A Sense of Doubt blog post #3847 - How to Remove a Pop-up Bathtub Stopper - WATCO

A Sense of Doubt blog post #3847 - How to Remove a Pop-up Bathtub Stopper - WATCO

Doing household things like this makes me think of my Dad.

He tried to prepare me for being able to do such things, but I feel very unprepared. When it comes to lacking skills, I feel I lack skills substantially in doing handy things around the house, even though, with Dad, I have done many, many such things.

My bathtub/shower drain has been clogged for over two months.

I could not figure out how to remove the stopper, and I figured I would have to snake out the drain.

I called the plumbers that I have used who cleared a sink drain for $50. Well, apparently that price is not the usual price but rather a one-time special, also known as a "lure."

This time they wanted $500 - $1000 depending on whether I wanted the lifetime warranty.

My fear of not being capable to clear the clog had me seriously thinking of spending $500 (and I qualify for the "senior" discount; however, that's a lot of money.

I did some Internet research.

The second video, the "three ways" did not work for my style of stopper, but then I found the first video about the WATCO stopper.

Apparently, you use one wrench to hold the bolt under the stopper, which allows for using another wrench to unscrew the cap on the stop of the stopper and then use a flat head screw driver to remove the entire stopper assembly.

But my crescent wrench was missing!!

So, off to the Kalama hardware store, and had a discussion with the proprietor who recommended:

FLOW EASY DRAIN

If my clog was all organic material, this mix of chemicals including sulfuric acid would clear the drain.

He warned me to vent the area well as the stuff is stinky.

Also, it can eat the tub-shower material, so clean the area if any comes back up during the pour.

NOTE: Wear gloves! I forgot to do this and got a drop of stuff on my hand. Also, the instructions suggest wearing a mask because of fumes, which I should have done as well.

Wisely, not only did I buy a crescent wrench to replace the one Dad had given me, but another pair of pliers with nice grips. It was the channel locks (which I had) and the pliers that I used to dismantle the stopper.

And this stuff worked! It worked right away.

There was hair just underneath, which I cleared first, and then poured in the substance.

After two-plus months of anxiety about this and showering in ankle deep water, I have solved my issue in a very short time.

This is the kind of task that I would ask my Dad about or get his help when we still lived in the same town. I wish he was still here to do these things with me.

For any who may come to my post to solve your own problem, YOU CAN DO IT.

Just figure out what kind of stopper you have, which is why I shared the second video as yours might be of that kind.

There are other types that I did not include here, but surely you can find those on the Internet.

Thanks for tuning in.

How To Easily Remove Bathtub Drain Plug Stopper | Remove Pop-up Stopper| WATCO Pop-up Shower Drain

Chester TV

Remove pop up bath tub drain stopper - 3 ways

Home Repair Hub

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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2508.30 - 13:40

- Days ago: MOM = 3712 days ago & DAD = 366 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I post Hey Mom blog entries on special occasions. I post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day, and now I have a second count for Days since my Dad died on August 28, 2024. I am now in the same time zone as Google! So, when I post at 10:10 a.m. PDT to coincide with the time of Mom's death, I am now actually posting late, so it's really 1:10 p.m. EDT. But I will continue to use the time stamp of 10:10 a.m. to remember the time of her death and sometimes 13:40 EDT for the time of Dad's death. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.

ADDED: For this week only (August 25-31 2025), in honor of the one year since, I am going to post at 13:40 Pacific Time. My Dad died at 13:40 Eastern, which would be 10:40 Pacific, but I am not going to make the conversion.