Plumbing Bascis 101 | Airco Service | Oklahoma City

Posted on: Nov 22, 2016

With plumbing, Airco Service knows it all. If anything goes wrong with your home’s or business’s plumbing or you need pipes, faucets, drains or anything else installed/repaired, we are at your service. We think educating customers about the plumbing basics is a good idea. After all, the average person understandably knows little to nothing about plumbing systems.

Plumbing System Parts

The contemporary home has a plumbing system with three main divisions. The first, a water service pipe, sends water into the home from the municipal water source. Supply pipes, the second division, send this water to each fixture. Fixtures are outlets and receptacles that permit us to use and dispose of water as appropriate. The final parts of the home plumbing system are drainage and vent pipes that allow water and waste to travel from fixtures to disposal points.

Plumbing Basics

Plumbing operates according to laws of nature like pressure and gravity. Every building’s drainage and supply systems must be distinct from one another, connected only at fixtures where supply water comes in and drainage water goes out.

Supply Lines

A primary water line enters near your home’s foundation. This line branches off, sending water to a water heater that creates hot water for the house, and carrying cold water throughout your home.

Hot water lines extend from the water heater throughout the home, paralleling the cold water lines to provide all fixtures with water at the appropriate temperature.

Drainage Lines

A building’s drainage system relies on gravity. Waste exits the building thanks to the downward pitch (angle) of drainage pipes. In general, pipes are installed with a downward pitch of a quarter-inch per foot. Vent pipes allow air to equalize pressure in the waste pipes, preventing a vacuum that might prevent waste water from flowing away in the proper manner.

Each fixture in the building has its own drain line. These drain lines connect to a large main line that sends greywater (showers, sinks) and blackwater (toilets) out of the home.

City dwellers and suburbanites receive water from their municipalities and send waste to public sewage treatment systems. Rural homeowners spaces rely on well pumps to bring in water and septic tanks to treat waste. These tanks should be periodically pumped clean to prevent backup. Drainage hinges on the U-, S- or P-shaped traps that prevent sewer gases from rising through the drains into your home or office.