Friday, January 16, 2026

Plumbing Genius?

Our daughter, Tiffany and her family are here visiting with us from Chicago and we were preparing to have our professional photographer friend, Dave take our photos.

Tiffany was getting her dress ready for the photo session and asked to have a small safety pin to secure a strap. Unfortunately, ummm... she laid the pin down on the sink and it slipped down the drain. 😦

Poor Art was aghast thinking of the trouble we'd have if the sink became clogged with hair or whatever getting snagged on the safety pin.

He went to the tool shed to look for some kind of magnet contraption he could design to retrieve the pin.

But then I'm thinking....


Hmmm...

How deep is that drain? I have a paintbrush that's about that long.

Hmmm... You know how sticky duct tape is, right? So... I covered the end of the paintbrush with duct tape, pulled out the stopper over the drain and poked the paint brush end down the drain.


😁

It worked.

I sent Tiffany down to the tool shed to call Art who was rather flabbergasted.

Did I gloat about it? 

Of course not.

I just smiled humbly.😄

No, not smugly. 😌 Just very modestly.

Yup. Yup.



19 comments:

  1. You are a master Plumber or a master problem solver!

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  2. Good one! That of course is ingenious!

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  3. That was very smart. You are very smart.

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  4. Good for you! I have a small magnet on a telescoping antenna like rod that I use for such situations. It has bailed me out many a time. Here is a link for Art if he wants to be more prepared for next time!

    https://www.acehardware.com/departments/tools/hand-tools/pickup-tools/2114460

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    1. Kay of Musings: Thanks so much, Ed. Art said he was in the tool shed looking for that tool, but couldn’t find it. He says he must have left it in Chicago when we moved to Hawaii.

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  5. We have a little cup made of screening that fits over each drain for exactly that kind of accident. It's like little things are magically attracted to drain holes otherwise. Your duct tape fix worked great!

    Ceci

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    1. Kay of Musings: Would you believe we have those metal screens downstairs in the guest and mom’s bathroom sinks, but not our own?!? Sigh….

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  6. How ingenious! I would panic and not be able to think of a single idea. Then I would call John!

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  7. Quick thinking, Kay . . . that's awesome! "Way-to-GO" on a job well done.

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  8. There are moments when things don't go the right way. I've had to use magnets too. They usually work.

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  9. So Art isn't the only fixer in the household. :-)

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  10. Nice new gadget Kay! And I was wondering if the telescoping magnet thingie may not be able to fetch the safety pin if it was aluminum. I have one of the magnet telescoping tools. I hang it under a shelf stuck to the shelf's bracket. Linda in Kansas

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    Replies
    1. I looked it up and it says safety pins are generally made of steel. I was going to check this out but I can't find any magnets around me. The telescoping magnet thing sounds like something we need to look for here though.

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  11. I remember doing something similar when my ex wife Daisy dropped something down the drain. But I used a coat hanger and clear tape

    Now I have sinks covered with sink shrooms ever since

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