Call me crazy, but doesn't pumping a clog through the trap defeat the purpose of the trap? Good luck getting the clog out of the bend in your pipe that is in a wall or floor.
rednil
Member
posted: Oct. 11, 2009 @ 7:06a
wizwor, a trap exists to trap water, which seals your bathroom from the stench of the sewer. I don't believe it exists to trap debris. This seems like a reasonable idea to me.
Well, if the design is good enough to impress the guys at Popular Science, it's good enough for me. I kind of like the clear design anyway, lets you know if the clog is in the trap or further down (assuming the trap does actually eventualy clog)
Temporarily out of stock. Order now and we'll deliver when available. We'll e-mail you with an estimated delivery date as soon as we have more information. Your account will only be charged when we ship the item.
Lowes (and most other plumbing supply places I'd imagine) now carries a green flexible trap for bathroom and kitchen sinks that serves the same purpose. if there's a clog in the trap you can just bend/sqeeze it to clear the clog, the pressure from the backed up water would then push the clog through. (no mechanical parts to break or leak) also much cheaper than $20 I do believe
bugpowder said: cyfan2000 said: Isn't a normal trap about $2? So I could just throw away a trap a year and still come out ahead after 10 years?
Sure, as long as you consider your time worth $00.00 per hour; yeah, you'd come out "ahead".
Agreed...to a point.
Assuming you don't have corroded bronze/chromed piping which is extremely common outside of new houses or sinks where the plumbing is exposed (and eww you don't want a clear drain there) changing out your P-trap for this is pretty simple. Of course, so is changing it out for a new p-trap. Then again...PVC pipes are pretty good about not collecting gunk in the first place.
My question - is that little rubber flapper strong enough to push through months or years of built-up toothpaste, food, gunk, and all the other lovelies that collect in a sink drain? I can't imagine it will do anything much for hair...which is often the biggest problem for (properly used) drains.
I saw this in Home Depot when I was buying the plumbing for my new kitchen. Cute, but passed and would have done so if it was $20 as well.
Better idea...just watch what you put down your drains in the first place.
rednil said: wizwor, a trap exists to trap water, which seals your bathroom from the stench of the sewer. I don't believe it exists to trap debris. This seems like a reasonable idea to me. That is correct.
I'm a little skeptical of this design. The price and the deal are great, but I first wonder how it actually functions as a gas trap. As you know, the real purpose of the trap is not to catch diamond rings but to provide an airtight seal (via some water staying in the U of the pipe) to keep toxic sewer gas from rising back up through the drains into your home.
The second issue is mechanical, I've always found when it comes to plumbing, the less "stuff" in the way of the wastewater flow the better. This looks innocuous, but hooked to a bathroom sink or garbage disposal, that mechanism is guaranteed to catch hair and detritius just by being there, which has an annoying way of building up and causing a clog. What I'm saying is that this thing could cause clogs you might not have otherwise had with a smooth pipe. I guess it's good if you have a trap that already clogs regularly and you're OK with turning it every few weeks. In that case it should work well.
mailnride1 said: I'm a little skeptical of this design. The price and the deal are great, but I first wonder how it actually functions as a gas trap. As you know, the real purpose of the trap is not to catch diamond rings but to provide an airtight seal (via some water staying in the U of the pipe) to keep toxic sewer gas from rising back up through the drains into your home.
The second issue is mechanical, I've always found when it comes to plumbing, the less "stuff" in the way of the wastewater flow the better. This looks innocuous, but hooked to a bathroom sink or garbage disposal, that mechanism is guaranteed to catch hair and detritius just by being there, which has an annoying way of building up and causing a clog. What I'm saying is that this thing could cause clogs you might not have otherwise had with a smooth pipe. I guess it's good if you have a trap that already clogs regularly and you're OK with turning it every few weeks. In that case it should work well.
I can answer the first part pretty easily. As long as there's water in the bend, sewer gas will not go through. Given physics and gravity, there should always be water in the bend.
I use it to unclog my wife's hair from her bath sink every few months. It works. I can't believe I wasted money on Drain-o and misc chemical crap before finding this.
sc0rpio said: There is an inexpensive alternative to the common clogged sink & bathtub. It's called a Zip-It and it is available at WalMart for about $2.
I use it to unclog my wife's hair from her bath sink every few months. It works. I can't believe I wasted money on Drain-o and misc chemical crap before finding this.
BrianC said: mailnride1 said: I'm a little skeptical of this design. The price and the deal are great, but I first wonder how it actually functions as a gas trap. As you know, the real purpose of the trap is not to catch diamond rings but to provide an airtight seal (via some water staying in the U of the pipe) to keep toxic sewer gas from rising back up through the drains into your home.
The second issue is mechanical, I've always found when it comes to plumbing, the less "stuff" in the way of the wastewater flow the better. This looks innocuous, but hooked to a bathroom sink or garbage disposal, that mechanism is guaranteed to catch hair and detritius just by being there, which has an annoying way of building up and causing a clog. What I'm saying is that this thing could cause clogs you might not have otherwise had with a smooth pipe. I guess it's good if you have a trap that already clogs regularly and you're OK with turning it every few weeks. In that case it should work well.
I can answer the first part pretty easily. As long as there's water in the bend, sewer gas will not go through. Given physics and gravity, there should always be water in the bend.
I agree, but look at the picture closely, there has to be enough water that it creates a seal. In the normal trap, it's pretty simple, this one has a larger water reservoir, and if not enough water remains, you don't get a seal. I'd like to see a test of this in action to see where the water level ends up.
BlueEyesAustinTexas
Ancient Member
posted: Oct. 30, 2009 @ 2:36p
What is this country coming to??? If you have a clog in a trap it takes MAYBE five minutes to get a bucket, unscrew two fixtures, and dump it!
Disclaimer: By providing links to other sites, FatWallet.com does not guarantee, approve or endorse the information or products available at these sites, nor does a link indicate any association with or endorsement by the linked site to FatWallet.com.
Members of our community may attach files to a post in accordance with the User Agreement. FatWallet is not responsible for the content, accuracy, completeness or validity of any information contained in any attached file. Files have *not* been scanned for viruses. Be especially wary of Excel files which may contain malicious content.
