Blog by Lisa Hilton Your Local Contact for Real Estate in Whistler and Pemberton

<< back to article list

FILL YOUR BASEMENT FLOOR DRAIN TRAPS

wrec logo small

Whistler Real Estate Co Ltd, #137- 4370 Lorimer Road, Whistler, BC V0N 1B4

Ever lost a ring down the sink? It was likely caught by the trap. All plumbing fixtures have traps - but catching rings isn't their main function. They stop your house from smelling like a sewer. Traps act like a seal made of water that stops sewer gases from entering your house.

 

WHAT ? Fill your basement floor drain traps.
WHEN ? Twice a year.
WHY ? The traps below the sinks in your house get replenished every time you run the water, but in many homes the traps below the basement floor drains never get refilled. The water evaporates and sewer gases start wafting up from the drain.

There are a couple of exceptions. Homes built in the last 30 years or so have a trap primer -- a little hose, usually connected to the back of the laundry tub taps, that squirts a little water into the floor drains to refill the traps.

[ Larger Image ]

In pre-World War II homes, downspouts from the gutters usually drain into underground clay pipes. Those pipes run down the outside of the foundation wall, underneath the basement floor and empty into the basement floor drains above the traps. They add water to the traps every time it rains. Unfortunately, they also add leaves, twigs and other debris from the gutters. In the winter, they create cool drafts from the floor drains as cold outside air blows down the downspouts.

[ Larger Image ]
HOW ? Pour a half-bucket of water down the drains to refill the traps.
TIPS

If you add a few tablespoons of mineral oil on top of the water in the traps, it floats and won't evaporate. Therefore, the water below it can't evaporate.
 

If you have an older home, clear debris from floor drain traps. If the trap gets completely blocked, all the water from your gutters will back up into your basement when it rains. Consider disconnecting downspouts from the drains, and discharging them out onto the lawn, six feet away from the house.

[ Larger Image ]
 

If you have a trap primer, turn on the laundry tub taps for a few seconds. Shut them off and listen and watch for the water dribbling into the floor drains. In some houses, the trap primer is connected to the water supply valve in a toilet tank, which could be in a first floor bathroom. Lift the lid off the tank and look for a pencil-sized plastic hose leaving the back of the tank and heading toward the basement.

This entry was posted on September 29th, 2006 | Posted in Manage Your Home

Sitemap Privacy Policy Real Estate websites for Agents