The other day, I posted a status update on Facebook about my little dilemma. My 3 year old decided it would be fun to flush his popsicle stick down the toilet instead of throwing it in the trash can.
I've used an amazing 'drain guy' in the past, and I immediately called him in a panicked state. The good news is that the drain guy's wife just gave birth to a healthy baby. The bad news is that he's out of commission for the next 5 days. Ugh.
The drain guy told me to make the toilet off limits until he could get there on Monday. He said there was a chance the Popsicle stick is just stuck in the toilet itself and hasn't reached the pipes yet. However, it has the potential to clog the pipes and messing up the plumping for the whole house. Not good. Plus, this couldn't have been worse timing because 1) my husband was away on business and 2) my in-laws are staying with us for the weekend.
So, what do you do when your kid flushes a popsicle stick down the toilet?
Call Pop-Pop. Luckily, my Dad has tons of experience with 'handy-man' stuff and he usually has a trick up his sleeve that can save the day : )
Here's how we got the Popsicle stick out of the toilet:
- We (as in, my Dad) unscrewed the toilet from the floor so we could move it off the pipe.
- We moved the toilet out of the bathroom and put it onto the deck. This was for two reasons: 1) my bathroom is extremely tiny and 2) if the toilet made any mess it would be easier to hose off the deck than clean up in the teeny tiny bathroom.
- My dad laid on the deck and looked inside the bottom of the toilet.
- Woohoo! I was so excited to find out that the popsicle stick was stuck in the toilet and hadn't moved along any further into the plumbing for he house.
- My dad used a long screw driver and, voila, he got the Popsicle stick. We all cheered! Thank you, Dad : )
So, now you know "How to get a popsicle stick out of a toilet" Isn't it so true that there is "never a dull moment" when you have kids in the house?
*Disclaimer: Neither my dad or I are professional plumbers and I am not giving any expert advice. This is just how we did it. It may work for you too, or you may want to call a plumber! ; )