How can I remove a drain trap nut which is stuck with putty or caulk?

salon_sue

I’m trying to remove a P trap, but I think the plumber used caulk or glue on the nut. It’s not coming off. Does this mean I need to cut all the way back to the PVC coming out of the wall and create a new P trap?

Originally asked by Brandon Flanery on Stack Exchange (diy) (CC BY-SA 4.0).

uphilltech

Great question — answering as the UphillTech team:

Use a bigger wrench. The "bumps" on the outside of a PVC nut like that are to help a regular pipe wrench grab it. You don't need to limit yourself to a short-handled strap wrench. Also - be sure you've correctly interpreted the orientation of the nut with regards to unscrewing it. The fact that it's upside down has been known to throw folks off and turn the wrong way. Best I can tell from the picture it's probably plumber's putty, and that should not prevent unscrewing it, though it also has no business being there. Edit to add: If you can't get this off even with a big (long-handled) wrench, I would strongly advise not replicating it. The only place I will use glue-in traps is under...

Full answer by Ecnerwal: https://diy.stackexchange.com/a/332026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Need it done for your business? UphillTech.