Home plumbing systems: types and importance

Have you ever wondered how all the pipes, fittings and fixtures which make up a plumbing system work? Today, we are going to give you a brief and accurate lowdown on the fundamentals of plumbing systems and how they work to make your home a clean and comfortable place to live in.

First, there is the Domestic plumbing system which delivers pressurized water into the structure for cooking, drinking and bathing. The domestic plumbing system can be said to be the most critical component of plumbing in the home: lack of potable water will greatly endanger your health.

The most common materials used for this are FlowGuard Gold CPVC, traditional copper piping, and PEX (Cross-linked PolyEthylene tubing).

Secondly, there is the Sanitary waste system also known as DWV which uses gravity to remove waste from the home. The most common materials for this are cast iron, PVC and ABS piping. Let’s look at each of these subsystems separately.

This system delivers fresh and potable pressurized water into the home from the city main or a well system; a meter keeps a record of the amount you use. Potable water is cold when it enters the home before splitting into two subsystems: Hot and cold.

Cold water goes directly to the fixtures throughout the house and is immediately available for your needs. However, in order to provide hot water, the water must first be heated. To do this, the cold water system will branch off, and a portion of it channelled through the water heater.

The heated water is then distributed to the fixtures in the house. A thermostat controls the overall temperature of the water in all the fixtures and appliances where will it will be used by turning the heating element on/off.

Now, let’s dive in on the sanitary side.

The drain-waste-vent or DWV is a gravity waste elimination system which removes undesirable products from the home using gravity, while also maintaining neutral air pressure in the pipes to aid free flow of water and sewage.

Draining refers to the part of the system which removes greywater or sullage from the home. This is the water from tubs, washers, sinks e.t.c.

Waste, also known as black water, is the waste from water closets commonly referred to as toilets or commodes.

The venting system or vents comprises of a collection of pipes leading from the waste pipes to the outdoors, usually through the roof, bringing in fresh air, and taking out stale air.

As you recall, domestic water systems work under pressure in order for it to deliver water up through buildings, by contrast, a downward slope is needed in sanitary water systems in order for the entrapped materials in the pipes to arrive at the main drain outside of the house.

Whether your house has a sewer or septic system, the features are essentially the same: drainage systems do not depend on pressure, but rather, on gravity.

Traps are used in waste plumbing fixtures to prevent leakage of sewer gases into the house. Consequently, traps play a very important role in keeping the home habitable and free from harmful gases.

To sum, supply and drainage are two distinct operations, with no overlapping between them: there are always bridges between them, but both make use of the laws of nature to keep things going smoothly.

For more information, contact Vinny’s Jersey Plumbing, located in Wayne, NJ.  We also service other towns in New Jersey, such as Millburn, Verona and West Orange.