If you’re like most homeowners, you don’t think much about your plumbing system or how it works until something goes wrong. 

But once a toilet becomes clogged or a water heater malfunctions, your home’s plumbing becomes top priority. Are you having an issue with the incoming water supply or with the system that carries waste water away? If you’re not sure which is which, it’s time to familiarize yourself with how your home plumbing system functions. 

Here are the basics of what you need to know.

Clean Water Comes Into Your Home

If you live in an urban area, you’re likely connected to the town’s water supply. This means there’s probably a main pipe buried beneath the street in front of your home. This water main carries clean water to the homes in your neighborhood. Connected to this pipe are separate, individual pipes that run into each home, including your own. It’s piped to your individual fixtures so you always have fresh, clean water when you need it.

If you live in a more rural area, you likely have an underground well or cistern. A water pump is used to deliver the water from the underground supply into your home. In either scenario, the water coming into your home is under high pressure. This gives it the ability to reach every faucet, toilet, sink, and washing machine in your home. It’s this water that enables you to have a hot shower when you want one or to flush a toilet multiple times in a day.

Waste Water Drains Out of Your Home

After clean water has traveled through your home’s water intake system, it becomes wastewater that needs to be forced out. Otherwise, you would have standing waste water in your sinks and bathtubs. Just as a pump is used to bring clean water into your home, gravity is used to allow it to exit through drains that lead to your sewer or septic tank. Sewer lines angle downward as they move away from your home. This allows wastewater to flow naturally out of your home and into your wastewater collection system.

If you’ve ever suffered a problem with your home’s wastewater drainage system, you may have seen the pipes that lead to your septic tank or sewer. They’re much larger than the pipes that bring water into your home. This allows wastewater and debris to be carried easily away.

Your Local Plumber Services

Whether you’re having problems with the way that water comes into your home or the way in which it leaves, J.W. Freeman Plumbing of Gainesville can help. With over 50 years of combined plumbing experience, our technicians are on-time and always professional. We’ll fix the problem in a fast, friendly fashion and leave you to get on with your day.

Proudly serving Gainesville and the surrounding areas since 2008, J.W. Freeman Plumbing offers excellence in customer service. Give us a call today for all your plumbing needs.