[ENG] Drain Mushroom Standoff

The Issue:

    We bought a commercial Drain Mushroom plug to catch too much of our hair from going down the drain. We found that the mushroom top would drop on numerous inconvenient occasions:

• When too much hair was caught in the filter.
• When the water level would be too high, even while draining.
• When the person showering would step on the top.

The Requirements:

The solution should:

• Keep the mushroom at drain height when installed
• Should be easily removable, if needed
• Be comfortable to remove

The Process:

    I measured the mushroom's stem diameter and height; and the mushrooms head's diameter and seat. The stem diameter and height gave me dimensions for gap in the "C" shape, which would let us slot in the standoff easily. The head diameter and seat will ensure the device isn't too large and give me the envelope of my design. Rounded finger grooves would give the user a natural place to pull the standoff from.

    With all these in place, I modeled it in Autodesk Inventor Professional 2020 (a screenshot shown above). I am fortunate to have a dedicated Maker Space with 3D Printing capabilities available here in Baltimore, called Open Works. After taking a recommended 3D Printing class, I printed the Standoff in PLA (PolyLactic Acid) below with no issues.

    

    It is currently installed and has been working well.

Possible Improvements:

    Although PLA is somewhat water-resistant, it can degrade with constant contact to water. While it won't be submerged in water (as long as the filter is cleared consistently) while in regular operation, the Standoff may degrade in the long term. If I were to print it again, I may opt for ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) as it is more water-resistant and would suggest it for future prints.

Thank you for reading.