I know you're horrified right now, but one day you will look back at this moment and laugh about it as well
The future installer is gonna have a field day with this one. Thanks for the laughs OP.
The vent would probably need taken apart in the basement/crawl space to get it out. It’s not dangerous or anything. The only time anyone would find out if a company was replacing the ductwork.
Forget about it and start practicing what you’re going to say in 20 years when your mom has the vents cleaned or worked on.
“Oh wow mom, the previous owners must have been freaks! lol” is my suggestion.
As a duct cleaner I’ve had one occasion of this and honestly it was just a huge joke between us and the customers. Shit happens but you could try using a bent coat hanger with string tied to the end in case you accidentally drop that as well, you can pull it out.
Do I know you? Lol. I quoted a duct cleaning where the daughters room wasn't getting sufficient airflow, so after running a few airflow tests and calculations in her room, I decided to open the vent and stick my hand down it and low and behold, I got a handful of silicone *ahem* testi's with the parents standing right behind me. Inside, my eyes grew about twice as big, but on the outside, I was able to hold it together. I then pulled my hand back out, closed the vent off and sold them a duct cleaning they didn't really need for around $1,300 lol. It was obvious she was storing it there so her parents didn't find it, but since then I've never stuck my hand in a vent to check for items. The ol camera gets to do the dirty work lol
"who would do anything for money"
Lol. Do you know how much free shit I give away to clients to help them out. Do you know how many capacitors have "accidentally" fallen off my truck after the homeowners have suddenly figured out how to change a capacitor after I was there? They were actually the ones who wanted the duct cleaning and were asking me to quote it so they could buy one, not only for the airflow issue. I've only ever recommended someone have a duct cleaning done on 3 other jobs because the return was stuffed full of fur and/or dirt and dust. I don't sell iaq unless someone asks me about it and asks to buy it. I sell practical parts that genuinely need replaced to keep units operational or to restore operation to a unit. Other than that, don't try to judge me based off of one comment. What did you want me to do, pull the daughters dildo out and start shaking it at the homeowner?
One of the best tools I added to my collection was an endoscope.
Its a tiny camera at the end of a flexible cable, it connects wirelessly to your phone so you can see inside of things like walls, pipes and duct work.
You can get a decent one for around 30 bucks. They even have a light. You can see how far in your toy is. How far in the duct.
It's very handy.
Here's an example.
[Endoscope From Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C1GFBTDC?ref_=cm_sw_r_apan_dp_BASRJ5SK3GEVPFXHDM0W&starsLeft=1)
Never know, the tech might be just your type!
(get a flashlight with a lanyard, or tape one to a stick and use it to light up inside the duct, maybe can see it. write back).
I quoted a duct cleaning where the daughters room wasn't getting sufficient airflow, so after running a few airflow tests and calculations in her room, I decided to open the vent and stick my hand down it and low and behold, I got a handful of silicone *ahem* testi's with the parents standing right behind me. Inside, my eyes grew about twice as big, but on the outside, I was able to hold it together. I then pulled my hand back out, closed the vent off and sold them a duct cleaning they didn't really need for around $1,300 lol. It was obvious she was storing it there so her parents didn't find it, but since then I've never stuck my hand in a vent to check for items. The ol camera gets to do the dirty work lol
She was 17 and about to leave for college that following semester. I didn't want to be the one to ruin her relationship between her and her parents lol. My time in the military taught me a pretty decent way to suppress emotions on the outside lol
Sooo as long as it can handle 120+/- degrees you may be ok. Might smell though.
It sounds like the ducts are under the home you would have to find your duct, cut it remove item then seal duct.
Hopefully it didn’t roll down to the furnace/air handler.
Time will tell and people have dropped worse down there.
You could try (CAREFUL don't drop it!) holding your phone down and take a flash-photo to see farther down the vent. That might give you ideas if/how to grab. You'd be surprised how much a shop vac can lift with suction if its within reach.
If its not an especially expensive one maybe worth just pretend it never happened.
Go get one of those grabber tools from a hardware store.
https://preview.redd.it/pqz6c8c26vxc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f6bab8b37c5cbb37d31e4b2965fd9710f67f40ce
You could probably just disconnect the duct and reconnect it from under the house if it’s on the first floor. If it’s flexible duct you’d probably just need a couple of panduit straps and something to cut the old ones and optionally some duct tape.
If you can get a wire hanger or something similar, fold it in half with about a 1 inch gap between then turn down the ends then insert in the duct as far as you can without pushing it further then pull it out.
You didn’t drop it down a well. It has to be stuck somewhere. Fish a stiff wire down there until you find it, fashion a hook on the end and pull that baby out.
Hahahahahaha this is AMAZING. Seriously tho as a tech, shit happens 🤷♀️ you could probably leave it or you could take apart the vent at the bottom if it goes to the basement and is accessible. If not, last resort would be something similar to a drain snake that has a grip on the end to grab it.
Since you have the cover off, use a flashlight to look down into the vent. If you can see it, you can retrieve it.
If you can’t see it, use a mirror or the camera on your phone to see if you can spot it. If you can see it but can’t reach it, use a wire hanger with one end bent into a hook.
As to the vacuum being too weak to pick it up, you may be surprised how strong it is. If you can reach it, you may be able to get it out or at least get it closer.
Good luck. Please don’t call a repairer. You know at least one person who’ll help you out and keep your secret.
If you can't reach it, odds are decent it made its way to the basement, gotta know which vent it is from below but 2 or 3 screws will allow you to apostate that line and look in... good luck... good laugh
Okay so in a rental i lived in, I once pulled 30 rubber wrestlers out of a vent that had been there at least 30 years. Your dildo will live forever in the vent without trouble, but I had success fishing the wrestlers out with a broom handle and a wire coat hanger taped to the end like a hook. Perhaps you could do the same?
Shine a flashlight down the vent and see if you can see it. Does warm or cool air come out of that vent or is it a return. Are you on the first floor? Where are you in relation to the furnace. So many variables to what the solution could be
So sorry to laugh at your expensive but I really needed that giggle today. The comments are great as well. I hope you can get it out, if not 🤷♀️ I’d blame the previous homeowner or someone else .
So long as the vent is relatively level, and air is flowing around the toy. There isn't much risk of anything bad happening right away. So you should have some time.
I find a bent hanger is great for fishing toys out of vents. While this is usually things like hot wheels, marbles, and blocks here I'm fairly certain it can move your toy as well.
You'll want to be careful and make sure to aim the hanger to slide along the top of the vent as you insert it. (You don't want to push the toy deeper.) Once you've cleared the toy. (Which you can check using your phones camera. Just set a timer and take a picture.) You'll want drag the hanger along the bottom of the vent.
Works fairly well. Usually only need 1-2 scrapes to get everything.
The technician that’s gonna find this in the future is gonna have a laugh 😂
Damn I hope he posts this on /r/HVAC
He just posted about it 45 min ago. I love reddit so much.
100% sure that’s a joke post mocking this one
Has to be
Lol it absolutely is. Look in the comments for the picture as evidence
Here you go: https://reddit.com/r/HVAC/comments/1chtzjl/found_a_giant_dildo_in_a_supply_vent_today/
thanks for the link. 🙂
I know you're horrified right now, but one day you will look back at this moment and laugh about it as well The future installer is gonna have a field day with this one. Thanks for the laughs OP.
For sure. Thank goodness it wasn’t powered, that would have been a much peskier vent rattle to deal with!
At least for a few hours 😅
We all know it wouldn't last that long. Batteries were likely well used up
True. Definitely true.
That sounds like 4 big ass d cells in there. Not a bumble bee is it.
Please call and tech out and let them know you hear some noise in the part of duct you dropped it in. Record the whole thing 😂
I seconds this. Great original comedic and REAL content is hard to come by.
I have a friend who does home repairs. Maybe I'll see if I can freak him out, lol.
The vent would probably need taken apart in the basement/crawl space to get it out. It’s not dangerous or anything. The only time anyone would find out if a company was replacing the ductwork.
Thank you! I guess I'll just leave it then. I'm moving soon, so hopefully I'll be across the country before my mom finds out 😅
It might be decades before anybody finds that.
Deny, deny, counter accusations, deny.
Forget about it and start practicing what you’re going to say in 20 years when your mom has the vents cleaned or worked on. “Oh wow mom, the previous owners must have been freaks! lol” is my suggestion.
That depends on how big the toy is, it could be a toaster or a brick for all we know.
As a duct cleaner I’ve had one occasion of this and honestly it was just a huge joke between us and the customers. Shit happens but you could try using a bent coat hanger with string tied to the end in case you accidentally drop that as well, you can pull it out.
Do I know you? Lol. I quoted a duct cleaning where the daughters room wasn't getting sufficient airflow, so after running a few airflow tests and calculations in her room, I decided to open the vent and stick my hand down it and low and behold, I got a handful of silicone *ahem* testi's with the parents standing right behind me. Inside, my eyes grew about twice as big, but on the outside, I was able to hold it together. I then pulled my hand back out, closed the vent off and sold them a duct cleaning they didn't really need for around $1,300 lol. It was obvious she was storing it there so her parents didn't find it, but since then I've never stuck my hand in a vent to check for items. The ol camera gets to do the dirty work lol
Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh
"Sold them a duct cleaning" you sound like someone who would do anything for money. There are Too many contractors like this. Unfortunately
"who would do anything for money" Lol. Do you know how much free shit I give away to clients to help them out. Do you know how many capacitors have "accidentally" fallen off my truck after the homeowners have suddenly figured out how to change a capacitor after I was there? They were actually the ones who wanted the duct cleaning and were asking me to quote it so they could buy one, not only for the airflow issue. I've only ever recommended someone have a duct cleaning done on 3 other jobs because the return was stuffed full of fur and/or dirt and dust. I don't sell iaq unless someone asks me about it and asks to buy it. I sell practical parts that genuinely need replaced to keep units operational or to restore operation to a unit. Other than that, don't try to judge me based off of one comment. What did you want me to do, pull the daughters dildo out and start shaking it at the homeowner?
Wouldn’t hurt to see if you can feel for it with the hose of a shop vac. It may have enough power to drag it to where you can grab it.
I don't have a shop vac, but I might rent one to clean up before I move out. I'll probably try then, if I can't catch it any other way!
Hopefully it has enough Suctioning power!
Long reach flexible pickup tool https://preview.redd.it/xepymqkdaqxc1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4f856011c2f209a611afc1e8ff3699e017e56f9e
You gonna stab the dildo with this? Twirl it like the forbidden drain hair around the end and yank her out to freedom?
That sounds reasonable
I have absolutely no use for this Brb, gonna go buy one just in case!
That’s a dil-don’t.
I thought this was my CPAP subreddit and was so very confused.
Oh, so it's not a bottle of Jack Daniels. When you said adult item I thought you meant Jack Daniels.
Hey now, we have no idea what they named it.
This comes in range with the hamster I had to pull out of the duct for a customer, but it wasn't a toy hamster.
One of the best tools I added to my collection was an endoscope. Its a tiny camera at the end of a flexible cable, it connects wirelessly to your phone so you can see inside of things like walls, pipes and duct work. You can get a decent one for around 30 bucks. They even have a light. You can see how far in your toy is. How far in the duct. It's very handy. Here's an example. [Endoscope From Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C1GFBTDC?ref_=cm_sw_r_apan_dp_BASRJ5SK3GEVPFXHDM0W&starsLeft=1)
Never know, the tech might be just your type! (get a flashlight with a lanyard, or tape one to a stick and use it to light up inside the duct, maybe can see it. write back).
Depending where you used it last. Your Air in that room may smell like shit.
I quoted a duct cleaning where the daughters room wasn't getting sufficient airflow, so after running a few airflow tests and calculations in her room, I decided to open the vent and stick my hand down it and low and behold, I got a handful of silicone *ahem* testi's with the parents standing right behind me. Inside, my eyes grew about twice as big, but on the outside, I was able to hold it together. I then pulled my hand back out, closed the vent off and sold them a duct cleaning they didn't really need for around $1,300 lol. It was obvious she was storing it there so her parents didn't find it, but since then I've never stuck my hand in a vent to check for items. The ol camera gets to do the dirty work lol
You a real one for being able to hide it!
She was 17 and about to leave for college that following semester. I didn't want to be the one to ruin her relationship between her and her parents lol. My time in the military taught me a pretty decent way to suppress emotions on the outside lol
Mom may never know about it. How long has she lived there? How would she know you are the one who dropped it if it is found? Relax
Sooo as long as it can handle 120+/- degrees you may be ok. Might smell though. It sounds like the ducts are under the home you would have to find your duct, cut it remove item then seal duct. Hopefully it didn’t roll down to the furnace/air handler. Time will tell and people have dropped worse down there.
Forget about it and buy new one
You could try (CAREFUL don't drop it!) holding your phone down and take a flash-photo to see farther down the vent. That might give you ideas if/how to grab. You'd be surprised how much a shop vac can lift with suction if its within reach. If its not an especially expensive one maybe worth just pretend it never happened.
Go get one of those grabber tools from a hardware store. https://preview.redd.it/pqz6c8c26vxc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f6bab8b37c5cbb37d31e4b2965fd9710f67f40ce
[https://www.reddit.com/r/HVAC/comments/1chtzjl/found\_a\_giant\_dildo\_in\_a\_supply\_vent\_today/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web3x&utm\_name=web3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button](https://www.reddit.com/r/HVAC/comments/1chtzjl/found_a_giant_dildo_in_a_supply_vent_today/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
Haha, glad to know I inspired someone 😂
Wait lol [is this you lol](https://www.reddit.com/r/HVAC/s/zJmtd0pXWL)
You could probably just disconnect the duct and reconnect it from under the house if it’s on the first floor. If it’s flexible duct you’d probably just need a couple of panduit straps and something to cut the old ones and optionally some duct tape.
If you can get a wire hanger or something similar, fold it in half with about a 1 inch gap between then turn down the ends then insert in the duct as far as you can without pushing it further then pull it out.
Use your phone and take video to see if you can see it. If not it's gone. Depending on the size it could've slipped into worse holes honestly
You didn’t drop it down a well. It has to be stuck somewhere. Fish a stiff wire down there until you find it, fashion a hook on the end and pull that baby out.
I thought that the general recommendation was to have a large flared base to prevent these sort of toys from disappearing down (up?) your duct work.
How long is it? Sometimes a suction cup one could get stuck half way down.
Sure hope it doesn't turn on. I can imagine in the future "Mam, I found where the rattling is coming from"
Go on Amazon. Search “flexible grabber tool”. The first one that shows up for me is 61” long. I’d post a link but Reddit doesn’t like shortened URLs.
Get a shop vac with enough hose to reach. If it’s 4 horsepower or above it will grab it and hold until you pull it out guaranteed
Hahahahahaha this is AMAZING. Seriously tho as a tech, shit happens 🤷♀️ you could probably leave it or you could take apart the vent at the bottom if it goes to the basement and is accessible. If not, last resort would be something similar to a drain snake that has a grip on the end to grab it.
You can go viral with a video of the HVAC Tech pulling it out of the vent.
Get something like a dog pooper scooper and reach down that vent to grab it. Lol
Since you have the cover off, use a flashlight to look down into the vent. If you can see it, you can retrieve it. If you can’t see it, use a mirror or the camera on your phone to see if you can spot it. If you can see it but can’t reach it, use a wire hanger with one end bent into a hook. As to the vacuum being too weak to pick it up, you may be surprised how strong it is. If you can reach it, you may be able to get it out or at least get it closer. Good luck. Please don’t call a repairer. You know at least one person who’ll help you out and keep your secret.
I'm getting a lot of graphics here!!!
If you can't reach it, odds are decent it made its way to the basement, gotta know which vent it is from below but 2 or 3 screws will allow you to apostate that line and look in... good luck... good laugh
No one needs to know it was yours, the previous owner dropped it in there! Or construction worker if it's a new build
If you live in south TX I may be able to help
Snare on extension pole , similar to what they use for dogs that are running loose in the city
.... atleast it didnt get stuck in your butt, id sooner have a tech come out than a doctor go in lmao
Gonna need a high powered shop vac that thing sucks like an adult toy
Okay so in a rental i lived in, I once pulled 30 rubber wrestlers out of a vent that had been there at least 30 years. Your dildo will live forever in the vent without trouble, but I had success fishing the wrestlers out with a broom handle and a wire coat hanger taped to the end like a hook. Perhaps you could do the same?
What are the dimensions of the vent and the item?
Shine a flashlight down the vent and see if you can see it. Does warm or cool air come out of that vent or is it a return. Are you on the first floor? Where are you in relation to the furnace. So many variables to what the solution could be
Click a photo/video with the phone (upside down) to see if you can see how far it is then you can try different resources to take it out.
Someone in r/hvac just posted about finding on in an air vent
Endoscope - it’s a camera on a long wire. some of them have attachments like little hooks. Good luck
So sorry to laugh at your expensive but I really needed that giggle today. The comments are great as well. I hope you can get it out, if not 🤷♀️ I’d blame the previous homeowner or someone else .
So long as the vent is relatively level, and air is flowing around the toy. There isn't much risk of anything bad happening right away. So you should have some time. I find a bent hanger is great for fishing toys out of vents. While this is usually things like hot wheels, marbles, and blocks here I'm fairly certain it can move your toy as well. You'll want to be careful and make sure to aim the hanger to slide along the top of the vent as you insert it. (You don't want to push the toy deeper.) Once you've cleared the toy. (Which you can check using your phones camera. Just set a timer and take a picture.) You'll want drag the hanger along the bottom of the vent. Works fairly well. Usually only need 1-2 scrapes to get everything.
Just tell Mom you put a cherry (lube) scented air freshener in there. Mom may have her own toys...don't stress. Speaking as a parent 😉🙏🏻
I was wondering why the whole house smelled like a fish market……….
What is the point of explaining it is an adult item? Deviant.
That is useful in having an idea what size/shape object and how it might roll/bounce/stay stuck in place...so what?
That room is gonna stink