When someone is taking a shower, they leave the faucet on for too long without detection by anyone in the house.Ī bathtub does not need an overflow drain because if enough water accumulates in it for there to be any concern about an injury.
You can also buy adapters explicitly designed to connect the shower heads to standard plumbing size pipes.Ī bathtub must have some way to drain it when there’s too much water, i.e., If you cannot screw in your shower head using any tools, then you might need to use a larger diameter pipe or cut that section of thread off. If your shower head pipe has a threaded end, make sure you can screw it into this overflow drain without having to force it or use tools. The inside diameter of this hole should be a bit larger than the thickness of any part of your shower head’s pipe that you wish to connect to “it.” This small hole is little more than an extended drain opening. Usually, a bathtub has a round overflow drain near the back edge of the tub at about one-third from the top of the tub. This is because a bathtub needs a certain amount of water in it at all times so that the bather does not burn themselves on the hot surfaces. Bathtubs do not require an overflow drain. The overflow drain also keeps sewage from damaging floors and walls, which could be a costly repair for homeowners with septic systems that are not well maintained. This means you won’t have to worry about sewage coming back up into your home. It works by collecting any excess water to flow out through pipes to an external drainage system. You will find the drain installed in the lowest part of the house, usually under a sink or toilet. Does A Bathtub Require An Overflow Drain?Īn overflow drain is a plumbing fixture that prevents sewage from backing up and overflowing into your home. Including the size of the overflow pipe, the height of the tub spout, and how much you’re willing to pay for your new bathtub. This varies slightly depending on what region you’re in, but several factors drive this So by default, all bathtub overflow drains are at this height or lower. This prevents water from rising above that point, but there needs to be enough room below the drain for it to work as expected. The bathtub’s overflow drain is usually placed about an inch above where you would turn the faucet off if it weren’t present. The low position of the overflow is necessary because you need some space between the top of the overflowing water and the bottom of the spout for air bubbles to form. The bathtub overflow drain is so low because Bathtubs have a tub spout to drain excess water.īathtub overflow drains are specifically designed so that the bathtub will not overfill with water. Note: As an amazon associate I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases if you click to amazon from my site and choose to make a purchase.You can read my complete affiliate disclosure for more details