Types Of Plumbing Vents A Plumber Near Me Can Install | Bullhead City, AZ
Plumbing issues are inevitable. When you encounter one, say sewer backflows or sewer gases finding their way into your home, you should call a plumber near me in Bullhead City, AZ for a diagnosis. However, diagnosing doesn’t mean only checking the water pipes. An often-forgotten part of the plumbing that could precipitate many drainage issues was it to have a clog, or any other problem is the plumbing vent. In this article, you’ll learn the type of plumbing vents and why you need one at your home.
Types of Plumbing Vents
There are different types of plumbing that you can install at your home. However, the type you can use largely depends on the plumbing codes of your area of residence. Thus, check with your plumber near me to know which vent you can use. Follow the plumbing code to avoid trouble with your HOA or local authority. Below are some common plumbing vent options:
Common Vents
The common vents refer to a concept that allows two-fixture traps to be vented via the same vent. The two-fixture traps can be in the same or different levels. However, they should be installed on the same floor. If a plumber near me installs the shower or sinks near me at a higher level than the toilet on the same floor, the drainage pipe should have a diameter of not less than 2 inches.
Vent Stack
Also known as direct vents, these plumbing vents are common in most homes. Have you seen vents protruding over the roofs in your home or your neighboring homes? Those are most likely vent stacks. The number of vent stacks a plumber near me installs at your home largely depends on the number of drains it has.
Wet Vent
Do you want to reduce the individual vents per fixture? Then you should talk with your plumber near me in Bullhead City, AZ about installing wet venting for your plumbing. A wet-vented fixture means that the vent is also used for carrying wastes from other fixtures connected to the drain-waste-venting system at a higher level. For instance, does your house have several floors? The venting for the fixtures on the lower floors will be used for carrying waste from the fixtures on the upper floors. Wet venting may be used for horizontal and vertical plumbing vents.
Air Admittance Valve
Also called auto-vent, air admittance valves are small vents that normally connect to a sink’s drain pipe. It allows air into this drain piping to ensure that pressure in your drains is balanced. Rather than run a stack vent, talk to your plumber about using an air admittance valve. It costs less and uses fewer pipes.
Circuit Vents
This is a method of venting 2-8 fixtures with a trap connecting them rather than having a plumber near me install a stack vent for each. A long vertical vent connects to a horizontal branch where the 2-8 fixtures are connected to a battery. The waste flow in the horizontal branch is quiet and slow, preventing the creation of a pressure difference that could affect the fixtures connected.
Why Do You Need a Plumbing Vent?
Sewer Gas Removal
When the waste and wastewater leave your home via the drains, it becomes a sewer. As you possibly know, the sewer smell isn’t pleasant. Hence, there must be means of removing the sewer gases from your drains to ensure they don’t find their way back into your home. This is where the plumbing vents come in. However, these vents require to be installed by a professional plumber near me in Bullhead City, AZ, as there are things to consider.
P-traps serve two purposes. First, it captures things that could clog the drains before reaching the drainpipe. Unclogging the P-trap is easier compared to cleaning all your drains. Second, a P trap is designed to always hold water. This water blocks sewer gases from entering drains. Unless obstructed, sewer gases leave the system through the plumbing vent.
The plumbing air vent is likely clogged if sewer gases enter your home or bathroom. If this happens, you should have a plumber near me come over to inspect and unclog them. Thus, the sewer gases are exhausted via the drains. Additionally, see your fixtures drain slowly and produce a gurgling sound.
Introduces Air Into the Drains
For the various plumbing fixtures to drain effectively and to have a strong toilet flush, air is needed in the drain pipes. Imagine that you’re draining the water heater. What can you do to hurry the draining process? You’ll open either the T&P valve or the closest hot water faucet. Doing this will allow air to enter the system, which will help the water flow more quickly and quietly.
Another example is when pouring water from a bottle or container. After several seconds, pierce the bottle’s bottom (now facing up) with a knife. You will notice the bottle will empty much more quickly.
Without a plumbing vent, the drainage system will have negative pressure. This means that the pressure in the drains will be lower than atmospheric pressure. This happens in non-vented, clogged vents or poorly vented drains when the water drains rapidly, becoming entrained. Put, negative pressure creates a vacuum in your drains. Because a vacuum cannot realistically exist, the drain pulls air from its surroundings.
Unfortunately, the water between the surrounding fixture and the vacuum will be siphoned. That is the water in the P-trap. As a result, you’ll start hearing a gurgling sound from the sink or bathtub after you flush the toilet. That means the vent is clogged and should be attended to by a plumber near me. The gurgling sound is because of the siphoning out of the water in the p-trap. Because the water barrier is broken, the sewer gases will flow into your home without restriction.
Do you need a plumbing vent installation, maintenance, or repair? Contact us at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of Mohave County.
See our previous blog on this topic here!
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