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Cleaning the sink trap

thehorse

thehorse

VIP Member
Messages
360
Vehicle
T6 Ocean 150
Has anyone done this? Does it just screw off.

Just broken the glass on the worktop and quite a few pieces of glass went down the plug hole so want to clean the trap out to prevent it getting blocked.
 
Yes, it unscrews from underneath the sink.

Alan
 
As a van lifer, I do this once every two weeks. Super easy job!
1: Empty shelf, turn on cupboard lights if you have them or put a light source down there, and pull out drawer to its maximum point
2: Peek underneath the drawer and spot the two squeeze handles
3: squeeze both and pull the drawer out further
4: Lift drawer out of the way
5: Put your sink bowl (or saucepan) underneath to catch any water
6: With the light below, you can undo the plug screw and gauge how dirty the plug unit is at the same time. If it's still dark, it badly needs a clean!
7: Lower section will loosen and potentially drip a bit and if dirty, might be a bit smelly as it dislodged
8: Let it fall away under it's own weight and you can have a peek. Reassemble if you think all ok or ...
9: Separate rubber seal and wipe it clean with kitchen roll. I feel it's best not to use detergents as the life of the rubber may be shortened
10: Put your fingers deep inside the lower section and lift out the middle plastic piece - can be super gooey in there if hasnt been cleaned for a while!
11: Rub down the main section with a wet kitchen tissue or wet wipe - this piece rarely stains or has issues as its often always moist so everything wipes off fairly easily so avoid strong detergents once again, I feel.
12: Using a small implement like the handle of a tea spoon or a spent tooth pick, gentle wipe inside the pipe to encourage any fatty deposits that accidentally went down from the cooking area
13: Again, using only a damp kitchen tissue or wet wipe, clean the inner plastic piece
14: Lift plug out from either below (might be gooey!) or above
15: Not needed any detergents once again, so wipe clean as per the other pieces
16: Replace metal plug section with screw so it dangles happily
17:Replace inner plastic piece into main section
18: Replace rubber seal with the raised side facing down
19: Present the lower section upward to the dangling screw
20: Peer down from above to align it - you should see your light source beaming through a clean plug now!
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Envoyé de mon SM-N950F en utilisant Tapatalk
 
21: Present drawer to the opening
22: Replace your items as it's a little easier with the drawer out!
23: Lay the drawer about a quarter of the way in on the sliders each side
23: Firmly push the drawer into the cupboard until you hear loud securing clicks
24: Have a coffee and feel like a DIY legend
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Envoyé de mon SM-N950F en utilisant Tapatalk
 
What a great explanation with pictures. Thank you Egena. Perhaps moderators could use this in the help section of the website it is so well done.
Will give it a go before I use the van again.
 
Thanks a lot, that was super useful - just cleaned mine out for the first time ever, not too dirty but there was a fair bit of glass!

Noticed the rubber seal wasn’t properly fitted all the way round, so a defect from new. Also never knew it was so easy to remove the drawer
 
21: Present drawer to the opening
22: Replace your items as it's a little easier with the drawer out!
23: Lay the drawer about a quarter of the way in on the sliders each side
23: Firmly push the drawer into the cupboard until you hear loud securing clicks
24: Have a coffee and feel like a DIY legend
9bdd1f00b8b160212fc53163fcf02fc2.jpg
0c9e35a192029d1b5128f06224d16094.jpg
4ece238502623c2a7441e958833b100c.jpg
6e866a68e3593ea5694758f6737c0bbf.jpg
233af9b566e5eeb898fcec3dc04c4cbf.jpg
6e0150cb1d1dc3aeeedab0fae4e30937.jpg


Envoyé de mon SM-N950F en utilisant Tapatalk
Thanks so much for posting - super useful thread. Hopefully my stinky van syndrome is finally resolved.
 
Thanks so much for posting - super useful thread. Hopefully my stinky van syndrome is finally resolved.

Unlikely.

The sink trap does not contain/ form a water seal like the sink traps in your home.

I find that after 3 or 4 days with grey waste in the tank (particularly if washing dishes and food waste going into tank) it starts to “brew up” and vents into the van.
Best course of action is to empty grey waste every few days and keep plug in to stop the grey waste tank venting into the van

On each return home I wash out tank with 70 deg C hot water and washing soda ( nearly 4 x 10 litre bucket fulls via sink)

Leave for 10 mins to 20 mins then drain.

Usually this clean means we can get up to a week of use before the dreaded “stink” from the grey waste tank venting into the van starts if I am unable to drain the tank every few days
 
21: Present drawer to the opening
22: Replace your items as it's a little easier with the drawer out!
23: Lay the drawer about a quarter of the way in on the sliders each side
23: Firmly push the drawer into the cupboard until you hear loud securing clicks
24: Have a coffee and feel like a DIY legend
9bdd1f00b8b160212fc53163fcf02fc2.jpg
0c9e35a192029d1b5128f06224d16094.jpg
4ece238502623c2a7441e958833b100c.jpg
6e866a68e3593ea5694758f6737c0bbf.jpg
233af9b566e5eeb898fcec3dc04c4cbf.jpg
6e0150cb1d1dc3aeeedab0fae4e30937.jpg


Envoyé de mon SM-N950F en utilisant Tapatalk
Did mine today, 2 yrs of use and the trap was full. Easy job for sure.
 
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