doesn’t.

Clothes
What’s more, plumbers have found socks, underwear, jeans, jackets, and other clothing clogging the sewage system. How these items found themselves in the drain is less clear.

Personal Electronic Devices
Apparently there is a substantial amount of mobiles that are found in drains. If you are unable to multitask, it may be best to not read anything while you are on the toilet. Having your cell in your pocket on your bathroom trip could also be risky if your phone tends to slip out easily. In addition, plumbers have also found batteries, iPads, watches, and even pagers that have found their way into toilet bowls.

Other household items
Mop heads have been found in drains on more than one occasion and can cause a lot of damage to drain pipes. Large bedspreads have also turned up in clogged drains as well as things like flashlights and screwdrivers. A good rule of thumb is to dump unwanted items in the trash or recycle bin rather than to flush them.

While it may seem strange that people thought it would be okay to flush some of these items down the drain, the even more shocking thing is how some of the larger things even fit down the drain in the first place. If, despite your best efforts, you find yourself in the situation where you or someone in your home has flushed a foreign object down the drain, you should contact a drain cleaning service immediately. Foreign objects can cause significant and costly damage to your sewage pipes. It is also advised that you refrain from keeping such foreign objects in places where they could easily fall in the toilet.