This $9 Drain Cover Is the Answer to Your Biggest Bathtub Gripe
Call me a pessimist, but a bathtub with an overflow drain is a tub that’s almost always half empty. After a long (or cold) day, when you’re aching to slip into a steaming bubble bath, there’s nothing worse than hearing the slosh of water (and expensive bath bombs, essential oils, bubbles, etc.) as the water level rises above the overflow drain.
Realistically speaking, no grown woman can comfortably submerge herself in a tub that’s constantly draining. To fully enjoy my tub’s steamy embrace in the past, I’d have to alternate poses: either prop my legs up to submerge my shoulders, or slouch like a sad overgrown baby soaking in a too-small kiddie pool.
That is until I discovered the SlipX Solutions Bottomless Bath Overflow Drain Cover ($9), a little plastic dome that blocks your overflow drain so that you can actually utilize the full depth of your tub. If you don’t have the funds (or, ahem, the deed to a house) to install a proper Japanese soaking tub, this little gadget will transform even the old, sad tub in your rental into a #selfcare home spa.
The drain blocker is 4 inches wide, so it easily covers those old-fashioned metal toggle drains that rob you of a proper bath. I was at first doubtful that the little suction cups would create a water-tight seal, but the drain block is foolproof: just press it against the tile surrounding your overflow drain and watch as water readily fills your tub like never before. No unnecessary draining, no half-full tubs. Remove it after bath time and let it dry to prevent mold (it’s dishwasher-safe if it does get gunky).
Amazon reviewers are as obsessed as I am: It has nearly 3,000 five-star reviews, and an average 4.5-star rating. “It was so easy! I got an instant 5 [inches] more of water,” raves one reviewer. “This simple little thing turns my sad little apartment tub into a proper soaking tub for long, relaxing baths,” says my spirit animal another Amazon reviewer.
Worried about accidental overflow? Don’t be. Rather than totally plugging the drain, this cover basically repositions your overflow drain: It has a 1-inch safety drain at the top that still allows excess water to drain when the tub truly gets too full (at a height actually makes sense for an adult).
The only drawback is that in order to add more hot water to a bubble bath that’s cooling down, you’ll have to remove and then replace the drain cover each time. It’s a worthwhile trade-off, considering your entire torso will finally get the R&R it's been deprived of for so long.
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