To ask for your help with a poo in the bath incident

[canihaveacoffeeplease]

The toddler pooped in the bath. She really should know better. I thought it would be a disgusting but fairly simple cleanup but I have no marigolds. OH is at work. No one else to ask to watch the DDs so I can go to the shop (quite rural).

I had to leave it to get them both to bed (toddler had to be showered off, baby was already out thank god) so left it to drain. It hasn't drained. I can only assume a nugget has snuck its way down the waste pipe (it's one of those pop up wastes so can't see).

The offending article has now become rather broken up and there's little bits floating everywhere, including, of course, the ubiquitous kernels of sweet corn. It's sort of becoming pop soup. Most of the larger bits are kind of disintegrated on the floor of the bath, but there are some little floaters too.

I don't know whether to sacrifice my sieve to try to get the bits out, but I still have the problem of the blocked waste and water not draining.

Crocodile, hippo, whale, walrus, duck et al are mostly floating upside down in horror. I'm sitting on the chair next to the bath in horror.

Good people of Mumsnet, what to do?? I need your help. This must've happened many times before, there must be a solution.

I'm a woman on the edge, the first person who asks for a photo will get one, so don't ask!

Use food bags as gloves?

Then throw away of course

Photo!!
Slotted spoon? Plunger?

Nappy bag to collect it? But like a dog poo bag.

Now come on, you know the rules of photo or it didn't happen! In all seriousness do you have any skewers you could poke around the waste with?

Toddler poo? Couldn't you have immediately scooped it up and flushed it away? Then rigorously washed your hands?

Just use a tissue to scoop it up and then wash your hands thoroughly.

try putting more water in the bath....the pressure may dislodge whatever is stuck in the pipe.

You know, you could of course use your hands. Presumably you have soap in the house?

Very very hot water, use the shower attachment to house down. Bleach. Good luck! Your mistake was leaving it....

Sounds horrible. Do you have any of that unblocking stuff that you pour down the plughole? Some of it works in standing water.

Apparently washing up liquid helps to break it down.

Use food bags as a sieve.
Pop some holes in with a needle then use as a fishing net to scoop out small pooplets.

Do you have a plunger? You can take the pop up bit out and plunge away. If you don't have a plunger try and stick a kebab skewer (other random long poky stick you have) down there to break it up. Agree sandwich bags etc as gloves or just five in and wash your hands fantastically well after. When this happened to me my mum told me to sterilise the various bath animals but to be honest I just threw them away!

For future reference, always scoop it out ASAP before it starts disintegrating. Hands wash, just use your hands and wash vigorously afterwards.

How did you wash the poopy water off your children btw?

For now, I think I would:

• scoop out any large poo pieces with my hands then wash hands
• Rescue the bath toys, either chuck (if any holes in base etc) or stick in a washing bowl with water and a good dose of bleach. Obviously the bleach should be rinsed off before future use
• scoop out water with a jug and pour down toilet. Will be time/labour intensive but can't think of a better way
• when water level too low for further scooping, put down drain unblocker

Not sure what I'd do without drain unblocker. What else have you got if you don't have any of that?

Do you have any plunger type kit?

Definitely sieve out the bits.

Most pop up wastes can be pulled up and out. If not do you have any pipe cleaners in your art supplies? If yes poke one down.

Once the poo soup is cleared it will be easier.

In future always scoop it out immediately. Believe me. Far better than scoop the log and wash hands thoroughly than deal with what you now face

lol there was only one post when I started typing!

Or your hand in a nappy sack to scoop it out, rinse the rest away and clean the bath. Your mistake was to leave it.

Plastic bowl, jug, mug etc and decant the whole lot down the loo to relieve pressure on waste pipe, then try some bleach to rinse bath round. Then buy some heavy duty unblocker to leave in for few hours to see if that works, if not you may need a plunger and to dismantle plug to try and unblock. Failing that a plumber if you dont feel up to wrestling with the waste pipe connections under the bath as they can be tricky to put back together leak free

*Put

It's vile but just pull out/ unscrew pop-up waste without hand and then poke with stick/knitting needle whatever.

Then wash your hands.

You should have just grabbed is straight away!

Now just empty it bucket full by bucket full (or jug by jug) down the toilet. Then you can deal with the blocked waste afterwards with drain ublocker/bleech/lots of hot water.

Without hand? That would be a good trick. I mean with your hand.

Personally I have to have a scarf covering my mouth and nose and breath through my mouth when dealing with poo and vomit on hand kind of situation.

As long as my mouth is covered I can touch stuff knowing I can wash my hands well afterwards.