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Summary: Turning the nozzles on and off might be the only experience in plumbing for a lot of people, and you may find it amazing to know the simple process behind the operation of a nozzle.
Plumbing in a house is a maze of fixtures and pipes which inter connect them and transfer water from and to the house. The major forces behind this process are gravity and pressure. Fixtures and appliances within the house like tubs, sinks, showers, toilets, dishwashers and washing machines, receive water from one source of pipes and dispose it using another.
Below are a few terms and concepts you would often come across when you evaluate, repair or extend the plumbing system in a house.
The water cycle
The process of plumbing is closely associated with geography and weather. It is a continuous cycle of nature. The water that we use in our day to day lives is formed in the skies, which reaches us in form of rainfalls or snowfalls. This water and melted ice flows into manmade storage units, lakes, seas and rivers or is absorbed by the ground. This further travels to water plants. Pumping stations, water towers or wells, where it is filtered and distributed to the houses. This water reaches the house through cold pipes and pressure forces it out when you open a nozzle.
Another thing that comes to mind is the destination of the used or waste water. Also referred to as ‘gray water’, this waste water is accumulated in the sewers or the septic tanks. The accumulated sewage moves with gravity and reaches the local water station or the treatment plant, where it is further filtered or purified. The same function is that of a septic tank, where the wastes are removed from water. This water is further supplied in the clean form to the houses. Water from the ground evaporates and the previous cycle begins again.
The three types of plumbing systems
When we have a close look at the plumbing system inside the house, we find three inter-connected systems available, which are the supply pipes, waste drains and the vents. The vents and the waste drains are dependant on each other and clubbed together are also known as “DMV system”.
The job of the supply pipes is to carry the water from the main pipe to other supply pipes inside the house to the various water-fittings and appliances. This is caused by the pressure in the main pipes, which is created by the water tower or the pumping station. In case of a water tower, the pressure of fall is the cause and in case of the pumping stations, the push from the ground creates this pressure. The rest of the work is done by displacement. As the water is guided through the pipes, it does not have an option other than follow the length of the pipe. So, when the nozzle is turned on, the pressure throws the water out and when you turn it off, the flow is blocked.
The waste drains are designed to guide the waste waters into the septic tank or the sewer, which is located out of the house. Sink and tub drains flow because of gravity whereas toilets operate both on gravity and pressure. In case you have a bathroom in the basement, an electrical pump might be needed to push the waste into the pipes.
Vents are needed to release the toxic gasses formed in the drains. When the pipes do not contain water, the wastes and water changes it form into gasses and makes it way out of the S or P shaped pipe bends, which can commonly observed on the roofs of the houses. During this process, only a considerable amount of water is left over to control the gasses formed to escape inside the house.
These systems are also responsible for maintaining the atmospheric pressure in the drainage system which helps in flowing of the wastes downhill and is similar to the second-hole process in a gas can.
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