There are six common types of bathtub drain stoppers:
already know what kind of stopper you have ? Click any prototype above to jump directly to instructions for that type of stopper.
How to identify which stopper you have: If your tub does not have a trip lever, it is either a Toe Touch, Push Pull, Flip-It®, PresFlo®, or a Lift-and-Turn style stopper. These stoppers operate without a tripper lever mechanism and are by and large the easiest kind to remove or replace since they do not require the removal of the trip lever. Read the descriptions below to help you further determine which manner of stopper you have .
- Toe Touch: The stopper opens and closes with the push of your toe.
- Push-Pull: The stopper has a knob in the center and you must push it down to close and pull it up to open.
- Lift and Turn: This looks very similar to the Push-Pull style, but you will need to lift and turn the stopper (in opposite directions) to open and close.
- Flip-It ®: This stopper uses a toggle that when flipped from side to side, will open or close.
- PresFlo ®: This stopper uses an o-ring to create the seal and spins within the drain opening to either an open or closed position with just slight pressure on one side.
- Pop-Up: This style can have a trip lever or turn style mechanism on the overflow that moves an internal push rod against a rocker arm attached to the stopper to raise or lower the stopper. Pop-ups have a visible stopper in the tub drain, and cannot be covered by a strainer.
- Plunger Style: This style also uses either a trip lever or turn style mechanism to operate. An internal plunger is used to stop water flow. When the overflow plate is activated by tripping a lever or turning the plate it causes the plunger to raise or lower. Trip Lever and Turn Style assemblies normally do not have a visible stopper in the tub drain. The drains simply have a strainer of some sort covering the drain.
Instructions for Removing Bathtub Drain Stoppers
How to Remove a Toe Touch Tub Stopper
Tools needed: Flathead screwdriver
footprint 1
With the plug in the “ open ” position ( like you are emptying your tub ), hold the rotating shaft cylinder of the stopper and turn the top counter-clockwise. If this legal action causes the spear cylinder to besides want to turn, then release your prevail on the rotating shaft cylinder and continue to unscrew the stopper. The cock cylinder is threaded into the intersect cake in the strainer and once it is unthreaded, lift and remove the arrant show-stopper .
step 2
however, for some Toe Touch stoppers, holding the beam cylinder and turning the top detonator will allow you to just unscrew the top finished detonator assign of the stopper. If this is the casing, then unscrew the top cap all the means off .
step 3
Once the circus tent crown has been unscrewed and lifted off, unscrew the spear cylinder counter-clockwise to remove the string post screwed into the crossbreed prevention in the strainer. Some shaft cylinders may have a screwdriver slot to allow you to unscrew the shaft/post with the manipulation of a screwdriver .
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How to Remove a Push-Pull Tub Stopper
Tools needed : Flathead screwdriver, clean rag, pliers
step 1
The stopper can be in the “ open ” or “ closed ” position .
step 2
Remove the knob on the top of the stopper. Hold the body of the stopper in place with one hand and with the other handwriting unscrew the knob by turning it counter-clockwise. If the node will not unscrew, then wrap the torment around the knob and use the pliers to help remove the knob .
step 3
Use a flathead screwdriver to unscrew the boldness cut-in ( post ) in the middle of the conversation stopper by turning the post counter-clockwise. The post is threaded into the crossbar of the strainer .
dance step 4
Lift the show-stopper off the strainer .
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How to Remove a Lift & Turn Tub Stopper
Tools needed : Flathead screwdriver, plant of Allen wrenches
step 1
With the conversation stopper in the “ open ” place ( like you are emptying your tub ), hold the body of the stopper and lento turn the stopper knob and look for a visible set sleep together on the knob. If your conversation stopper does not have a visible laid screw on the node then turn the stopper counter-clockwise until the stopper unthreads from the strainer and move on to Step 6 .
mistreat 2
If your conversation stopper does not have a visible sic sleep together on the conversation stopper knob and does not unscrew then you may have one of two different styles of airlift and turn stoppers. One will have a set fuck beneath the conversation stopper on the post quill. With the plug still in the “ open ” situation, lift the show-stopper up. Turn it until you see a small cheat. This will be the “ hardened ” fuck and you can nowadays proceed to Step 3.
If you do not see a set sleep together then you may have a type of stopper that has a transmit built-in around the stopper. There is a pin on the strainer that the groove rotates around to accomplish the face-lift and turn natural process. Lift the conversation stopper and begin rotating the conversation stopper slowly counter-clockwise until the slot at the bottom of the channel aligns with the pin on the strainer releasing the show-stopper to pull upwards .
step 3
Either a screwdriver or allen wrench is needed to loosen the set prison guard. typically, you do not need to remove the screw wholly, simply loosen it enough to remove the show-stopper .
measure 4
Lift the conversation stopper off the post. If your plug has a set cheat and will not pull off the post then try loosening the fit screw a fiddling more. If the dress sleep together is removed and it will inactive not slide off the post, then there may be a calcium water build-up between the stopper and the post. You may wish to use a liquid twist character solvent or exert more pressure since the conversation stopper should lift off the military post .
dance step 5
Once the conversation stopper is lifted off of the position then unscrew the mail from the strainer .
step 6
Lift off the stopper. If your stopper does not have a set screw and it does not lift off, but continues “ spinning ” without unscrewing, then the post threads could be stripped and you would need to exert up pressure while unscrewing the stopper in hopes of unthreading it from the strainer. If this maneuver does not work then you will need to unscrew the bathroom thriftlessness flange from the drain shriek .
Pro Tip: We recommend replacing plagiarize and turn stoppers with push-pull stoppers as they are much easier to operate. All you have to do is pull up on the plug to open it, but with lift and turn stoppers it can often be a fuss to find the right smudge where the plug will stay up or go back down .
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How to Remove a Flip-It ® Stopper
Tools needed: none !
This is probably the easiest stopper to remove as all you ‘ll need to do is pull it free from your drain !
step 1
O-rings prevent this Flip-It® tub drain stopper in place. lightly grasp the outer chrome round torso ( not the toggle ) and begin to rotate the stopper rend upwards at the same time. It does not matter in which steering you rotate the show-stopper. sometimes wiggling back and forth while pulling up may work a good .
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How to Remove a PresFlo ® Stopper
Tools needed: Small sucking cup
PresFlo® drains seal using an o-ring that holds the cover in seat so it can be easily rotated to close the drain – making it excellent for persons with disabilities or who might have difficulty bending down to use early types of drains. however, this singular system can be kind of slippery to figure out how to remove. We hope you did n’t throw away that small suction cup your drain came with ! ( But if you did, do n’t worry, we ‘ve got you covered. )
step 1
Ensure the show-stopper is flat/level in the drain .
step 2
Press the suction cup gloomy onto the plug until a good seal is formed. This might take you a couple of tries since the plug will want to rotate with the blackmail .
step 3
Firmly grasping the suction cup, pull the show-stopper straight up and out of the enfeeble body. Again, since this conversation stopper likes to rotate, you might need a couple of tries to get it level enough to come out .
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How to Remove a Trip Lever or Plunger Style Stopper
Tools needed: screwdriver
Plunger tub drains have a plug located inside the waste and overflow shriek, and are activated using a Trip Lever or Turn Style flood plate. Most will have a strainer plate covering the drain. The cover plate just screws into the body of the drain, as shown in this model, and can be removed or changed by just unscrewing it .
step 1
Locate the sleep together on the trip lever .
step 2
You will need to remove the screws from the report plate of the trip lever, however, remove only one cheat from the faceplate at foremost. With a screwdriver begin to slowly tease and remove one of the screws, either one, your choice .
step 3
Once one of the prison guard is removed then hold the faceplate securely and begin to slowly remove the other fuck. As the faceplate is loosened it will begin to swivel. deoxyadenosine monophosphate soon as the faceplate is loose enough to swing down and away ( be careful not to scratch your tub ) to reveal the antonym side screw trap, reinstall the beginning screw back into the now exposed flood elbow just a few turns. This maneuver can help you in two ways. If your overflow elbow is informal it can keep the loose elbow and piping from disappearing behind the tub. It can besides keep you from loosing the bubble over washer that could fall down behind the bathtub. The overflow washer is normally installed immediately behind the tub located between the flood elbow and the tub .
step 4
now remove the second gear fuck wholly while holding onto the faceplate .
step 5
Pull the slip lever out and away from the bathtub wall, you may need to wiggle it a bit for it to come loose. With this type of tub drain, the stopper is actually inside the pipe, not at the drain opening .
pace 6
If needed, the conversation stopper can be adjusted by either tighten or loosening the adjustable linkage that connects the trip lever to the stopper. The show-stopper must be adjusted to the correct acme in club for the bathtub to drain correctly .
Troubleshooting Tips :
- If the stopper is too high, then the bathtub will not plug up completely and will allow water to slowly drain while the tub is plugged.
- If the stopper is adjusted too low, when in the open position, the bathtub will drain very slowly as the stopper is partially blocking the drain opening. This may make it seem like there is a clog in the drain, since the tub is not draining well.
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Please notice : The trip lever assemblies above will fit most tub drains up to 16″ high. If you have a different size or need specific parts, we offer The trip lever assemblies above will fit most bathtub drains up to 16 ” high. If you have a different size or indigence specific parts, we offer more travel lever or plunger style options
