Floor Drain Trap Seal Primer

Trap primers trap primers are used in plumbing systems to prevent floor drain traps from losing their water seal by evaporation.

Floor drain trap seal primer.

A trap seal primer is not typically used in residential construction but should be considered for emergency floor drains as people often forget about them. Prior to the invention of the trap primer people would periodically pour water into floor drains to maintain the liquid seal. The trap primer mitigates this problem by injecting water either directly or indirectly into the trap to maintain the water seal indefinitely. For a water supply fed type trap primer this happens automatically based upon a water pressure drop when there is flow within the potable water piping system such as using a sink faucet flushing a toilet etc.

Trap seal primers operate by allowing a small amount of water to be discharged whenever there is water flowing through the valve to a fixture. The opening of the valve in a horizontal supply line will allow a metered amount of water to enter the trap supply line keeping your traps moist and in good working order. Maintaining the water seal will prevent the backflow of sewer gas into the buildings or rooms where the traps are installed. A trap primer is a device that causes a small amount of water to drain to the trap via piping from the trap primer.