Significant changes to removable fixture traps serving as cleanouts in the 2021 International Plumbing Code

An addition to Section 708.1.6 (Removable Fixture Traps Serving as Cleanouts) of the 2021 International Plumbing Code states that removable traps and removable fixtures with integral traps are acceptable as equivalent to cleanouts.

Removable traps and removable fixtures with integral traps such as urinals and water closets have long been considered as acceptable access to the drainage system for clearing stoppages. Note that the current code already has a few limitations on these cleanout means: 1) Section 708.1.3 prohibits the removal of water closets to serve as cleanout access to a building sewer. 2) Section 708.1.5 (Exception 1) only allows cleanout access through a removable P-trap for the same or one size larger pipe size.

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The 2021 Significant Changes guides are available for the International Building, Fire, Residential, Energy Conservation, Plumbing, Mechanical and Fuel Gas Codes. This valuable series can help any code user save time by zeroing in on the most critical changes in the 2021 International Codes. The Code Council’s technical experts provide summaries, analysis and graphics for these changes making them clear and easy to understand. Each edition provides a comprehensive analysis of significant changes since the 2018 edition, offering key insights into its contents and implications. Each change analysis features the affected code sections and identifies the change with strikethroughs and underlines to show modifications to the existing language. Each change is accompanied by a quick summary, detailed illustrations, and a discussion of its significance, which brings the technical jargon of the code to life in a real-world setting.

Significant Changes to the IPC, IMC, and IFGC, 2021 Edition is available in the ICC Store or through Digital Codes Premium for the International Plumbing Code, International Mechanical Code and International Fuel Gas Code.