Parts of a Sink

Stainless Inlet Supply Connectors

Flexible supply lines bring water and gas from the permanently installed pipes behind your walls to your fixtures and appliances. These lines connect your fixtures and appliances to the in-wall plumbing and have simplified the installation of new toilets and faucets.

Emergency Shut Off Valve

You should not have to turn off the water to the entire house to fix a leaky faucet, but that’s what many people do if you don’t have individual shutoff valves installed under every sink.

People should consider putting a valve on every hot- and cold-water supply tube. These valves allow you to:

• Shut off the water to one sink without water interruptions to others.
• Provide a quick way to turn off the water in the event of a flood caused by cracked fitting or ruptured supply tube.

P-Trap

A p-trap is the addition of a 90-degree fitting on the outlet side of a U-bend, that creates a P-like shape. It is also referred to as a sink trap because it is installed under most house sinks.

Due to its shape, the trap retains a small amount of water after use. This water in the trap creates a seal that prevents sewer gas from passing from the drain pipes back into the room. All fixtures including sinks, bathtubs and toilets must be equipped with either an internal or external trap.

As it is the low point in the plumbing, sink traps tend to catch heavy objects (such as jewelry) that accidentally get dropped into the sink. These traps also collect hair, sand, etc. and limits what objects will pass into the rest of the plumbing. Most traps can either be disassembled for cleaning or they provide some sort of clean out feature.

Pop Up Assembly

A pop-up drain assembly is commonly used in bathroom sinks. A mechanical plug called a “pop-up stopper” is used to hold water in the sink. The drain stopper and the rod that opens and closes it are part of the pop-up waste assembly.

Drain Line

Drain-waste-vent (DWV) system maintains neutral air pressure in the drains, allowing flow of water and sewage down the drains and through waste pipes by way of gravity. It is really important that a large enough slope downwards be maintained to keep liquids flowing freely towards the main drain from the building.

Every fixture is required to have an internal or external trap. Double trapping is prohibited due to its susceptibility to clogging. There are few exceptions but every plumbing fixture must have an attached vent. The top of stacks must be vented too (stack vent).

All plumbing waste fixtures use traps to prevent sewer gases from getting into the house. Through traps, all fixtures are connected to waste lines, which in turn take the waste to a “soil stack or soil vent pipe.”

At the building drain system’s lowest point, the drain-waste vent is attached, and rises (usually inside a wall) to and out of the roof. Waste exits from the building through the building’s main drain and flows through a sewage line into a sewer system.

Vent Line

The venting system/plumbing vents consist of a number of pipes leading from waste pipes usually through the roof. Vents provide a means to release sewer gases outside of the house.

Vents also allow oxygen into the waste system to discourage noxious gas. Vents provide a way to equalize the pressure on both sides of a trap that allows the trap to hold the water which is needed to maintain effectiveness of the trap.

Have more questions about your sink?

If you have more questions about your sink or need a repair, please call us or schedule an appointment online!