Easy, step-by-step instructions for removing unlike kinds of tub stoppers

Your tub stopper is such a small part of your bath overall, notwithstanding can crusade big headaches when it isn't functioning properly. If yous need assist figuring out how to remove or supersede your tub bleed stopper, you've come to the correct identify. Your friends at PlumbingSupply.com® are happy to provide you with this easy tutorial that volition walk you through identifying the type of stopper you currently have and how to remove information technology, every bit well as offering tips and tricks to help ensure the process is as simple as possible.

There are six mutual types of bathtub drain stoppers:

Already know what kind of stopper you accept? Click any image above to leap direct to instructions for that type of stopper.

How to identify which stopper you have: If your tub does non accept a trip lever, it is either a Toe Touch, Push Pull, Flip-It®, PresFlo®, or a Lift-and-Plow style stopper. These stoppers operate without a trip lever machinery and are by and large the easiest kind to remove or replace since they exercise not require the removal of the trip lever. Read the descriptions below to aid you further decide which mode of stopper you accept.

  • Toe Bear upon: The stopper opens and closes with the push of your toe.
  • Button-Pull: The stopper has a knob in the center and yous must push it downwards to close and pull it upwards to open up.
  • Lift and Turn: This looks very similar to the Push-Pull mode, only you will demand to lift and turn the stopper (in opposite directions) to open and shut.
  • Flip-It®: This stopper uses a toggle that when flipped from side to side, will open or shut.
  • 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 i side.
  • Popular-Up: This style tin can have a trip lever or plow style machinery on the overflow that moves an internal button 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 exist covered past a strainer.
  • Plunger Mode: This style besides uses either a trip lever or turn style mechanism to operate. An internal plunger is used to end water flow. When the overflow plate is activated by tripping a lever or turning the plate it causes the plunger to enhance or lower. Trip Lever and Turn Way assemblies normally do non have a visible stopper in the tub drain. The drains simply have a strainer of some sort covering the drain.

Instructions for Removing Bathtub Bleed Stoppers

How to Remove a Toe Bear on Tub Stopper

Removing the cap of a toe touch stopper

Unscrewing the shaft cylinder

Pulling out the stopper

Toe touch tub drain stopper

Tools needed: Flathead screwdriver

Step 1: With the stopper in the "open" position (similar you are emptying your tub), hold the shaft cylinder of the stopper and turn the top counter-clockwise. If this action causes the shaft cylinder to also want to turn, then release your hold on the shaft cylinder and continue to unscrew the stopper. The shaft cylinder is threaded into the cross bar in the strainer and once information technology is unthreaded, lift and remove the complete stopper.

Step ii: Withal, for some Toe Touch stoppers, property the shaft cylinder and turning the top cap volition allow yous to just unscrew the top finished cap portion of the stopper. If this is the case, then unscrew the top cap all the style off.

Footstep 3: In one case the top cap has been unscrewed and lifted off, unscrew the shaft cylinder counter-clockwise to remove the threaded post screwed into the cross bar in the strainer. Some shaft cylinders may have a screwdriver slot to permit you to unscrew the shaft/post with the use of a screwdriver.

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How to Remove a Button-Pull Tub Stopper

Removing the top knob

Unscrewing the brass insert

Pulling out the stopper

Push-pull tub drain stopper

Tools needed: Flathead screwdriver, clean rag, pliers

Pace 1: The stopper can exist 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 1 hand and with the other paw unscrew the knob by turning information technology counter-clockwise. If the knob will not unscrew, then wrap the rag around the knob and use the pliers to aid remove the knob.

Step 3: Use a flathead screwdriver to unscrew the brass insert (postal service) in the eye of the stopper by turning the post counter-clockwise. The post is threaded into the crossbar of the strainer.

Pace iv: Lift the stopper off the strainer.

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How to Remove a Elevator & Turn Tub Stopper

Lift and turn tub drain

Tools needed: Flathead screwdriver, set of Allen wrenches

Step 1: With the stopper in the "open" position (like you are emptying your tub), hold the trunk of the stopper and slowly plough the stopper knob and look for a visible prepare screw on the knob. If your stopper does non have a visible set up spiral on the knob then plow the stopper counter-clockwise until the stopper unthreads from the strainer and move on to Step vi.

Step 2: If your stopper does not have a visible set up screw on the stopper knob and does not unscrew then you may have ane of 2 different styles of lift and plow stoppers. One volition have a set screw beneath the stopper on the post shaft. With the stopper still in the "open" position, elevator the stopper upwards. Turn it until you see a pocket-sized screw. This volition be the "set" screw and you can at present go along to Step three.

If y'all practice not see a set up screw so you may take a type of stopper that has a aqueduct built-in around the stopper. There is a pin on the strainer that the channel rotates around to achieve the lift and turn activeness. Lift the stopper and begin rotating the stopper slowly counter-clockwise until the slot at the bottom of the channel aligns with the pin on the strainer releasing the stopper to pull upwards.

Step 3: Either a screwdriver or allen wrench is needed to loosen the set up screw. Typically, you practice non demand to remove the screw entirely, simply loosen it enough to remove the stopper.

Stride iv: Lift the stopper off the postal service. If your stopper has a set spiral and will not pull off the post and then try loosening the set spiral a piffling more. If the prepare spiral is removed and it will all the same not slide off the post, and then at that place may exist a calcium water build-up between the stopper and the mail. You may wish to use a liquid wrench type solvent or exert more pressure since the stopper should lift off the post.

Step five: Once the stopper is lifted off of the post then unscrew the mail service from the strainer.

Footstep 6: Elevator off the stopper. If your stopper does non have a gear up screw and it does not lift off, but continues "spinning" without unscrewing, then the postal service threads could be stripped and you would demand to exert upwards pressure while unscrewing the stopper in hopes of unthreading information technology from the strainer. If this maneuver does not work so you will need to unscrew the bath waste matter flange from the drain piping.

Pro Tip: Nosotros recommend replacing lift and turn stoppers with push-pull stoppers as they are much easier to operate. All you take to exercise is pull up on the stopper to open information technology, but with lift and turn stoppers it can often be a hassle to find the right spot where the stopper volition stay up or go dorsum down.

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How to Remove a Flip-Information technology® Stopper

Grasping the top of the stopper

Rotating and pulling the stopper

Pulling out the stopper

Flip-It tub drain stopper

Tools needed: None!

This is probably the easiest stopper to remove equally all you'll need to practise is pull it free from your drain!

Step 1: O-rings go along this Flip-It® tub drain stopper in identify. Gently grasp the outer chrome round body (not the toggle) and begin to rotate the stopper pulling up at the aforementioned fourth dimension. It does non matter in which management you lot rotate the stopper. Sometimes wiggling back and along while pulling up may work as well.

How to Remove a PresFlo® Stopper

Flat/level stopper

Attaching the suction cup to the stopper

Pulling out the stopper

PresFlo tub drain stopper

Tools needed: Minor suction loving cup

PresFlo® drains seal using an o-ring that holds the comprehend in identify then information technology can exist easily rotated to close the drain - making it excellent for persons with disabilities or who might have difficulty bending down to employ other types of drains. However, this unique system can exist kind of catchy to figure out how to remove. We hope yous didn't throw away that little suction cup your drain came with! (But if you did, don't worry, we've got you covered.)

Stride one: Ensure the stopper is flat/level in the drain.

Step ii: Press the suction cup down onto the stopper until a good seal is formed. This might take you a couple of tries since the stopper will want to rotate with the pressure.

Pace iii: Firmly grasping the suction cup, pull the stopper straight upward and out of the drain body. Again, since this stopper likes to rotate, y'all might need a couple of tries to get it level enough to come up out.

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How to Remove a Trip Lever or Plunger Style Stopper

Pulling out the unscrewed faceplate

Plunger rod links

Plunger being removed from pipe

Plunger style tub drain stopper

Tools needed: Screwdriver

Plunger tub drains accept a stopper located inside the waste product and overflow pipe, and are activated using a Trip Lever or Plow Mode overflow plate. Well-nigh will have a strainer plate covering the drain. The comprehend plate simply screws into the body of the drain, as shown in this example, and tin can be removed or changed past just unscrewing information technology.

Step 1: Locate the screws on the trip lever.

Step 2: You volition need to remove the screws from the comprehend plate of the trip lever, however, remove only one screw from the faceplate at first. With a screwdriver begin to slowly loosen and remove one of the screws, either i, your choice.

Step 3: Once 1 of the screws is removed then hold the faceplate securely and begin to slowly remove the other screw. As the faceplate is loosened it will begin to swivel. As soon every bit the faceplate is loose enough to swing downwardly and away (exist careful non to scratch your tub) to reveal the contrary side screw pigsty, reinstall the commencement screw back into the now exposed overflow elbow just a few turns. This maneuver can help you in two ways. If your overflow elbow is loose it can go on the loose elbow and piping from disappearing backside the tub. It can also keep y'all from loosing the overflow washer that could fall down behind the tub. The overflow washer is normally installed directly behind the tub located between the overflow elbow and the tub.

Stride 4: Now remove the second screw completely while holding onto the faceplate.

Step 5: Pull the trip lever out and away from the tub wall, yous may need to wiggle information technology a bit for it to come loose. With this type of tub drain, the stopper is actually inside the pipage, not at the drain opening.

Step 6: If needed, the stopper can be adjusted by either tightening or loosening the adaptable linkage that connects the trip lever to the stopper. The stopper must exist adjusted to the correct height in lodge for the bathtub to bleed correctly.

Troubleshooting Tips:

  • If the stopper is besides high, and so the bathtub will not plug up completely and will permit water to slowly bleed while the tub is plugged.
  • If the stopper is adjusted as well low, when in the open position, the bathtub will drain very slowly as the stopper is partially blocking the drain opening. This may go far seem like there is a clog in the bleed, since the tub is not draining well.

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Related Items & Information

Delight note the data provided here is intended to give a basic knowledge of plumbing related repairs, troubleshooting, or purchasing considerations. This information is full general, and may non suit all applications. If you are at all unsure of your abilities to complete one of these projects or accept further questions about the information presented, please consult a professional person. Always check with local lawmaking regulations and the proper regime before beginning a project.