Movement of Water Through Your Home
Have you ever wondered about the movement of water through your home so you have constant access to it? With all of the ways that we use water in our home, the movement of water through it might be unknown to you. It’s interesting to learn how the water supply enters your home so you know how the water supplied to you actually gets there.
There are many different access points in your home for water usage. Your bathrooms, tubs, kitchen, laundry room, and more all give you access to water when you need it. Today, we’re going to talk about how water gets to all of those places.
How Does Water Get Out of the City Main Line?
Water travels from the city’s main water line to your house’s main line. This is typically a large pipe that is built far enough underground so that it does not freeze during cold temperatures. This runs directly into your home so you have access to water in all areas of your house when you need it. It is important to note that each building that is connected to the city’s main line has its own water main.
Have you ever heard of a water pressure regulator? This helps with regulating the water pressure that is in your pipes. If your water pressure is too much, it can damage your pipes. If the water pressure is too little, you won’t have good water pressure in your home. Low water pressure can usually be caused by low momentum provided by the city’s water pumps. This can be the case for you if you live far away from the city water pumps.
How Does Water Get into Your Pipes?
Water is able to get into your pipes through the city main line. The main line that leads up and into your home is how you get your access to water. The pipe is buried deep underground so that it is not at risk of freezing. This water then travels through the pipes of your home in every area where water is accessible. When you turn on the water, you have water readily available to use.
How Does Water Get to Your Faucets?
Believe it or not, once the water travels up your main line into your home, it splits off two different ways through pipes. The water will travel one way to move throughout your home where you need it and the other way will travel the water through the pipes to your water heater. A water heater is an important aspect of every home. Without it, hot water wouldn’t be accessible. On that note, who would want to take an ice cold shower? Not me!
Cold Water Lines
The best way to think of cold and hot water lines is to think of your pipes as a maze. Your main line starts the maze, which would be the entrance, and then you break off into other parts of the maze which are your cold and hot water lines. Your cold and hot water lines work their way to other parts of your house, where water supply is needed. The water exits through every outlet that is in the house when they are turned on.
Water Heater
The main purpose of a water heater is so you can have immediate hot water. For example, when you take a shower and the water gets almost immediately hot, you know that the supply is from your water heater. A water heater provides you with immediate hot water because it builds up and preserves hot water for those times when you need it.
Once your water starts to turn cold, you know that you have run out of hot water that was being preserved in the water heater. A water heater takes time to build up hot water so you need to give it time to build back up before you can get hot water again. Isn’t is crazy that the movement of water, hot or cold, has that much of an impact on the daily tasks you do at home?
Hot Water Lines
Hot water lines run parallel to the cold water line in your home. They never cross the paths of each other. Appliances and other fixtures in your home will be able to have access to both hot and cold water in your home.
After the water is heated, water is released from the water heater into the hot water supply line and that is how you are able to get hot water through your entire house.
Faucets
The reason why you are able to start and stop water from coming out of your faucets is because there is an inlet valve there to stop it when you want to turn it off. Without them, your water would constantly flow and that’s not good.
How to Shut Off Water in Your House
The movement of water in your home can get a little crazy sometimes. Knowing how to shut off the water in your house entirely is very important. You never know when a problem may arise and you need to be able to shut off the water completely. In order to shut off the water in your house, all you need to do is locate where your water starts in your home. Then look for the handle that shuts off the water in your home. Once you turn that handle, no more water will flow through your home.
Final Thoughts
There is an entire process behind the movement of water through your home. It’s important to know how water flows through your home and what to do if a problem occurs.
Call 1-Tom-Plumber
If you need more help, don’t hesitate to contact us or call us at 1-Tom-Plumber (1-866-758-6237). We immediately handle any emergency plumbing, drain cleaning and drain clearing, and water damage problem, including excavation of underground water lines and sewer main lines.
