Residential Plumbing: A Summary

One of the most important components of your home is its plumbing. A basic understanding of your plumbing will help you maintain your home and deal with the occasional unexpected emergency.

Your plumbing serves two main purposes, to provide fresh water for drinking and cleaning, and to dispose of waste water produced by those same tasks. Your waste water eventually will be routed to either a septic system or public sewer. Many plumbing appliances provide a variety of services to the home owner. Most homeowners are very familiar with their faucets, sinks, and showers, but also need to have an understanding of more complex appliances like toilets, hot water heaters, or disposals.

Your water supply can come from two sources: the city you live in or a well. A well is usually located on your property far away from the septic tank. Municipal water, on the other hand, is provided through a recessed street box with a water meter on it.

The actual material used for pipes varies by the age of your home and the quality of the home. For fresh water, Copper is a very high quality material, which plastic piping is emerging as a strong contender. Older homes have a lot of galvanized steel tubing. For the drain system, older pipes are usually cast iron and new piping is a black plastic material called ABS.

It is very important to know how to shut off the water to your home. You might need to do this quickly in the case of a leaking pipe or appliance failure. Usually there will be a water shut off valve in the basement or crawlspace where the water line enters the house from either the well or the street. Also, there will be a shut-off valve at the street and the well.

The waste water from all of your drains and appliances flows through a system of wastewater pipes to either a septic tank and leach field or to public sewer in the street. This is something you should be clear about when you purchase your home. Septic tanks are typically in more rural areas, and require significantly more maintenance.

A clean out is an access point on a drain*usually located downstream from the drain*used to eliminate clogs in wastewater pipes. They are present in both septic and sewage systems and it is important to know where yours are located in case of a backup. To unclog, use a clean out tool, such as a snake or cable to free up congested pipes.

In your home you will find a number of different components of the plumbing system you typically see every day, for example faucets, sinks, your dishwasher, or washing machine. And of course your toilets. The hot water you use is produced by a major appliance called a hot water heater, typically located in your basement or garage. Dishwashers, disposals, and especially toilets and hot water heaters have periodic and often inconvenient maintenance and service needs.

Some of the top service issues you may run into with your toilet include leaks from the tank, leaks from the base, water consumption, poor flushing, no flushing, and other issues. Your hot water heater may need repairs for issues like discolored water, odors, leaks, or even a complete lack of hot water.

From water heater repair to repairing a toilet leak, Scott Rodgers is the perfect source for all your plumbing repairs. He has been helping homeowners bring home improvement projects to completion for over 5 years. Visit elocalplumbers.com for more insider tips to successfully complete even the most daunting home repairs.