Repair/replace pop-up waste

DJBenson

The popup waste in our bath has been "leaking" (as in letting water out of the bath rather than leaking onto the floor) for far too long and I want to tackle sorting it out. Of course the bath is tiled in which may or may not be a problem depending upon your opinion of the photos below.

I've watched many a video on YouTube showing these types of plugs being replaced and most show a "tub waste removal" tool being used to remove the drain part (picture 4) but it's hard for me to tell if the waste in the photo below can actually be unscrewed like that.

I could probably just change the o-ring but from previous experience, that can be more trouble than just replacing the whole unit - it looks an unusual size/width and is flat rather than round with a tapered edge.

The popup mechanism which screws into the plug hole:


The "plug":


Underside of the "plug" and O-ring


The waste trap:


So - thoughts? Does that drain assembly unscrew from the bath or am I likely to have to remove the bath panel if I want to replace the whole assembly?

EDIT: Apologies for the photo orientation, I rotated them in Windows prior to uploading but it seems the changes were not saved :mad:

DJBenson

I take your point, and it did cross my mind, but the bath is above our kitchen/dining room, and the volume of water escaping (it takes about 30 minutes for a half-filled bath to empty in its current state) we would almost certainly know about it! :eek:

Head_The_Ball

There are a number of possibilities.

The water could be leaking, not via the plug hole, but via the circumference of the waste trap if the washer or silicone or whatever was put there to seal it to the bath surface has failed. You could test that by using a rubber plug that fits securely and seeing if bath water still drains.

The o ring could have worn and need replacing. Smearing vaseline or a waterproof sealant around the o ring may help if you can't get a replacement. You may find that a round o ring of the correct size will work if you can't find an exact match.

The pop up mechanism might not be fully closing the plug and might need adjusting. Try adjusting it, probably by screwing the two parts together very slightly.

PS: Do you have hard water? Try cleaning everything with a limescale remover such as Kilrock gel. It could be that a build up of limescale is preventing a perfect fit between the plug and waste.

Head_The_Ball

DJBenson wrote: »

..Does that drain assembly unscrew from the bath or am I likely to have to remove the bath panel if I want to replace the whole assembly?...:

I recently replaced a leaking pop up waste. It is not the same as yours. My waste trap is secured by a screw mechanism at the centre that screws onto the assembly below the bath and clamps them tightly together. I used silicon to seal the waste to the bath. Some wastes come with a washer. I have read that silicone is more reliable.

You will probably need access to the underneath of the bath in order to repair or replace a waste. Experienced plumbers should be able to comment on that.

As it takes quite a long time for the water to drain away, and provided that you are certain that no water is leaking onto the floor under the bath, than you may be better off just living with the leak, especially if my suggestions above slow down the leak.

DJBenson

It's almost certainly a worn o-ring (tested by plugging the drain and filling slightly - no water escaped (nothing noticeablew anyway).

The mechanism is a cheapo plastic jobbie and is not adjustable. They are replaceable but the screw thread seems to be non-standard (20mm rather than 16mm). The o-ring however seems to be a standard size (40mm) and is readily available so that should fix it.

For a rough-and-ready solution, I have wrapped a flat elastic bad around the top of the o-ring (doubling the width) and it has stopped the water escaping.

jk0

I found a number of these pieces of junk in my newer rental flats. They are always going wrong. I just replace the whole waste with a conventional plug & overflow.