Understanding Your Home's Plumbing System

© Emerson Lockwood 2007

Do it yourself plumbing projects are not too hard to complete as long as you understand how the plumbing system in your house works. Once you understand how things work, you can then decide if you feel that tackling a specific plumbing repair or replacement is a do it yourself job or if you need to call in a plumber.

Your home's plumbing system is composed of three primary parts: the vent pipes, the sewer lines and drainpipe, and the traps. Any one of these parts can create problems for your home's plumbing system so it is important to know what each part does so you can repair it.

The vent pipes: These are those pipes that stick out of your roof. Many people often do not even know what those pipes are for or why they are there. The vent pipes can be attached to each and every plumbing fixture in your house or the vent pipes can be attached to a group of fixtures.

These vent pipes allow air to enter into your sewer lines to help them drain freely. Too often people are quick to assume that there is a clog in a plumbing fixture if it is draining improperly. Many times it is in fact a clogged vent pipe that is causing the problem.

I too have been guilty of making that false assumption. I had a bathtub drain that was allowing sewage to enter into the bathtub (GROSS! I know). At the time I was living in a rental house and the landlord called a plumber out and what he found was that birds had built a nest in the vent pipe. This was the reason for the backup in the bathtub. I think I used about 4 gallons of bleach cleaning that tub afterwards! Anything can clog a vent pipe, a bird’s nest, leaves, trash, and basically anything else that you can think of.

The Sewer Lines and drainpipes: These are the actual pipes that carry the sewage through your house and lead into either a public sewage system or a septic tank. This is where many people assume their plumbing problems originate, and sometimes they are correct.

The good news is that every house is required to have a “clean out system” in place. A clean out is an access point to your sewer lines where you can insert an auger (aka snake) to clean out the pipes. This clean out, or plug, is usually a Y shaped fitting with a threaded plug that can be removed with a wrench or pliers.

These clean out plugs can be located in many locations of your home. They may be sticking out of a wall, such as in a basement, or may simply be sticking out of the ground in your yard. Plumbing codes require that these plugs be placed in every household sewer system.

Once you have located your clean out plugs you can save a ton of money by using your own auger when your sewer pipes have clogs, instead of calling a plumber. Though sometimes you will still be forced to turn to a pro, especially if you have found that a tree root has grown through your sewer pipes.

The traps: A trap, or a P trap as some call it, is the odd looking thing that is underneath of all of your sinks.

sink trap

The trap bends back up to prevent sewer odors and fumes from coming back up through the drain. When you turn off your sink, there is a certain amount of water that remains sitting in the trap. This water acts as a seal or barrier to keep those dangerous fumes out of your house. In fact, each and every plumbing fixture in your house has a trap attached to it; you just don’t always see it. You have one on your toilet, your bathtub, dishwasher, washing machine, etc.

One inherent problem with a trap is that it not only traps water, but other things as well. A trap is a great place for a hair clog; build up of soap scum, and children’s toys. Clogs in the trap are the most frequent plumbing problems that people will face. Often you will first notice that the water drains slowly. This is the first indication that you have something trying to clog your trap.

Here you can read an entire article that illustrates replacing a sink trap. When you review that article you will see that it is rather easy and painless in most cases to clean or replace a sink trap.

Now that you know the primary parts of the plumbing system hopefully you can decide whether or not to tackle some of these plumbing repairs and projects on your own or if you need to call in a plumber.

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