Bar Maid FLY-BYE Floor Drain Trap Seal

Bar Maid’s new floor drain tap seal rotects your kitchen and dining areas from the nuisance of flies, cockroaches, bacteria, and viruses. It also prevents harmful gases from entering the kitchen.

During the SARS epidemic, that coronavirus spread through a building via the plumbing system’s drains and caused widespread infection among residents. There is concern that SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, may spread in the same manner.

The drains of a plumbing system are interconnected, meaning toilets, sinks, bathtubs, showers and floor drains are connected, and even connected between different rooms and units within a building. A trap usually prevents aerosolized pathogens, sewer gases, insects and odors from exiting the drain. A dry trap, vent blockage or other plumbing system malfunction may result in failure of the trap to work properly and allow those to migrate out of the drain and into the living space.

Two apparent things that give everybody the impression of “not sanitary” are foul odors and bugs, both of which are often found in floor drains. Bacteria and viruses can also be found in floor drains and while they may not be visible, are hazards to be addressed in the “new normal” after coronavirus.

SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, may be transmitted through plumbing systems

The World Health Organization found that floor drains were a conduit for aerosolized virus to travel between apartment units and contributed to a super-spreading event of SARS-CoV infection in 2003.1

SARS-CoV-2 has been detected in the feces of some patients diagnosed with COVID-19. After a February 2020 investigation into a similar spreading event of this coronavirus between residents living in a Hong Kong high-rise, health officials suspect malfunction of the interconnected plumbing system allowed the coronavirus to spread between apartment units.

According to a study in the journal Lancet Global Health, the interconnectedness of the wastewater plumbing network can facilitate exposure to SARS-CoV-2 within, or even between, buildings.2 This is of particular concern in high-risk transmission settings such as hospitals and healthcare facilities, hotels and multi-family residential operators, cruise lines, schools, high-traffic facilities and commercial businesses such as restaurants.

One thing is for sure. Business and facility operators, and ordinary people, will be looking for ways to improve sanitation and prevent contamination. They will be looking for products that help keep staff, patrons, and themselves safe. Every few weeks, Bar Maid will address challenges after coronavirus, and products to address those challenges.

Fruit flies and many other insects feed and breed in the damp environment of floor drains where organic residues build up. Bacteria and viruses also flourish in the biofilm of damp drains. Insects that crawl out of the drain may be carrying pathogens that you do not want in your restaurant.

The FLY-BYE Floor Drain Trap Seal is a patented one-way valve that allows water and solid to flow down the drain, while preventing odors, sewer gases and insects from entering up through the floor drain grate. Basically, it allows fluid to flow down, but nothing to come back up. It’s very easy to install, makes drains maintenance free, stops fruit flies and cockroaches from escaping, keeps bacteria and gases in the drain, and is pesticide-free. There is no need to add primers and fresh water to the drain.

The reversing airflow of unprotected floor drains can also allow the aerosolization of pathogens and emission of not only foul odors, but also harmful and potentially flammable gases. The FLY-BYE Floor Drain Trap Seal acts as a vapor barrier to help prevent gases such as methane, hydrogen sulfide, and radon from infiltrating the kitchen, improving air quality.

It’s time for a maintenance free solution to the challenges and risks associated with floor drains and all of the uninvited guests that occupy them and want to visit your foodservice operation.

Watch the video for more information on Bar Maid’s FLY-BYE Floor Drain Trap Seal.