Bath waste pop-up stuck

 As always, things will happen when you don't have time to address them. The bath waste pop-up got stuck with a full bath of water; how to tackle this one? We started off with a standard plunger, trying to suction the pop-up open. Unfortunately, it had no effect. That is where the work halted for the evening, to re-group and think about what we could do.

Luckily, the pop-up was not sealing. This meant that I had an empty bath the next morning to address the problem. An internet search brought up ideas for suction cups. As I did not have a suction cup on hand, and since the plunger did not successfully lift it the previous night, I tried something else. Enter metal glue. By gluing a keyring to the pop-up, I was able to pull the pop-up back up (what a sentence). And so, I could finally identify the reason for the pop-up getting stuck.

The spring mechanisms of the pop-ups wear. When this happens, using a suction cup will be quite successful. Unfortunately for me, it was the rubber seal that was worn. As I depressed the pop-up, the seal had stretched and become stuck between the pop-up stopper and the waste body. Once the pop-up was open again, it was simple to slide off the old seal and slide on a new one. 

To summarise:

Have a look to see if you can see the seal sticking out between the pop-up stopper and the waste body. If you do, the best way to address it is by using a sharp knife. Cut all the portions you can access. This can loosen the pop-up.

Waste stopper seal

If you cannot see seal, find a suction cup that is the same size or slightly smaller than the pop-up stopper. Suction it to the stopper and try lifting the pop-up out.

If this does not work, you will need glue that will fix metal to metal. Glue a key ring (or anything that will work well as a "handle") to the stopper. Once the glue has set, lift the pop-up out.

Depending on your failure method, a trip to the hardware for spare parts will be in order. You will either need a new spring mechanism or a new stopper steal. Check your spring mechanism length - they are not all the same.