Bath overflow not working
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HilaryN
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Bath overflow not working

by HilaryN » Sat Jun 13, 2009 12:30 pm

Our bath overflow only lets water out very slowly - nowhere near quickly enough to cope if the taps are left running.

We've had the waste pipe and overflow pipe out and there is no blockage at all. Water flows out of the plughole fine.

The plumber has been round and done the same thing (checked there's no blockage) and says there's nothing can be done about it.

That seems crazy to me, and I'm worried about forgetting the bath is running and flooding the downstairs flat.

Does anyone know why it might not be working?

I see I can buy a bath overflow alarm, which would be an alternative solution, but it would be good to be able to fix the overflow, so if anyone has any ideas, I'd be very grateful.

htg engineer
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by htg engineer » Sat Jun 13, 2009 8:01 pm

The problem will probably be the number of holes in the overflow cover (chrome/gold decorative part) or the pipe diameter, you could try changing the overflow assembly http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BATH-WASTE-CHROME ... dZViewItem (or similar) to see if it's any better - but most will use the same size flexible pipe.

The other option is to reduce the water flow rate to the bath so that the overflow can cope - but it may take along time for the bath to fill.

The overflow alarm is a good idea - if heard, but if you forget the bath is running and go out or even go out in the garden it's not going to be much use.


htg

HilaryN
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by HilaryN » Sat Jun 13, 2009 8:35 pm

Thanks for your reply, htg.

"The problem will probably be the number of holes in the overflow cover (chrome/gold decorative part) or the pipe diameter, you could try changing the overflow assembly Google "cgi.ebay.co.uk/BATH-WASTE-CHROME-PLUG-CHAIN-OVERFLOW-KIT-FREE-P+P_W0QQitemZ370211974865QQcmdZViewItem" (or similar) to see if it's any better - but most will use the same size flexible pipe."
This cover seems similar to the one we have.

"The other option is to reduce the water flow rate to the bath so that the overflow can cope - but it may take along time for the bath to fill."
It's just a trickle - I think it would take several hours to fill at that rate (and in that time I would definitely have forgotten about it ;-) )

"The overflow alarm is a good idea - if heard, but if you forget the bath is running and go out or even go out in the garden it's not going to be much use."
The biggest danger for me is the Internet - I often burn things on the stove because I go on the Internet "just for a few minutes"... I usually put a timer on so that I don't forget, and I did that the other day when running the bath, too. If I'm on the Internet, I should hear the alarm.

But what you say is true, too, or I could have loud music on and not hear the alarm.

After I posted above I did a search on bath overflow alarms and I found a cool gadget called a magiplug. It's a bath plug which apparently opens up to let the water out when the bath gets full, which I think is a clever idea and it only cost £6 including postage. I've ordered it, and I'll report back when I get it.

This is probably belts and braces, but I ordered an overflow alarm as well, because it'll save wasting water if the alarm alerts me as soon as the bath is nearly full. The magiplug will be my backup in case I don't hear the alarm.

HilaryN
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by HilaryN » Sun Jul 26, 2009 11:00 pm

Update: the magiplug didn't work for me as water seemed to trickle out from under it as soon as water went in the bath, so I got a refund.

The overflow alarm works as long as I have doors open and no background noise.

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