Understanding Your Home’s Plumbing Anatomy

As a homeowner, the inner workings of your house can be mystifying. However, it is important to understand the basics of how your house works, including how your house’s plumbing system is set up. This is especially important for maintenance and prevention issues–after all, a small problem, if left unaddressed, can turn into big, expensive problem over time, so it’s best to understand how things work in order to be able to tell if something is amiss. Here’s a brief guide to your home’s plumbing anatomy.

Supply piping

This connects your house to the water company’s main line or to a well on your property and supplies your home with water. Supply piping comes in different kinds, and knowing what type of supply piping your home has is essential to even basic repair. Types range from galvanized steel, CPVC, rigid copper, and soft copper to pex, chrome ribbed copper, flexible braided-steel supply line, and chromed copper tubing. Once the main supply line enters your home, it splits into one system of pipes for cold water and one system of pipes for hot water.

Water heater

Water heaters now come in a couple varieties—the traditional tank and the new tankless water heaters. The familiar tank-style water heaters heat and hold gallons of water to be piped up for usage in the sink, shower, or bathtub. This system keeps water hot 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The newer tankless heater heats water when it is needed by circulating water through electric coils or gas burners to heat it up and then shuts off when it is no longer needed.

Drain, waste, and vent piping

These pipes eliminate unwanted waste and materials from the house via the septic system.

Plumbing fixtures and faucets – Sink anatomy

These fixtures, found in sinks, bathtubs, and showers, allow the user to control how much water they use and at what temperature.

For many homeowners, trying to figure out an entire home’s plumbing system and anatomy is about as easy as learning ancient Greek. Hiring a professional when a problem arises is absolutely the best bet. For a highly qualified and prompt plumber, call Simpson Plumbing in Vancouver at 360-834-5311. Along with excellent and timely service, we offer a wide range of specials, such as a new-client discount, that keep all our clients satisfied.