Supply The most common plumbing fixtures are: •
Bathtubs •
Bidets •
Channel drains •
Drinking fountains •
Showers •
Sinks •
Tap (connections for water
hoses) • Tapware - an industry term for that sub-category of plumbing fixtures consisting of tap valves, also called water taps (British English) or faucets (American English), and their accessories, such as water spouts and shower heads. • Terminal
valves for dishwashers, ice makers, humidifiers, etc. •
Urinals •
Toilets •
Flush toilets Waste Each of these plumbing fixtures has one or more
water outlets and a
drain. In some cases, the drain has a device that can be manipulated to block the drain to fill the basin of the fixture. Each fixture also has a
flood rim, or level at which water will begin to overflow. Most fixtures also have an overflow, which is a conduit for water to drain away, when the regular drain is plugged, before the water actually overflows at the flood rim level. However, water closets and
showers (that are not in bathtubs) usually lack this feature because their drains normally cannot be stopped. Each fixture usually has a characteristic means of connection. Normal plumbing practice is to install a
valve on each water supply line before the fixture, and this is most commonly termed a
stop or "service valve". The water supply to some fixtures is cold water only (such as water closets and urinals). Most fixtures also have a hot water supply. In some occasional cases, a sink may have both a
potable (drinkable) and a non-potable water supply. Lavatories and water closets normally connect to the water supply by means of a
supply, which is a tube, usually of nominal 3/8 in (
United States) or 10 or 12 mm diameter (
Europe and
Middle East), which connects the water supply to the fixture, sometimes through a flexible (
braided) hose. For water closets, this tube usually ends in a flat
neoprene washer that tightens against the connection, while for lavatories, the supply usually ends in a
conical neoprene washer. Kitchen sinks, tubs and showers usually have supply tubes built onto their valves which then are
soldered or 'fast jointed' directly onto the water supply pipes.
Drains The actual initial drain part in a lavatory or sink is termed a
strainer. If there is a removable strainer device that fits into the fixed strainer, it is termed a
strainer basket. The initial pipe that leads from the strainer to the trap is termed the
tailpiece. Floor-mounted water closets seal to the
toilet flange of the drain pipe by means of a wax ring. These are traditionally made out of beeswax. However, their proper sealing depends on proper seating of the water closet, on a firm and secure base (floor), and on proper installation of the closet bolts which secure the closet to the flange, which is in turn supposed to be securely fastened to the floor.
Traps and vents All plumbing fixtures have
traps in their drains; these traps are either internal or external to the fixtures. Traps are pipes which curve down then back up; they "trap" a small amount of water to create a water seal between the ambient air space and the inside of the
drain system. This prevents
sewer gas from entering buildings. Most water closets, bidets, and many urinals have the trap integral with the fixture itself. The visible water surface in a toilet is the top of the trap's water seal. Each fixture drain, with exceptions, must be vented so that negative air pressure in the drain cannot siphon the trap dry, to prevent positive air pressure in the
sewer from forcing gases past the water seal, and to prevent
explosive sewer gas buildup. ==Electronic plumbing==