Ask a Chapel Hill Plumber: What is a Drain Trap?

Here at JD Service Now, we’ve been offering quality plumbing services for many years and our customers often ask us about drain traps. We wanted to put together a quick explanation of what that is and why your drains need one. If you have any other question or if you need a Chapel Hill plumber, make sure that you give us a call.

If you’ve ever looked underneath your bathroom or kitchen sink drains you’ve probably noticed a u-shaped piece of pipe. This is called a drain trap or a U-bend. It seems counter intuitive to put a large bend in your drain when it is supposed to allow water and waste to flow out. But there is a very good reason.

The drain trap is there to keep sewer gasses from coming back up the pipes and into your home’s bathroom or kitchen. As water drains down into that u-bend, it will fill up the bottom of it which creates a seal there so that no air can get past that bend. This traps the gases below so that they can’t escape into your home.

If your plumbing system has a pressure imbalance, the drain trap could actually dry out. If this happens, then that seal won’t form in the bottom of the trap and the sewer gases from below in your plumbing system can get released into your home.

If you’re having any issues with your drains or with your drain traps, call the Chapel Hill plumbers at JD Service Now. We have years of experience working with all different kind of plumbing issues. If you’re noticing foul odors coming from your drains, contact us today. We figure out what is causing your drain trap to dry out and fix the issue quickly.