Toys in the Toilet

Yesterday I decided to cook something nice. I spent the afternoon shopping and making home made pizza. It was going great, the crust was rising, it smelled terrific. I sat down with my wife and kids, and took two bites, when my three year old started crying in the bath room, "Daddy I'm all wet".

I went to see what was up and the toilet and all the nasty stuff you'd expect to see in a toilet was overflowing on the flow. I kicked off my good sandles and walked in, my socks and jeans quickly becoming wet with... stuff. I got my three year old out, pulled off the top of the tank and stopped the flow of water.

My wife brought me a plunger, and I plunged and plunged until a few duplo blocks came up. I fished them out (now up to my ankles and elbows in stuff) and tossed them in the nearby trash.

With some work the toilet would almost overflow and flush very slowly. Not good.

After a quick check of my plumbing book and a consult with my dad, a handyman around the house, I determined I needed to remove the toilet and check the trap for more toys. If they went past the toilet trap into the house pipes or house trap I'd be in big trouble.

I get the toilet apart and almost removed. I struggled to get the nuts holding the toilet to the floor of, but avoided using the hacksaw, which was almost necessary.

After two hours I was still laughing about the whole thing and had kept my sense of humor. I asked my 11 year old what I was still doing, hoping for an answer along the lines of "laughing" or "keeping my sense of humor". He said, "You are still removing the toilet." Oh well.. he did eventually get the lesson.

After 2.5-3 hours the toilet was in the front yard. My wife, eldest son and I shook, flipped over, poked and prodded the toilet until we produced 6-12 duplo blocks, 1 thomas the tank engine caboose, a small car, 75 cents in change and a ... a... well something you'd expect in a toilet.

The toilet is on our front deck. I purchased a wax seal today and will re-install it today.

My three year old seems to understand the problem and has promised never to flush toys down the toilet again.

I forgot the toilet was gone late last night and went in to relieve myself. I came back out and asked my wife if I should go in the hole in the floor or step out on the front lawn and aim at the pot.

I'm still laughing. Got to keep my sense of humor.