Floor Drain Trap Clogged

In many basements garages and laundry rooms there are floor drains that carry away wastewater from central air conditioners washing machines water heaters and snow covered cars.

Floor drain trap clogged.

Debris hair dirt. If your floor drain connects to the sewer system and you smell sewer gasses the trap beneath the drain is dry or the plug for the cleanout is missing. This three pronged attack will clear any matter clinging to the sides of the trap. Debris most commonly dust bunnies and.

Floor drain traps often have only these end caps exposed with the pipes running below the floor. To find the u trap for your floor drain look nearby for two large capped end pipes. Then turn the water on full force for a few moments. How to clear a floor drain loosen brass plugs photo by merle henkenius.

Start the process by turning on the backflow preventer and removing the cap of the trap. Look inside the drain. It s not an uncommon occurrence. A drain trap is a component of a drain that s designed to do what it s called.

Place the plunger on the hole. Common causes signs of basement floor drain clogs ok so your basement floor drain is backing up. Here s what you need to do to 1. Unclog basement floor drain without using a plumbing snake.

It traps water other liquids and gas to prevent the infiltration of sewer gas in your house. You do not necessarily need to open or even locate the trap for your floor drain in order to clear a clog and restore freely flowing drainage. Clogged drains are always a hassle but some like a plugged p trap under the sink or a stopped up toilet requires only a wrench a plunger and a little elbow grease to unclog. Using a plunger is a very straightforward method to unclog a floor drain.

But what if you don t have an auger or plumbing snake. You ll see a hole go straight down into the drain and a clean out plug on the right hand side of the drain hole. But sometimes the clog is deep in the drainpipe and requires more work and extra powerful tools to root out. In fact floor drains tend to become clogged more often than other drains simply because they are on the floor where dirt and debris tend to collect.

Attach the hose to a faucet feed the hose into the drain as far as it will go and jam rags around the hose at the opening. If needed apply petroleum jelly on the sides of the plunger to give it a better seal. The p trap contains water that prevents sewer gases from escaping into your home. If nothing drains into the floor drain prevent sewer odor by pouring a pitcher of water down the drain every couple of weeks.

Now that you ve gathered all the tools to fix the clog the first step is to clean out the drain trap. For clogged floor drains such as those in basements and showers a garden hose can be effective in unclogging drains especially if the clog is not close to the opening.