Thursday, June 07, 2007

In need of some practical advice

I dropped a hair clip down my bathroom drain this morning. It's a smaller brown claw-clip. It is wedged in the drain. I tried to grab the item as I watched it drift in seeming-slow motion, but my reflexes were too slow. I attempted to pull it out with a nearby tweezers. I merely drove it further down. I then tried a longer knife only to shove the claw even farther away from me. Fortunately, I have no brown fashion plans requiring a brown hair accessory. It is currently wedged somewhere before the pipe curves and is still visible to the naked eye. I am thinking that a needle-nosed pliers might be the proper tool, but that would require a trip to a store and spending money on tools. I do not believe the object is far enough along in pipe labyrinth to gain anything by unscrewing the pipes underneath the sink and if you've ever done this you know the smell involved in such an undertaking. I'm environmentally aware enough to realize that the plastic claw will never biodegrade. Does anyone have any other suggestions?

10 comments:

lobiwan said...

You should have called me, I was in town this evening...

linda jean said...

that hardly seems to comport with any goals of self-sufficiency, but i'll try it next time.

mllr said...

I would try the tweezers again, maybe two knives...

linda jean said...

tweezers are too short, and there is also a fear of dropping the tweezers down the drain. I haven't tried two knives.

In the Mix said...

Okay, here's what you need...
1. fishing line
2. fishing hook
3. bubble gum
No, that's not right. I'm sure there is a Macgyver episode that addresses this very dilemma. But seriously, I'd invest in some needle nose pliers. They'd probably help in this instance and I use my all the time around the house.

linda jean said...

Maybe in light of my current situation I should make a set of tools my standard graduation gift...

Ben said...

a (mostly) straightened wire hanger with a teeny tiny kink at the end...but the wire hanger has gone the way of the dodo even though they are the best tool in the world for keeping unruly wives in line

linda jean said...

by the by, the hanger ended up shoving the clip into the curved pipe which I did unscrew. The clip was successfully removed and discarded along with a forgotten earring. i'm not sure if it means that ben won since i used his idea

bloggendrauf said...

Next time you should get one of these (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=94162). They're neato.

linda jean said...

thanks! I definitely need one.