Is It Normal to See Water Sitting Just Below the Drain Plug After Draining?

Yes. Seeing a small amount of water sitting just below the drain plug after the tub has emptied is completely normal. Every bathtub drain, including the gravity drain on an Ella walk-in tub, is designed to hold a little water in the drain trap area. That water forms a seal that keeps sewer gases and unpleasant smells from coming back up through the plumbing. It is not a leak and not a defect. As long as the tub drains normally when the drain is opened, everything is working exactly as it should.

Why There Is Always Water in the Drain

Below the drain opening, the waste line passes through a trap, a bend that stays full of water between baths. The water in the bend blocks the path between your bathroom and the sewer line, so gases cannot travel back into the room. Each time you drain the tub, the last of the bathwater refills the trap. What you see when you look down through the drain opening is the top of that seal, not water that failed to drain.

How to Tell Normal from a Problem

The water seal is normal when the water level sits below the drain plug, it stays at the same level rather than rising, and the tub floor around the drain is dry once draining has finished. Something else is going on if the tub empties slowly or not at all, if water stands on the tub floor above the drain, or if you find water outside the tub or under the frame. For a slow or stuck drain, start with why a walk-in tub will not drain, which covers the house drain, the drain caps and the drain handles. For a sense of normal fill and drain behavior, see drainage and fill time.

A Smell from the Drain

The water seal only works while it is present. If the tub sits unused for a long stretch and you notice an odor from the drain, running water into the drain for a moment refills the seal. This is common plumbing behavior and does not point to a fault in the tub.

Water in the Door Frame Is a Different Question

Some owners also notice a little water resting in the door frame channel after the tub drains. That is a separate, and also normal, situation covered in is it normal for water to sit in the door frame after draining. Neither the trap water nor the frame water needs to be wiped out for the tub to work correctly.

Related Guides

• Why Do the Rubber Gaskets on My Drain Plugs Keep Coming Off?
• Drain Plugs, Plug Stems, Drain Gaskets and Hair Catchers: Adjusting, Replacing and Keeping Them Out of the Drain
• What If a Piece of My Drain Stopper Went Down the Drain?

Common Questions

Still Need Help?

Open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support or call (800) 480-6850 and have your model and serial number ready.