Trap Primer Installation Above the Ceiling

Trap Primer

• Trap primers are tools that can help your home’s maintenance system work properly. Most commonly attached to drains that receive rare or intermittent use, they help to ensure that your home is safe from sewer gas. Drain traps retain water every time a drain is used. The water is caught in a curving section of pipe, which creates an airtight seal to prevent sewer gas from drifting up the drainpipe and into your home. If a drain isn’t used often, the water in the trap can evaporate, giving gas unobstructed access to your home. A trap primer periodically adds more water to the trap, replacing any lost water and keeping the pipe sealed. In homes, trap primers are most often installed on washing machine drains, especially if they have a drain pan beneath them.

Installation

• If you have a washing machine installed on the second floor of your home, a drip pan located beneath it will catch any leaking water. A drain installed on the pan won’t receive much use, so a trap primer will keep it sealed and safe. The steps for installation remain the same regardless of the floor on which the trap primer is placed. Run polyethylene tubing from the trap primer nipple on the washing machine’s tap set down to the drain. When the washer drains after cleaning a load of clothing, water will run through the tubing into the drain and keep the trap full.

During Construction

• Installing a trap primer while building your home is the easiest method. If your laundry room is on the second floor, install the drain and the primer before putting in the drywall for the ceiling in the room below. You can reach up through the non-existent ceiling with ease. If you want to have access to that area later, add an access panel for the drain system in the laundry room in the adjoining room.

After Construction

• After construction, accessing drain traps and trap primers in your home can be a challenge. You don't want to tear up the floor, so you will need to go through the ceiling on the floor below. It is not too difficult if you are working through an unfinished basement ceiling. However, if you must go through a finished ceiling in a regular room, you need to cut a hole in the drywall to create an access panel. After you finish installing the trap primer, put up a new piece of drywall and plaster and paint over it to match the rest of the ceiling.