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Plumbing Supplies: PermaFlow P-Trap Replacement

Easily Clear Clogged Sinks Without Drain Chemicals or Plungers

Jan 27, 2009 Kelly Smith

The P-trap is essential for the operation of kitchen and bathroom sinks, where most plumbing clogs occur, requiring drain cleaners. Now there's a self-cleaning option.

This plumbing component is named for its shape, similar to the letter P without being completely connected (as the letter is). The water goes down the sink drain, down the lavatory drain pipe, to the bottom of the trap, where it must reverse direction and defy gravity to travel up for 3” to 4” before exiting through the waste arm at the wall.

The Pros and Cons of Standing Water

Why does the water travel upwards? So that there will always be a small well of standing water at the bottom of the trap. This forms a physical barrier that keeps foul sewer gases out of the home.

Anyone who has ever removed a trap or pulled a toilet to replace a commode wax ring knows just how offensive and gagmatic these fumes are. So the trap is a simple solution. But the downside is that because of the geometry, this is where clogged sink drains happen most often, resulting in a plumbing repair job, messy plunging, or the use of dangerous chemicals.

A Better Solution – the PermaFlow P-Trap Replacement

The PermaFlow P-trap is advertised being “Green By Design” and backs it up with a 10 year limited warranty.
It's self-cleaning. This means no more environment-damaging chemicals, no more messy plungers, and no need for removal.
It incorporates an easy-turn wiper. The knob mounted on the side of the trap is connected to an internal “wiper” which scrapes the inner chamber to clear drain clogs or to position that dropped wedding ring for easy retrieval with a wire rather than disassembly.
It's made with superior material. This trap is made of a high-grade ABS plastic which is superior to PVC plumbing components.
It's transparent. Being see-through, the homeowner can see all the action inside for clearing clogs and positioning dropped objects for retrieval.

Installing the P-Trap

Installation is as simple as any other trap. It might be necessary to use “slip joint” or “groove joint” ChannelLock pliers to remove the existing nuts at the top (at the lavatory drain pipe) and the bottom (at the waste arm).

The trap and supplied nuts are set up for the industry-standard 1 1/4” drain pipe and 1 1/2” waste arm. If the plumbing uses any odd non-standard size components, adapters are commonly available at any home improvement store.

Detailed installation instructions are included, and since the product is "Made in the U.S.A.", they're easy to read; nothing like the literature typically included with foreign products.

The copyright of the article Plumbing Supplies: PermaFlow P-Trap Replacement in Home Renovation/Repair is owned by Kelly Smith. Permission to republish Plumbing Supplies: PermaFlow P-Trap Replacement in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

PermaFlow P-Trap Replacement