A bathtub drain stopper is very useful when you want to block or stop the water from draining itself. Imagine - you've had a long day at work and can't wait to get home. The moment you're home, you rush upstairs to draw a warm, soothing bubble bath. You're inside the bathtub and after a while, you realize the water level is going down. In 10 minutes or so, there's just water for namesake. Now you made sure that the stopper was fixed tightly and there was no way you forgot or didn't get it tight enough on the drain opening. But unfortunately, there's not much you can do at the moment but get out and get dressed. You haven't used the stopper that often and never noticed, till now, that it isn't really the right fit. Keeping this in mind, we are going to give you information on the different types of stoppers, how you can replace and repair you old stopper, and how to remove a stuck stopper.
Drain Stopper Types
The issue with these stoppers occurs with many people that the stopper is either not the right size, needs to be repaired, or is stuck. There are different types and sizes of stoppers found which you can use in your bathtub. Depending on the drain opening in your bathtub, you can purchase either stoppers with the pulling chain or rubber grips. Also, you get various sizes of stoppers between 1'' to 5'' in diameter. So whenever you do shop for a new stopper, do so after taking proper measurements.
Now I don't want to make things complicated, but in the 2 types of stoppers, there are few varieties as well. You can get stoppers which have a lever, circular rubber, pop-up, stainless steel toggle, plunger, and threaded style. To understand and view what these stoppers look like, you can visit your local home improvement store.
Stuck Drain Stopper If your stopper is stuck over the drain and you can't seem to make it budge, follow these steps. Take a flathead screwdriver and gently, try to squeeze it in between the stopper and the drain. Now try to pop the stopper upward. You can hold a towel over the stopper. This towel will help the stopper from flying when it pops up. Also, you won't hurt yourself with the screwdriver. If the screwdriver doesn't work, you can use pliers as well. Pull the stopper carefully and clean the stopper along with the drain itself. As this area is often ignored while cleaning, it can make the stopper get stuck there because of grease and soap scum.
Drain Stopper Removal When you want to repair, remove, and replace the stopper, follow these steps. You will require a tub drain wrench, a plumber's putty, pliers, replacement stopper, hand gloves, screwdriver, and cleaning rags. First you will need to remove the plug with the help of the pliers.
Wear the hand gloves, grab the plug, twist it counterclockwise, and remove it from its hole. With the help of the tub wrench, you will insert it inside the hole. Twist the wrench counterclockwise as well so that the drain flange is unscrewed. Pull it out and keep the flange on a cleaning rag. The new stopper will come with a drain flange; so we need to install that as well. Spread plumber's putty underneath the rim of the flange so that there won't be an issue with excess water drainage. Place the new flange in place of the old one and then the new stopper. Use the wrench and now twist the stopper clockwise so that it will fit perfectly inside the hole.
Place the screws on the stopper properly and then in clockwise manner, twist the stopper in its place. This will fix the stopper properly and won't move while in use. Do a test by filling the bathtub with water and checking if the water isn't draining quickly. Many times, people think that the stoppers are supposed to be 100% accurate and there is never a leak when you use the right size. The accuracy of any stopper depends on what the condition of the bathtub drain and stopper is. Over time the stoppers can lose their shape and efficiency. Which is why, it is important to store it over a flat surface and not leave it hanging free. And if your bathtub drain stopper is broken, stuck, needs to be repaired or removed, you've can follow the instructions given to you in this article.
