One of the most important parts of modern life is also one of the most overlooked, right up until the moment it fails you: plumbing. Without it, homes and businesses would have so few options to maintain sanitation and hygiene that they’d be pretty much useless. Nonetheless, as with many of the conveniences today’s society takes for granted. The appearance and proper functioning of a plumbing system in your home are way more complex than you probably realise. This isn’t just a guide for menial repairs you might make, though. We’re aiming to take a bit of the mystery out of just what keeps the faucets in your home delivering water to you because understanding a large picture allows a way better ability to function on some even basics.
What is Plumbing?
Plumbing is a network of pipes, fittings, and other devices in a building that supplies workers with clean water while they install new fixtures. It also hauls off not-so-clean water to treatment plants. Yet, for most people, the part of the plumbing system. They are most familiar with involves the aforementioned pipes and fixtures.
Hidden Complexity of Modern Plumbing
Meanwhile, a standard structure these days is loaded with plumbing that its inhabitants can’t see without some serious wall removal. We’ve previously covered the basics of plumbing. But in light of the tax holiday and water awareness week, we thought we would present a refresher course.
Components of a Plumbing System
Pipes and fittings transport water throughout your home’s many rooms, ensuring that there’s always water to dispense from faucets, showers, and toilets. But what really gets a home’s plumbing parts moving in a harmonious way are all the channels that various pipes and fitting parts offer for the water to follow. And then of course we have key fixtures, the very plumbing that lies under the floors of a home, ensuring cleanliness at the same time.
Drainage System
Drain pipes in the floors, walls, and ceilings of a home allow the wastewater to be issued from any water outlet or plumbing fixture and make its way to the sewer pipes. Running under the grounds outside homes in the suburbs, or making. Their way to the common pipes that run up the exteriors of apartment buildings. Even inside piping that runs up through elevator shafts to safely carry the waste to the top or bottom floors.
Wastewater Management
At your home, the main waste pipe, or sewer line, pipes wastewater to a community sewer or a septic tank. This is usually a system-wide problem and seldom a single residence situation.
Water Heating System
The water heater produces hot water and is necessary for any buildings that supply hot water to multiple locations (bathing, cooking, and cleaning). This is an arrangement similar to the electricity supply system.
Common Plumbing Problems
The common problems and corresponding repairs are overhead: pipes that leak, water heater tanks that bust, and faucets that drip. And don’t tip the plumbers yet: these repairs are simple and easy to make. A few tools and inexpensive parts are all you need and can save you thousands of gallons of water a year.
Preventing and Handling Clogs
Hair, grease, soap, and other debris that accumulate in our bathroom and kitchen drains are a common source of clogs. We can try to prevent these problems by trapping hair in a drain cover and keeping greasy foods out of the sink. But inevitably, some stuff gets by and builds up inside the drains—and eventually forms a blockage.
Tools for Clearing Clogs
What can be done? Three much-recommended tools stand ready to clear the basic clogs when you don’t want to call a plumber. The common plunger, a snake, and the chemicals in some popular “drain cleaners.” All three can be obtained at any hardware store, and despite some dos and don’ts. Each tool has its share of fans and detractors—among homeowners and plumbers alike.
When to Call a Professional
Some plumbing problems are relatively easy to fix. But in the case of others, you would be wise to contact a professional plumber. These situations almost always require some kind of service that is difficult and/or dangerous to perform on your own. They have serious potential for immediate and long-term consequences. A burst pipe can cause unbelievable water damage in a very short time (especially when left unchecked), and a sewer line that is not clear can significantly affect the sanitation of your home. When all is said and done, the most important fact to keep in mind is this. Left too long, plumbing problems can and will get worse, and be much more expensive to correct.
Proper Use of Fixtures
Fixtures must also be used correctly. Don’t flush anything down the toilet other than human waste and toilet paper—only stuff that can biodegrade. Grease and food scraps must be disposed of properly. Insulating pipes and draining outdoor hoses are basic but essential steps toward preparing your plumbing for the winter.
Conclusion
At its simplest, plumbing is just a way of moving water into and out of your house, with some crude (by today’s standards) systems having done just fine for decades. But a system of fixtures, fittings, and pipes that is up to code will hold up under pressure and different weather conditions and handle. What you throw at it in terms of moving liquids and waste.
