Retrieving a Dropped Drain Snake in Vent?

Question

Should enjoy this one. Was having issues with bubbles in toilet. Researched and learned that a blocked sewer vent (on roof) could cause this. Used my drain snake to unblock the vent. Unfortunately the drain snake wasn't connected to handle (who would have thunk it) and the whole snake disappeared down the vent. Any ideas on how to retrieve this out of the sewer vent?

ps. No more air bubble :)

Answer 1

If there's no access below..find your self a strong magnet & attach it to a rope.  I have one I use for welding, & have lowered it into places to retrieve tools etc.

Answer 2

usually there is and access plug at the lowest vertical point on the sewer stack before it heads to the public sewer or septic system so that a plumber can "snake" the horizontal pipe easily.

Answer 3

The sewer vent is the upper covering for the 'vertical stack' which is a pipe which runs from the ceiling through the floor of your house, to where your sewer lines connect to the city's. This is what prevents water & sewage from blasting out of your toilet when theres any kind of blockage or problem in your main sewage line.

Thats why it being blocked caused the air bubbles (probably sewer gas...) and its a very good thing thats fixed.

There should be a grate to prevent debris entering the sewer if something happens to the vent cap, so your snake shouldn't be in the sewer main.

Check where the vent goes through the lowest point of the house. If installed to code, it should have an access cap on a short section sticking out about 45degrees from the vertical stack. If you're lucky, you can just unscrew this and the snake will be within reach.

If theres no access cap, or the snake is not where you can grab it you will need to fish it out with a magnet.

You need a Neodymium, or 'Rare Earth' magnet. a 1"diameter x 1/8" thickness magnet can hold approximately 50lbs of steel when attached on the flat side.

The cheapest way to get one, is if you have an old hard drive, or and old computer with one. You need to unscrew the case (usually need torx) and the magnets will be in the back corner near the power plug, above and below the electromagnetic coil on the end of the read/write head arm opposite the hard drive platters (gold disks)

You can get these at novelty stores, scientific/lab supply stores, or if you're lucky, some hardware stores sell nail pick-up tools which are basically a stick with a rare-earth magnet on the end. Lee Valley Tools, a wonderful hardware & home supply store in my area that sells all kinds of unique & high quality hardware & tools, has a wide selection of these for very affordable prices, and much of their business is mail-order. These are also incredible fun. You can make a quarter move around a 1"thick wooden table by moving the magnet underneath.

If the vent pipe is plastic or ceramic, easy as pie. Just tie some braided poly twine, or some kind of string thats rated to hold at least a little more than your snake weighs.

If the vent pipe is steel, or ferrous metal, this is going to be fun. depending on how tall your vent stack is, if its short, you can glue the magnet into the end of a length of plastic tubing, like for water supply, and then cut out from a flat sheet of plastic or laminated cardboard, a disc a little smaller than the inside diameter of the vent stack, with a hole in the middle to fit the plastic tube. this spacer will keep your magnet from sticking to the side till it reaches the snake.

Another method I've used for very deep recoveries is to glue the magnet to the bottom of a pop can or drink bottle that will fit in the vent stack, and then tie the rope or string around the top or neck of the bottle.