I have just moved into an old house built circa 1925 in Brooklyn. The bathtub does not have a tab near the top of the tub to stop water flow for a filled bath. There is a grating with verdigris over the drain which is screwed tight.
Right next to the tub is a metal tube inserted into the bathroom floor, inside that tube is a metal rod that I can lift and jiggle around. What is it and what does it do? It doesn't seem to stop water flow if I should happen to want a bath. The rod keeps falling back in place when I pull it up. I cannot pull it out completely.
Anything to be done short of removing the grating and inserting a rubber plug? I'm sure that metal rod and tube are for SOMETHING.