[soggyfeet]

I have two related questions, but first a little background:
My bathtub drain has always been a little slow, but today I did some hardcore cleaning in the bathroom, and now it's completely stopped. I'm afraid I may have sent a chunk of hair or a paint chip or something down there.
I was able to clear it once by throttling it with a plunger and pouring some drano down, but when I tried to rinse out the silt that was in the tub, nothing doing.
This tub does not have a standard overflow plate in the wall of the tub. Rather, there is a pipe that sticks about 18" from the floor alongside the tub. When the handle that sticks out the top of this pipe is lowered, it stops the drain. When it's raised, the water (usually) flows, but it also somehow prevents the tub from getting too full.
So here are the questions:
What the heck is this odd drainage apparatus called?
Is there any special way I should troubleshoot this kind of set up?

Many thanks,
SF

[speedball1]

Is there any way you can attach a picture for us? Regards, Tom

[soggyfeet]

Here you are:
[IMG]file:///c:/Documents%20and%20Settings/soggyfeet/Desktop/296959357_1008930029_0.jpeg[/IMG]

Thanks,
SF

[soggyfeet]

Argh - let's try that again:

[soggyfeet]

Well, I've gotten the big part out of the way.
I realized that since this apparatus is part of the stopper/overflow mechanism, I'd need to make sure it's airtight if I was going to properly plunge it.
So I wrapped a rubber glove around the top, held it tightly, and I was able to plunge away the stoppage.
But, if anyone knows what this thing is called I'm still curious. I wouldn't mind having a better idea of how it works in case my drainage troubles come back again.

Thanks,
SF

[speedball1]

Could you give us a better picture? This one's a tad fuzzy. Regards, Tom