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Hello plumbingtrackworld
For the second time my daughter ran a bath and forgotten about it. First I hear of it is water running out of the down lighters in the room below...
So why is it that the bath overflow doesn't actually prevent the bath overflowing? Wtf is the point of it then, other than preventing you having the bath nice and deep!?
The amount of water out of tap, is greater than the amount the holes allow out
Yes but why make an overflow like that, wtf is the point of it. My water flow is really slow as well, it takes forever to run a bath.
Edit... The bumbaclart in question
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^ that.
Charge your daughter for the damage. It might help her not forget.
Drain blocked with hair.? Overflow drains out the same pipe so one blocked all blocked
Drain blocked with hair.?
Me and my cat Paws are the only males in our house. My hair's a Number 3 buzz cut. Wife and two teenage daughters with long hair but it's still my job to pull all the hair out of the bath drain.
Hair/food plus narrow and poorly alligned overflow pipes = flood.
'Her next door's bathroom/kitchen drain was flooding her garden, and flooding into mine until I got on the job...
I fished out a few huge clods of long purple hair and partly rotten pasta amongst other things from her drain trap at ground level.. it's now flowing freely until next time.
Me and my cat Paws
You have cat paws ? wow thats incredible. Do they like have claws and everything.
Probably rip at the edge of the sofa too. And here you are complaining about a bath overflowing.
You should be ashamed of such pettiness.
As others say, it's water in vs water out and that includes the efficiency of the drainage, they do a job but not infallible, if this is normal then you might want to invest in an overflow alarm for the bath, so at least you get an audible warning when it's nearly going over 😂
I'd be more worried about your daughter not functionning properly tk be honest, once is a daft mistake, twice meeds some strong words, actions have consequences. Must have overfliwing for a while as well, even partly blocked the overflow will have slowed the filling down quite a bit.
Our bath overflow can take a standard bath plug to seal it, so you can soak in the bath with an extra plug right up to the brim.
When I had a bath the overflow just didnt really work - wasn't blocked - but if the bath plug was in water just didnt seem to really want to flow out through the overflow. I'f often run a pretty deep bath and getting in would put the water level upto and even over the overflow but water just didnt seem to want to run out through it. Pull the plug out and obviously it drain through the plug hole but also water would then get drawn through he overflow too at the same time. Odd, never figured out what was going on.
Our bath overflow can take a standard bath plug to seal it, so you can soak in the bath with an extra plug right up to the brim.
I can imagine a very expensive scenario.. the overflow is there for a reason.
But the overflow will be plumbed into the main drain for the bath anyway... so if thats already clodded up with hair it's a little bit like disabling the deadman switch on industrial machinery, you just DON'T do it.
I will only make the same mistake.... Twice
Can you fix a finer mesh over the plug hole and the overlow?
At least that way any debris will be trapped in the tub itslelf, forcing the incumbent to clear it as they go?
You can get a plug
with a float on it, so if the water is too full it lifts the plug it of the hole
Me and my cat Paws
i probably don’t meet to tell you, but be careful when you’re having a ****
You can get a plug
with a float on it, so if the water is too full it lifts the plug it of the hole
not my first thought of a solution, but if the float is in the shape of a great white shark fin, I could maybe get on board with that.
Plug with a float?.. I'm not doing the math but I think that's about as useful as a chocolate fireguard.
matt_outandabout
Charge your daughter for the damage. It might help her not forget.
1stumpyjon
I’d be more worried about your daughter not functionning properly tk be honest, once is a daft mistake, twice meeds some strong words, actions have consequences. Must have overfliwing for a while as well, even partly blocked the overflow will have slowed the filling down quite a bit.
Nah she's a good kid, and she's only 8. It was a small mistake, and she's the kind of person that punishes herself excessively for her mistakes anyway so I don't want to knock her confidence.
trail_rat
Free MemberDrain blocked with hair.? Overflow drains out the same pipe so one blocked all blocked
Hmm good call! I will double check that tonight.
I still think it's mainly due to the small amount of holes in the overflow cap thingy restricting the flow too much.
I know it looks fancy but really the design of that bit should prioritise waterflow over aesthetics IMHO!
A few years ago, my son (12 at the time) started to run a bath, went off to go and do something else, forgot about said bath until the water started coming through the kitchen ceiling. I was confused why the overflow didn't take care of it, until I removed the bath panel and realised that the people who had installed our bathroom had not actually connected the overflow pipe to anything.
could just be that every bath I've ever owned has had a clogged overflow, but they would all spill over if you left 1 or 2 taps on full to fill it! No way could that tiny little thing cope with taps on full chat. It will slow the inevitable perhaps, but not prevent it.
Got a bunch of these recently which I feel is a good investment: 
Plug with a float?.. I’m not doing the math but I think that’s about as useful as a chocolate fireguard.
On the contrary. If the float is attached to a length of chord/chain that is lower than the lip of the bath, it will only pull the plug when there is too much water.
With enough buoyancy to overcome the water pressing down on the plug!? I mean I belive you, but am suprised!
Those plug floats can actually pull the plug? I'll believe it when I see it.
I thought they were just for fun, or to make finding the thing easier when you want to pull it out. The plug often needs a hefty tug and I assume all that will happen if there's too much water is that the float will be underwater.
Not sure I'll bother but a possible solution i found, used in hotels to prevent guests overflowing their baths:
I was just quietly impressed with the comment about being partially cat and was shocked that no one picked up the hidden pun about pettiness.
Standards are slipping.
willard
Full MemberI was just quietly impressed with the comment about being partially cat and was shocked that no one picked up the hidden pun about pettiness.
Standards are slipping.
I was still chuckling at @susepic 's "minge clippings" comment
Nah she’s a good kid, and she’s only 8
Should you have not been supervising?
My water flow is really slow as well, it takes forever to run a bath.
so let’s assume your bath fills at 1cm depth per minute and the bottom of the overflow is 20 cm above the base. Your 8 yr old only needs about 10cm (10 mins) to fill the bath. Once the water reaches the overflow (20 min) some of it is draining out - say that halves the rate from then on - it would take another 20 mins to reach the top of the bath. Then the water on the floor has to find it’s way through the light fitting below - in my experience another 10 mins… so by my estimate a 10 minute bath fill has become a 50 min running tap before you noticed! If your tap is really slow the difference between correct fill and flood will be more pronounced. I’m all for letting 8 yr olds learn through taking risks but…
I still think it’s mainly due to the small amount of holes in the overflow cap thingy restricting the flow too much.
I know it looks fancy but really the design of that bit should prioritise waterflow over aesthetics IMHO!
The water coming out of the tap is under pressure, the overflow isn't. The plughole at the bottom of a sink or bath is also under pressure - when it full. The overflow still isn't.
I think it's very wrong to assume any item of bathroom kit is designed with anything other than visual appeal in mind. Hence why modern crappers don't do the one thing they should be designed to do, namely collect poo under the water and remove it when flushed, without leaving a significant amount to be manually brushed away.
Overflows that don't is just another example.
The plughole at the bottom of a sink or bath is also under pressure
About 60lbs per cubic foot of water.
Interface friction between the plug and bath makes the float calculation impossible.
It will always stay in as it's a push fit .
What you need is a lever actuator that lifts the plug from underneath connected to either a float or some clever counter balance set up where the over flow ads mass to an existing weight overcoming the insert friction plus water weight , lifting the plug from underneath
Or Greta Thunberg needs to come round your house to educate your daughter on the environmental impact of what she does and how she's personally responsible for global warming and the UK running out of clean drinking water
The water coming out of the tap is under pressure, the overflow isn’t. The plughole at the bottom of a sink or bath is also under pressure – when it full. The overflow still isn’t.
This is why, sensibly speaking, the overflow should really be on the bottom of the bath. Then it will work properly.
What you need is a lever actuator that lifts the plug from underneath connected to either a float or some clever counter balance set up where the over flow ads mass to an existing weight overcoming the insert friction plus water weight , lifting the plug from underneath
Haha I can just see some giant Wallace & Gromit / Colin Furze contraption taking up half the bath.
Talk about over-engineering solutions.
Just restrict the flow of the taps so it matches the flow out of the overflow 🙂
The water coming out of the tap is under pressure, the overflow isn’t. The plughole at the bottom of a sink or bath is also under pressure – when it full. The overflow still isn’t.
They should put the overflow further down then so there is enough pressure to allow it to work.
Yeh a second plug hole on the bottom with a magnet operated flap calibrated to flop open at a certain depth.
Actually there's a much simpler solution
Over flow feeds a sensor that operates a solenoid upstream of the taps and cuts off the water
Haha I can just see some giant Wallace & Gromit / Colin Furze contraption taking up half the bath.
Well, TBH, a float big enough to pull the plug would probably be half the size of the bath anyway.
Hans Kristian Rausing (he of big drug habit & deceased wife in a cupboard fame) has lead trays installed under the baths in his house, so that if he gets "distracted" he doesn't have to worry about the bath he's left running.
This is why, sensibly speaking, the overflow should really be on the bottom of the bath.
Most overflows make there way to the bottom of the bath ahds then onwards to the kitchen below
Well, TBH, a float big enough to pull the plug would probably be half the size of the bath anyway
wears the soap
wears the soap
Yes it does, doesn't it.
TBH, a wet room solves all of this...