Fork down toilet bowl

[Bert Gildart]

Not realizing the dirty opaque dish water contained a fork, we emptied a pan of it into the toilet of our Classic 30' Airstream. Should we even attempt to retrieve it and if so does anyone have a suggestion for doing so. Any chance it might come out the other end?

Thank you! Bert

[murreywalker]

I'm not an expert when it comes to the china toilet, but I think the principle is still there (it's a straight shot down to the black tank).

If the fork is made of steel, you might go to a hardware store and look for a telescoping device that has a magnet on the end.

Good luck!

[vswingfield]

Originally Posted by murreywalker

I'm not an expert when it comes to the china toilet, but I think the principle is still there (it's a straight shot down to the black tank).

If the fork is made of steel, you might go to a hardware store and look for a telescoping device that has a magnet on the end.

Good luck!

It also depends on the fork. The grade of stainless steel used for knives, something like a Wusthof, Dexter, or Victorinox will stick to a magnet. A carving fork made from this material, no problem. The stainless used for tableware is often not magnetic. Try a magnet on one of the matching pieces.

You may have to get a new fork.

[Lily&Me]

Uh-oh. We've done this twice.

Haven't attempted to retrieve the utensil, doubt it has come out the other end but perhaps it has.

We have noticed no problems with emptying our tanks.


Maggie

[Foiled Again]

fishing for forks.... a new Airstream sport!

It might be possible for the fork to jam in the drain valve - and of course it would only happen if you're at a busy dump station - never in the privacy of a full hookup site.

If the forks are magnetic it shouldn't be too difficult to get it out, if not, one of those gizmos you use to retrieve screws from the innards of an engine might work. I'd drain AND bleach clean the tank to try to be able to see the fork, using wheel ramps to try to encourage it to move to a point where it was visible.

Of course having the tank that clean could be a prelude to pulling the toilet.

OR just fergitaboudit!

Paula

[Del Gurney]

Wet'n dry vac. with a long hose should do it......I'd drain and flush the tank first if it were me.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Bert Gildart

Not realizing the dirty opaque dish water contained a fork, we emptied a pan of it into the toilet of our Classic 30' Airstream. Should we even attempt to retrieve it and if so does anyone have a suggestion for doing so. Any chance it might come out the other end?

Thank you! Bert

As long as you don't discharge through a macerator pump, the fork is unlikely to do a lot of damage. It's longer than your slinky is wide, so if it does go down the drain, it should go one end first. but that's not likely to happen until you've moved your trailer a few times, and it bounces around inside the tank.

If you haven't moved your trailer, the fork should still be right below the toilet drain. A mechanic's flex grabber claw should be just the thing.

I carry one in my Airstream's tool kit for when I drop things in places I can't reach, but so far haven't needed to use it in the loo.

[Crusty]

I wouldn't move the dump valve until I got the fork out of there somehow because there's just too big of a chance that the valve innards will catch the fork and make it so that you can't reclose it. You don't want to have to cut an opening in your bottom skin just so that you can disassemble the valve to get the fork out.

That's how my dumb luck usually seems to work anyway.

[Lumatic]

Once you find the fork clean it good before you use it.

[Alumaholic]

... No, really. What are you concerned about? As Protagonist says, unless you are running sewage through a macerator pump you have a non-problem. Your dump valve is a huge, gate-valve. It has no innards. If the fork makes it that far and lodges, just reach in and take it out.
I would say you biggest problem will be people not wanting to eat your Swedish meatballs from now on.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Lumatic

Once you find the fork clean it good before you use it.

Nah! Throw it away as a lost cause. But throw it away somewhere other than your toilet!

[Alumaholic]

Originally Posted by Alumaholic

... No, really. What are you concerned about? As Protagonist says, unless you are running sewage through a macerator pump you have a non-problem. Your dump valve is a huge, gate-valve. It has no innards. If the fork makes it that far and lodges, just reach in and take it out.
I would say you biggest problem will be people not wanting to eat your Swedish meatballs from now on.

Have your wife reach in and get it. She has smaller hands, and it was probably her dish water.

[TG Twinkie]

You should retrieve the fork. Especially if there are 90 degree el's in the waste water drain system. I doubt the fork would go around the corner, but you can bet the toilet paper will catch on it. Then you will have a real problem.

[Lily&Me]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

A mechanic's flex grabber claw should be just the thing.

I carry one in my Airstream's tool kit for when I drop things in places I can't reach, but so far haven't needed to use it in the loo.

I want one of those!


Maggie

[BAAMbi7]

and you are from what city in Montana????

[Alumaholic]

Originally Posted by TG Twinkie

You should retrieve the fork. Especially if there are 90 degree el's in the waste water drain system. I doubt the fork would go around the corner, but you can bet the toilet paper will catch on it. Then you will have a real problem.

I don't have my schematic in front of me, but you should have no el fittings.
Your toilet drops waste (and forks) directly into the holding tank.
Your dump valve sits directly in line with the waste-tank outlet.
Just fill the holding tank full so you get a really good dump, and the fork will be carried from the tank into the sewer hose. It will hang up in the hose, or in the 90 degree elbow at your adapter on the end of your sewer hose where your wife can easily reach it.
Clean it up good before the next rally.
I am assuming this is a cheap, stainless steel utensil. Or is this real silverware?
Is the mission really a fork recovery operation?

[Lily&Me]

Originally Posted by BAAMbi7

and you are from what city in Montana????

You are the first to notice that!

Maggie

[Aage]

Put me down on the side of those who say "get it out". Although a typical dinner fork is fairly heavy versus it's size, "things" happen, so to say. It can move, or be moved, and if it gets left in the guillotine valve that closes the black tank, I believe that it could create serious problems.

So, buy a love pair of those yellow gloves, man up, and reach in.

The black tank isn't that deep, and if you haven't created turbulence in the tank, why wouldn't it be directly below the toilet?

Or, in other words, it's probably no big deal. Hold your breath and reach in for glory!

[CanoeStream]

Yes Maggie, BAAMbi7 shot the moon. Hilarious!

What is suitable for re-use is a personal preference. I wouldn't hesitate to rinse it off and then soak it 5 minutes in a small bit of household bleach diluted 1:10 with water. And willingly would make it my personal fork.

I replaced a dentist on the staff of the local VA Medical Center in 1975. My predecessor was trying in a bridge three teeth long. While reaching in the patient's, um, macerator, the bridge slipped out and fell down the drain into the, uhh, digestor. Chased with a high fiber diet, the bridge made it through more than one el and then into the (sheesh) black tank. The sun rose, birds sang, and, as we return to our drama, the patient proudly brought it in to be sterilized and cemented into place. That fella no doubt retold the story countless times!

Something to be learned from the strangest situations ...

[Lily&Me]

Our black tank begins with a sort of platform under the toilet. I think.

Or, it's very shallow, you can't see much and, umm, stuff sometimes settles there if you don't use enough water when you flush solids.

If it is a 30 gallon tank, there is something else down there besides what we see when we flush and clean.

Minus any indication of obstruction, I'm going to just believe our utensils have moved on out.


Maggie