What is an Overflow Bath Filler? | Bathroom Ideas & Inspo

Can't find a good design for your bath tap? Struggling for space, or aiming for a minimalist feel without minimising function? Or are you just clamouring for something a little different? In any of these cases, you should be considering a bath overflow filler. But what exactly is one?

All-in-One Bath/Shower Solution

In essence, an overflow bath filler is just a different way to put water into your bath. Located where you would normally find the waste overflow hole, the overflow filler is capable of filling your bath as well as taking excess water away by being hooked up to both the water pipe and the waste pipe. Seems simple, right? So why is it that you don't see these more often?

The truth is, we're not entirely sure either. When most people are looking for baths, they expect to be attaching taps, so even though waste fillers have been around for quite some time, they just haven't been widely adopted yet. With improvements to the design, so that even gravity-fed water systems can now use them, and the modern desire for sleek, minimalist designs, however, they are currently seeing a rise in popularity and demand.

How Do They Work?

This is a diagram for a Bath Filler and Overflow that gets right to the heart of the matter. The main diagram shows the pipes as seen from side on, and you can see that the overflow at the top links up to the waste at the bottom, stopping water from overflowing your tub and ruining the floor.

The second picture in the top right shows the overflow filler from the front, and you can see that a pipe leads out to the side. This pipe is where the water comes in, having been previously mixed. Unlike a regular tap, which outputs both hot and cold water, mixing them on the spot, water delivered to the overflow filler is pre-mixed, leading to a more appropriate temperature.

It's simple really. The overflow filler works much like a mixer tap, but is also linked up to the waste pipe for efficiency's sake, and to save space. So, what does it look like in action?

Space Saving

As you can see from the above image, there's a lot less space used for an overflow bath filler than would be used for a set of taps. Even better, you can hook it up to a shower, if you want one, and control everything from the same spot without so much as a tap in sight.

It's not just the visible elements that are saving space either. The behind-the-scenes work is also easier to install, since all the pipes are in one place, and you won't need to find the extra room for them, or get a separate installation.

With a concealed shower, your perfect bathroom begins to take on the look and feel of a professional, well-maintained and controlled experience, thanks to sleek looks and a complete absence of unnecessary extras.

Multi-Functional

What's that about using it with a shower? Of course, just like many modern bathrooms, an overflow bath filler can be easily fitted with a diverter switch that allows you to use the same controls for both showers and baths. Due to the nature of the overflow filler, the shower will benefit from the same water mixing method as before, so your shower will come out at just the temperature you want it. So now you have one set of controls for shower and bath, no taps and no revealing pipes. What more (or less) could you possibly want?

Our top 3 favourite overflow bath fillers:

If you want to enquire about our range of overflow bath fillers for your new or improved bathroom, then please call us today on 01524 841 087 and we'll help you to create your minimalist dream bathroom.[related_products]