What you should know about Plumbing Traps

Have you ever looked at the pipes under your sink and wondered why they wiggle all over the place instead of traveling in a straight line?  Contrary to popular belief, it isn’t a scam by pipe manufacturers to increase profits one wiggly pipe at a time.  It’s what’s known as a trap, and it serves two crucial functions in your plumbing.

STOPPING STINKY SINK: The primary function of the trap is to keep sewer gases from entering your home.  We think you’ll agree that’s a pretty nice feature.  In most cases, your home will have what’s called a P-trap (because it’s shaped like the letter P).  As a result of the shape of the bend, the pipe retains a bit of water every time it’s used.  The location of the retained water creates a seal that prevents air and gases from passing, and that means sewer gases stay on one side of the trap and your nose stays on the other.

CATCHING STUFF YOU DROPPED DOWN THE DRAIN: The secondary function of the trap is that it catches debris before it travels further down the pipe and causes a big headache.  When things that aren’t water go down the drain, they often lodge in the trap, which is good for two reasons: one is that the trap is typically relatively easy to reach and clean, and the other is that if it happens to be valuable, your stuff doesn’t get sent to the abyss.

This means that when hairs or other gunk are trapped, they can usually be easily removed via the trap, instead of blindly poking around the length of the pipe with fingers crossed.  It also means that when you’re washing your hands and you suddenly notice you lost your wedding ring, all is not lost.

Many newer traps are equipped with a cleanout valve, or are at least fairly simple to remove for cleaning and search-and-rescue missions.  If you’ve never worked with plumbing before, you may still wish to call a plumber to help out.  At Daniels Plumbing, we’re ready, willing, and very experienced in the area of rescue missions.  Just give us a call.