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What Is the Difference Between a Bottle Trap Gully and a P Trap Gully?

What Is the Difference Between a Bottle Trap Gully and a P Trap Gully?

Drainage

For many people, once water goes down a drain – whether it’s rainwater or the wastewater we wash out from our homes – it’s a case of out of sight, out of mind. If they consider the matter at all, they probably think it’s a simple case of water going down a drainpipe and into the sewers through an interconnecting series of straightforward pipes.

But, as with so many things, it’s more complicated than that. Once the water disappears underground, it actually first goes into a gully trap, which is what connects the drainpipe to the sewage system. 

The gully trap has a vital role to play in the process, because it not only helps drain the water away, it also does it in such a way that it prevents any unpleasant smells or gases coming back up from the sewage system and into the air we breathe. Even better, it stops any rats creeping about in the sewers from poking their noses out as well!

And even at this point, it’s still not that simple, because there are different types of gully traps. This month, we’re going to be looking at two of the main ones used in our drains, the bottle trap gully and the P trap gully.

P trap gully

As the name suggests, this type of gully trap is in the shape of a P, although it’s one lying on its front, so that the pipe goes down and then turns back on itself. 

The water comes down the drain and once it has filled the curved area, it can head off along the pipe and into the sewers. The curved area remains full of water, however, and it is this barrier that prevents any smells from escaping back into the air.

One disadvantage to the P trap gully is that it is not roddable – in other words, if a blockage occurs somewhere down the pipe, that curved shape means you can’t just push a rod down to work it loose. As a result, if you do get a blockage, you’ll probably have to get a specialist drainage engineer out to clear it.

Bottle trap gully

The bottle trap gully, on the other hand, can be rodded, which makes it comparatively simple to clear should you get a blockage. It still prevents smells and gases from getting out by using trapped water, but does so by using an inner sleeve within a structure that acts a bit like a water bottle. The trap is removable and once it’s been taken out, access to the outlet pipe can be made to clear blockages further down if necessary. That can be done with a rod, but you could also use water jetting.

To keep gully traps working effectively, it is recommended that they are thoroughly cleaned out at least once a year for signs of damage and to check for any blockages. If a blockage does occur, flash flooding could lead to pools of standing water that could enter your property and cause considerable damage.

Here at AA Turner Tankers, our experienced team of drainage engineers can carry out fast and effective gully trap emptying and cleaning, either on a contract, one-off or emergency basis. Our modern trucks are available in and around Colchester, Essex and Suffolk.

Get in touch with us now to find out more.

For immediate assistance, please call us on 0808 164 8447
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