Nearly everyone I know has this happened to them once in their life, the dreaded feeling when you are washing your hands in the sink and something small like a piece of jewelry falls in the drain right before your eyes. Your knees get weak, your eyes wide in horror, and your heart just stops.

You probably would have called a plumber to retrieve your item, but did you know that you can easily do the rescue mission all by yourself? And you would not need any tools or anything, just a pail of water and your bare hands.

Below are the steps on how you can retrieve something that went down the drain:

1. First, make sure to turn off the water from the main valve. Under your sink, you should be able to see the pipes that connects to a wall. Put an empty pail underneath so that you won’t make a mess.
2. Remove the J-bend. This is the spot where your item is most likely trapped. It is the curved part of the pipe. Once you find it, unscrew the slip nut on top of the J-bend, normally this can be done with the simple use of your hand. In some cases, especially older J-bends made of metal, you might need to apply some WD-40 to loosen the nut up.
3. Once that is done, carefully pull down the pipe. You might want to use some gloves as there could be some clumps of hair and other debris stuck in the pipe.
4. Search through the debris and your item should be in there. Make sure to thoroughly clean and disinfect that item before using it again.
5. Return the J-bend to its original position and screw the slip nut again tightly.

There you go, so the next time you drop something down the drain. You won’t have to start getting that sinking feeling.