One of first things you learn as a homeowner is that you may own your home, but you don’t actually live in it full time. You get to spend rest of your time living in hardware store or hardware dept of your local retail store. Unfortunately older home more frequent you visit this vast place with aisles and aisles of thingies and who whos, that previously meant little more than, ‘‘…that aisle that my dad use to get all kinds of shiny pipes, connectors, and silver and brass things.” A place where he spent many hours, (and you will too), talking about stuff with strange names and even stranger looking objects’d plumbing. For now I’m just going to talk about plumbing. The first thing to realize is that older homes have plumbing systems that use galvanized pipe, which will corrode over time, leading to low pressure and leaks, (modern homes use copper and flexible pipe). Also in most modern homes there are usually “stop valves”, (these are little turn thingies) under each sink and toilet in house, most important one is main water cut off. KNOW WHERE THIS IS LOCATED!! Or be ready to watch “Ole Faithful” wash your ceiling. So, as a result of my many “Trial by Water” episodes of plumbing problems, I thought it time to clarify some of incorrect definitions of plumbing terms with correct ones used by pros, at least, “pros” in my local hardware store. These are all terms that I have come across in my attempts (more failures and disasters than success stories) to rectify some problems I have encountered with my 20 year old home.

1) ABS pipe… not to be confused with PVC pipe ABS-Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene: …It is a rigid black plastic pipe used for drain, waste and vent lines. PVC-Polyvinyl Chloride: …It is a rigid white or cream colored plastic pipe used in non-pressure systems, such as drainage, waste and vent systems.

2) Aerator: This is not biology…. it is NOT part of a woman’s anatomy. …It is a device screwed into end of a faucet spout that mixes air into flowing water, and controls flow to reduce splashing.

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