A specific question, but maybe someone here knows! My shower has a drain. When I remove the cover and the “thing” inside of it, there’s a stopper with an O-Ring.
We used to be able to pull the stopper out and clean inside the pipe (suggested by a plumber), but I now can’t remove the stopper anymore. It appears to be quite stuck, and the angle is also terrible to get a better grip on it. I don’t want to use pliers, because I’m afraid I might snap the thing that you hold, and then I’m really in trouble.
Can anyone give me suggestions what I can do to get the stopper out? Is there a technique I don’t know? A device I could buy?
Thank you!
This looks very promising! Have you used something like this before? Most references I see online use this to remove the entire drain, not simply to turn the little thing inside. Is that accurate?
assuming you recently took a warm shower, maybe letting cold water run a little bit might help? cold water might cause the plug to shrink a bit and be easier to release
Funny, I have the same shower drain. Did a double take xD I just went ahead and tried removing that thing by either twisting or pulling - no dice without risking to break it.
If you have drainage issues I can recommend actually using a plunger, got rid of slow draining with this exact drain model this way.Hah. I tried doing some research about what this kind of drain is called, but I have no idea. I’ve never had a drain like this before, but I guess it must not be too rare?
In my case, the issue is that it starts to stink a lot. We had a plumber out a few years ago, and he opened that thing up and used a plunger to remove a ton of hair. He then suggested we wash it out every now and again, but I haven’t been able to do it for a while now, since I can’t get that thing open.
You could probably 3d print a square or hex shaped thing that has a slot on one end to fit onto the stopper, which will give you a better angle to grip it, work it from side to side or twist it. Wood would be another easy material option to try to make a little tool out of.
That said if it’s really stuck enough to break the handle, then you’re going to need a new one anyway, and at that point destructive measures and eventual replacement may be your only option. In this case you might try driving a long screw into it (pre-drilling a hole for the screw as necessary) or even some kind of hollow-wall anchor to give you a more secure attachment on the other side. If you have to destroy the whole thing to get it out of there, that’s an option too. As any mechanic with a blowtorch will tell you about a seized fastener, “it can’t be stuck if it’s liquid”
