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I am currently working on putting in a basement bathroom. Have a 4 inch drain pipe roughed in, which at it's location is the toilet. Put a camera down to see the condition of the pipe and about 12 feet from the opening is a piece of cinder block. The piece itself is fairly small, about the size of a 2 liter bottle cap. I tried using a vacuum to get the piece out, to no avail. Any suggestions short of tearing the slab up to get it out?

Can I just leave it?

Scott
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    any chance of hooking it with an electrician's fish tape?? I never like leaving anything in a drain that doesn't belong there. – JACK Jan 24 '20 at 01:16
  • why does the title of your post contain the word large? – jsotola Jan 24 '20 at 02:03
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    If it's only the size of a bottle cap, it'll probably just work down the drain over time. – cutrightjm Jan 24 '20 at 02:45
  • I might try pushing it down to the tank or main if on a city sewer. If there is a clean out further down you could put the vacuum at that location and push it to the clean out where the vacuum may be able to pick it up, if you can’t pull it up flush it down with clean water it will probably go down fairly easily if you have even a minimum slope to the drain. – Ed Beal Jan 24 '20 at 03:58
  • You could get a "drain cleaning water bladder:" https://www.amazon.com/Water-Products-750-3-Inch-6-Inch/dp/B0000CBJ67 Attache it to a garden hose, shove it down the drain, and turn on the water. The bladder will expand with the water and when it can't expand any further, it will start sending water down the drain pipe. You'll need to check frequently to see if it's moving to bit of block along. – NothingToSeeHere Jan 24 '20 at 13:11
  • 2 liter bottle cap doesn't sound large or obstructive in a 4" pipe. What problem do you think it's causing? – JPhi1618 Jan 24 '20 at 16:25
  • I'd say its 1x1x1 cube shaped piece of cinder. Probably there when the house was built. I'm afraid if I leave it, eventually the toilet line will start backing up. Going to try and put the hose down there, and push it out towards the sewer – Scott Jan 25 '20 at 04:56

1 Answers1

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Drain rods with a "drop scraper" attachment might work. Although may take a few tries. If possible try accessing it from someplace closer.

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The way this works is that you push it beyond the obstruction and then pull back out. When pulled back the tool opens and scrapes over the floor of the pipe, brings back any debris with it.

UmH
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    You can also push these in upside down, so the head runs along the pipe ID on the tips of the half-circle, which is on top of the rod, above the debris, then rotate it beyond so that the head falls open. – Phil G Jan 24 '20 at 15:40