Choke Clearing
Toilet Bowl Removal to Retrieve an Object
When a phone, toy, bottle cap or other solid object is stuck in the toilet's bend, the bowl may need to come off to retrieve it. At SG QuickFix this starts from $160, including refitting the bowl on a new seal, and usually takes two to three hours. Plunging can push a solid object further in, so stop flushing once you know something is stuck.
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Listed price
From $160
Task guide
When this may be needed
- A child flushed a toy.
- A phone or comb fell into the toilet.
- The toilet drains slowly after something was dropped in.
- An auger hits something hard in the bend.
- The toilet blocks again soon after every clearing.
What the team does
The technician first tries to reach the object with a toilet auger or retrieval tool from the bowl. If it can't be reached, the water is shut off, the cistern drained, and the bowl is unfixed and lifted off the outlet. The object is retrieved from the bowl's trapway or the outlet, the outlet is cleaned, and the bowl is refitted on a new seal, reconnected and sealed. The toilet is flushed several times and checked for leaks.
Included in this price
- Trying retrieval from the bowl first
- Removing the bowl and retrieving the object
- Refitting the bowl on a new seal
- Reconnecting, sealing and leak-testing
Limits & price factors
Replacing a bowl that cracks during removal because it was already damaged, and objects that have passed into the main stack, are not included.
The price starts from $160. Wall-hung toilets, bowls fixed with old cement, and damaged outlets take longer.
FAQs
Stop flushing. A solid object can lodge further in with each flush. If you can't reach it safely with a gloved hand, book a retrieval.
No. Objects near the top of the bend can often be reached with a toilet auger or retrieval tool. The bowl comes off only if they can't.
Bowls are lifted carefully and refitted on a new seal. A bowl that is already cracked or cemented in may not survive removal; this is checked and explained first.
PUB classes installing, changing or relocating a toilet bowl as sanitary plumbing work that must be carried out by a licensed plumber. Refitting a removed bowl remakes the same connection to the waste pipe. You can check a plumber's licence with PUB's licensed plumber search.
At SG QuickFix, toilet bowl removal for a foreign object starts from $160.
Other choke clearing tasks
- Simple toilet choke clearingFrom $80
- Manual auger clearingFrom $100
- Powered snake / auger clearingFrom $130
- Sink choke clearingFrom $80
- Basin choke clearingFrom $80
- Floor trap choke clearingFrom $90
- Shower drain choke clearingFrom $90
- Deep / recurrent blockageFrom $150
- Main pipe / deep blockageQuote Required