Before Golden Rule Plumbing Services opened, and before I became immersed in terms like leaky faucet, hot water heater, and burst pipe, I had no idea how intricate and vital the plumbing system was in a home. I mean obviously it’s important to have a toilet and a shower and a sink. But I never thought about how it worked, how the water came to me. I didn’t know that the basics of plumbing are this: water in and waste out.

So there are two basic subsystems of plumbing within a home. The system that brings the fresh water in, and the system that takes wastewater out.

Fresh Water In
Basically, these systems rely on pressure and pipes to drive the water into the fixtures in a home.

So there is cold water and hot water. How can they both come from the same faucet on my sink? That is where a hot water heater comes in. The pipes that bring the water in are routed under the house. There is a pipe that routes to the hot water heater as well. From there, a pipe is routed to your faucets, and other appliances that may require hot water for heating, such as a dish washer or a washing machine.

Wastewater out
It’s simply this. Drainage pipes all position downward or angled, so that they depend upon gravity to push the waste out and toward your septic tank or a sewage center. Vents at the top of your house allow air to come in to help move the flow out. It’s a bit more involved but these are the basics.

To learn some tips on extending the life of your water heater, a vital piece of the plumbing puzzle, check out this link:  https://goldenruleplumbingservices.com/tip-to-extend-the-life-of-your-water-heater/

To learn more about the basics of how plumbing works, check out Plumbing Basics