How to Free a Stuck Tub Drain Mechanism
- 1). Push down on the drain lever attached to the overflow drain cover, lifting the pop-up stopper in the tub’s main drain. Pour vinegar down the tub’s main drain as well as the overflow opening, using a funnel to channel the vinegar into the overflow drain opening. The vinegar helps break up any clogs in the drainpipes that are gumming up the stopper mechanism.
- 2). Turn the screws in the overflow drain cover counterclockwise to remove them. If the screws are stuck, spray penetrating lubricant into the screw holes, wait at least five minutes and then remove the screws.
- 3). Pull on the stopper’s lever attached to the overflow drain cover, puling the cover away from the drain opening. Continue pulling on the drain cover to remove the attached linkage from the overflow drainpipe.
- 4). Feed a flexible retriever tool down the overflow drainpipe if the end of the linkage no longer has the brass plunger attached to it. Pull the brass plunger out of the bottom of the overflow drainpipe and insert the end of the linkage through the loop on the top of the stopper, pinching the linkage closed around the loop using a pair of needle-nose pliers.
- 5). Pull on the pop-up stopper to remove it and the attached arm out of the drainpipe that runs under the tub. Clean off any buildup from the stopper and the arm using a rag. Replace the stopper and the arm, as well as the plunger, linkage and overflow drain cover. Drive the screws back through the overflow drain cover and into their holes in the overflow drainpipe’s opening.