These plumbing appliances are fitted in many places in the home and are a very important piece of kit for any drain system. The name indicates the kind of job it is employed to carry out. Yes it is to trap things.Use:To provide a good solid water seal to stop any of the various smells that are present in the drains. This will stop these unpleasant smells from coming back into the house, especially from sink basins and toilets. Any plumbing pipework related to wastewater should have one of these traps fitted. Crystal Palace Plumbers know all about traps and their uses.Construction:The trap is constructed of strong plastic and is a U-shaped loop of pipework that normally sits below a waste outlet. Operation:When a plug is removed or when a flush is operated, we see the water go however an amount will remain in the trap by design and keeps the seal intact.Types:The P-Trap:So called because of its profile. A horizontally outlet. Different versions of this P-traps exist which are made specifically for locating beneath baths and shower trays, that can have a smaller water seal of 50mm, not the same as sinks and basins, which need a 75mm water seal. The S-trap: This type consists of a vertical outlet, and the bottle trap. This is a compactly constructed device made for use when the trap is exposed and fitted under maybe a hand basin. A Crystal Palace Plumber is familiar with all types of traps. This bottle trap is more likely to block than the P and S-traps. There are traps that provide a connection for overflow pipes on baths and they are normally used with standpipes for washing machines. The WC pan has an integral trap, so do bidets. Many very old U-Bends were constructed from lead and had an access plug at the bottom that could be removed to clear a block. These days, new plastic traps have cap nuts that can be unscrewed by hand, which will allow the trap to be cleaned, and also provide an access to clear a block.