Most people are afraid to work on their own plumbing, which makes sense when you consider the fact that one wrong move could have your house drenched. What you must know is that plumbing isn’t as terrible as it seems, and with a little practice you can do a lot of the simple plumbing chores yourself without having to call in a professional. Of course, there’s going to be times when things are just too complicated for a novice to handle, but with plumbers as expensive as they are, any money you can save performing the simpler tasks is still worthwhile.

Pipes aren’t that complicated, they simply take substances from one place to another. Even so, there are a myriad of problems that can occur that need attention and maintenance. For example, they can run slowly, leak, become clogged, or get backed up. The older pipes are more prone to leak than the newer ones made from PVC. They are often connected using obsolete technology as well which can lead to leaks. Newer pipes aren’t just connected with clamps, but with special glue that acts to reinforce the connection. Because of this improvement in technology, always be sure to use the newest parts and procedures when replacing any part of your plumbing.

Your home plumbing system is composed of two separate sub-systems- one to bring freshwater in, and the other to take used water out. The water that is brought in does so because it is pressurized; it needs to pressure in order to travel around the house and especially up stairs. There is usually a gauge that tracks your water use near the main shut-off valve. If there is ever a plumbing emergency in your home, be certain to turn this valve off immediately, or you could be flooded out. Most fixtures in your home, such as your sinks, toilets, and bathtubs, each have their own separate valve you can use in order to turn them off and on. Water that leaves your home, known as wastewater, is carried out due to simple gravity. All wastewater pipes slope downwards, allowing gravity to pull wastewater down. This is true regardless of whether you have a sewer or septic system.

This is just a basic explanation as there are many other components involved with your household plumbing, such as vents, traps, and cleanout. If you’ve ever looked at your roof, you’ve seen the white pipes that stick out. These are vents which allow air to enter your drainpipes. Traps on the other hand, are also extremely important to your wastewater system. These traps are located underneath your sinks; it’s that curved, S-shaped piece of pipe. These devices ingeniously allow just enough water to stay in the trap to keep sewer gas from entering the home.

It’s beyond the scope of this article to go too in depth about your household plumbing, but hopefully you have a better idea of how it works. While it is simple, it at the same time can become complicated and is based on physics more so than technological breakthroughs.

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