Problem with p-traps...

[mgirardo]

I am no plumber, but I noticed a leak on the shower p-trap. Turns out there is a crack. No problem, I can replace it. Unfortunately, it is in a really hard to get to location and I was having a problem getting it off. So I turned around to the bathroom sink, thinking maybe there is something goofy about how the p-trap is installed. I pulled the sink's p-trap off without issue and put it back on. Now, the p-trap on the sink leaks. So I tightened it some more and now it leaks more! Is it possible to over tighten? I was planning to try to pipe thread tape (aka teflon tape), but I haven't had a chance to yet.

Any other ideas?

Thanks in advanced,

-Michael

[wa8yxm]

Can you overtighten a P-Trap.. YES, in fact you can overtighten most anything you can tighten.. but P-Traps, epically plastic ones are fairly easy to over tighten.

However a more likely suspect is the washer that is under the nut,, under the nut is either a plastic or rubber compression washer.. Odds are you need a new one.

[JohnG3]

BB_TX wrote:
Assuming there is nothing special about your p traps, go to a home improvement/hardware/plumbing store and buy new ones with new seals. They are inexpensive. Take the old ones with you to make sure you get the right size/length. Too long is ok as they can be cut to length.
You should not need tape on those. But make sure you get the threads straight when putting them on. It is easy to get them cross threaded. The large nuts should turn easily and need only hand tight.

X2 on this advice. Bought one too short, cut it a couple times and it was still too short.

[rugerguy]

My Dad was a plumber.He taught me to put some pipe sealer paste on drain fittings that are leaking.and yes you can over tighten them sometimes cracking the plastic nut with out knowing it.

[MitchF150]

Don't be too surprised if the shower trap cracks again.. Mine was cracked after it's first trip out back in 2002. Took it to the dealer to fix and they fixed it right up. Next trip out, I see water dripping from the back corner of the trailer again.. Look and sure enough, the trap was cracked again.

Well, I just went to the local hardware store and picked up a rubber collar with different size openings to fit over the trap. After cutting off the cracked part, I simply slipped one rubber end to the drain on the shower and the other end to what was left of the trap.

That was 11 years ago and not a problem since. 🙂

I figure it was whatever flex occurs at the back of the trailer while traveling, because I don't actually use the shower to shower in.. It does share the same drain from the kitchen sink, so that's why it would leak before..

Good luck!

Mitch

[mgirardo]

Thanks all for your replies. I guess I'll just replace both traps.

-Michael

[Tango__AE7UI]

It has happened to us and we found out when water started pouring out of the pass through storage space on the fifth.
The shower pipe leading to the gray tank loosened up and leaked.
It is now part of my spring de-winterizing to check the fittings and snug up where necessary.
Never happened again.

[Fizz]

It happens.
Happened to me once and I had to replace the trap. The second time it happened we were on the road. I put a bucket under the leak and waited till we were home.
Never had that problem at home. It's the bumping and bouncing on the road that works them loose

[jtfcons]

No plumber here either, but in my experience when removing older plastic plumbing fittings be sure to clean all the mating surfaces up not with abrasives but just 409 or some other good degreaser, apply a little Vaseline to the joints (inside and outside) and do use new slip seals. The seals are not very soft to begin with but depend on compression action to seal. After use for a while they get stiff, so new ones always are a good idea.

[BB_TX]

Assuming there is nothing special about your p traps, go to a home improvement/hardware/plumbing store and buy new ones with new seals. They are inexpensive. Take the old ones with you to make sure you get the right size/length. Too long is ok as they can be cut to length.
You should not need tape on those. But make sure you get the threads straight when putting them on. It is easy to get them cross threaded. The large nuts should turn easily and need only hand tight.

[ReelTime]

Mgirardo, I am no plumber either and I apologize in advance as your post did give me a little chuckle. The reason being I have done the exact same thing many times over my life. The only exception is that I would have then went to the Kitchen sink where there is the possibility of there being two more P-traps and repeated the same inspection process. By this time my wife would have caught on to what I was doing and stopped me any further damage.

Seriously, I do know that the fittings on some p-traps can be overtightened, there is no pressure to speak of and the gaskets are of soft rubber or foam and they can distorted easily if over tightened, hand tight only is usually enough.