What Is A P-Trap For?

Have you ever wondered what the reason is behind all the drain pipes in your home, such as under the sinks, having a bend in them? The reason is to keep sewer gasses out of your home. Sewer gas forms in the sewer from the mixture of everything that goes down the drain, and it doesn’t just smell terrible, it also poses a danger to your health. The bend in your pipe is called a p-trap, and it will have water standing in it, effectively blocking the gas from travelling through while still allowing water to go down the pipe. When you install an appliance that sends water down the drain you will find that they either have a p-trap built in, or they will require to be drained through a sink. There is another positive side effect of having a p-trap under your sink. Whenever something valuable is flushed down a sink by mistake, you might be able to save it by opening up the p-trap and looking inside.