All sinks in your home should have traps under them, and these are known as plumbing traps (also called p-traps). If you continuously have problems with clogs in a particular sink, it might be time to call in a plumber to replace the p-trap under this sink. To understand why this might be needed, you will need to understand what a p-trap is.

What Is a P-Trap?

If you look under the sink that is clogged, you should see a pipe extending down from the drain. At the end of this pipe, you may see a pipe that is curved, which may look similar to a letter "P." This is a p-trap, and it is there for several reasons, including to:

• Keep lint, hair, and grease out of the drain pipes
• Prevent sewer gases from getting into your house
• Stop rodents and bugs from crawling up your pipes and into your home

The p-traps in your home may be made out of copper pipes or plastic pipes.

How Do P-Traps Get Clogged?

Because a p-trap is designed to stop clogs in drain pipes, they often end up with clogs themselves. This primarily occurs because of their design. A p-trap drops lower than the actual drain pipes, so the water must go down into the pipe and then up again to exit the house.

As water drains through the pipes and through the p-trap, the p-trap will accumulate hair and other things that do not belong in drain pipes. Over time, this can result in a buildup of debris, and eventually this will cause the drain to stop working.

How Can You Fix The Clogs?

You might be able to fix a minor p-trap clog yourself by taking the p-trap apart. When you do this, you must have a bucket handy because water will drain from this pipe when you remove it. If you can remove the debris from the line, you might be able to fix the problem.

The trouble with this is that over time, a p-trap might wear out from the debris inside. The debris might begin to slowly take over the pipe, and cleaning the p-trap might not be enough. When plumbing pipes are old, it is often better to replace them than to repair them, and this is what a plumber can do for you. When a plumber replaces the p-trap that continuously gets clogged, you will probably be able to avoid future clogs in this pipe for many years.

Plumbing problems can be messy and inconvenient, but you can always hire a plumber to fix your problems for you. You can call today to schedule an appointment, and a plumbing company, such as Plumb Perfect Plumbers will even rush to your home if it is an emergency situation.