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"Trap" or canister along bathtub drain plumbing

20K views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  md2lgyk 
#1 · (Edited)
Esteemed Netizoids,
We bought an 80-year-old 2-unit apartment building last year. We have some sort of canister in our plumbing that is in line with the bathtub drain. That is, the bathtub drain piping enters this thing, and there is piping on the other side that goes to the house drain stack. There is a cap on top of the canister that one can unscrew to get in and, I suppose, clean it out.

Side note:
I guess this canister was common in the old days. In our old condo we had this, and it got plugged up. We could not rod out the bathtub drain cuz the rod simply gets stuck in the canister. As well, we could not use caustic drain cleaners in that drain. The condo association gave us some enzymatic drain cleaner to use on a regular basis.

We have the same thing in our current house.
...End side note.

When we gut rehabbed our bathroom in our current house, the contractor left the old bathtub drain plumbing alone, presumably because the bathroom floor was concrete and it would be a big job to pull it up so as to replace the old pipe.

My question is: Is this old canister considered a problem? Is it no longer to code? Should the contractor have replaced it and the piping? And, finally, now that we're stuck with it, what's the best way to deal with it so as to keep our plumbing clear? I should mention that it's now impossible to get at the canister lid without pulling out the bathroom vanity, which would be a significant job I think.

Thanks for any advice.
 
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#4 ·
Thanks

Thanks, I did a little looking around and found out that it is indeed a drum trap. Now all I gotta do is open it up and clean it, which is going to be a problem as the builder put the bathroom vanity practically on top of the thing. :censored:

Argh. Thanks again for the reply, though. I appreciate it.
 
#5 ·
The drum/canister trap

Ok heres the deal with these monsters. I say monsters simply because when they are working correctly, they are just fin, however, the minute that thing clogs, it leaks like a sieve. Eventually you will find yourself, tearing out something to get to it to either clean it out, or in my case to remove it. Our house is about 125 years old, and frankly the drum trap is nearly as old. They rust out, as ours has, and my kitchen, which is directly below the bathroom is now missing the ceiling. Here's a question , are you sure that trap to your bath tub is not also connected to the sink drain? I ask this simply because that's how our's is plumbed and when the drum gets clogged you can watch the bath tub water back up into the sink or vice versa. In my opinion, get rid of it now, before it becomes the issue. BTW if anyone knows a good way to replace it with some other type of trap, I'd sure love the advice. Good luck to anyone with one of these!
 
#6 ·
Pupp

Pupp-
I didnt see your second post before I rambled. If your vanity is sitting on top of it, theres a good chance your sink is tied into that thing as well. You may not want to hear it, but I think your going to have to come up from the ceiling below that room and just get rid of it. Your contractor KNEW better than to leave that old thing in there, although as I said in my last post I am not sure WHAT should be in it's place, I have heard a U trap and sooo many other suggestions. I just know one thing for sure, over time that drum is going to make you a very unhappy person. Good luck.
 
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