South Yarmouth, MA Gold Charm Went Down the Drain

July 2, 2024

While Brenda was untangling her grandson’s necklace her star fish charm slipped off and right down into the sink’s drain. What was she to do? Brenda knew enough not to run any water. Hey, if water went down, maybe she could suck it up with a vacuum cleaner. Good try, but all she got was a bit of water. Next, call a plumber, but she was not absolutely positive that the charm she referred to as “Henry” was indeed in the P-trap. Maybe a magnet, help from the hardware store…yes. On her way to the hardware store she passed by J&E Metal Detectors. She stopped in and found out gold is non-magnetic and a detector could not be swung in the area. Eleanor’s suggestion was to call me. She did and within a hour we had a plan.

First I had to ensure “Henry” was in the P-trap, that was stainless steel and had no drain plug. My answer was to use a stroboscope. I remembered another member of TheRingFinders had used one in search of a ring lost in a car. IT WORKED in this situation also, Henry was indeed in the P-trap. I loosened one pipe nut by hand but the second one required much finesse with a 16 inch channel lock wrench.

Once the nuts were undone, the P-trap slid out and so did the star fish which was then slid onto its chain. Two things remained: first putting the sink back into working order. Second: pictures and a Thank You. My reward and best part of the day was seeing the smile on Brenda’s face while holding “Henry” against her chest. Just another reason for me to keep on offering my talents to those in need.