Montgomery Decor

Typical city sewer systems are designed to collect for treatment or disposal both waste water from homes and businesses including liquid sewage from kitchens, baths, toilets, showers, and sinks, as well as rainwater that runs off roads and parking lots, or drains from downspouts or roofs.

Sewer systems depend largely on gravity where water is gathered as it naturally flows downhill and redirected to a body of water or treatment facility, except in very low areas where pumping stations may be required to move water uphill to larger sewers for collection.

Rainwater and sewage are often separated using a storm drain system with catch basins to prevent them from mixing together, and are then channeled through a network of pipes and pump stations to holding ponds as is often the case with storm water and some surface runoff, or to waste water treatment plants for processing.

Some older combined systems include storm water in with the waste water, but this situation is not preferred and generally avoided due to wide variations in rainfall levels that can overload the system, reduce efficiency of waste water treatment plants, and require unnecessary costly processing of storm water that might otherwise be directly redeposited untreated or minimally treated into local rivers or retention basins.

In urban areas or regions where there is a high amount of contaminant particles such as heavy metals, bacteria from animal waste, fertilizers and pesticides, sediments from soil, airborne pollutants, organic compounds, and vehicle grease and oil that rainwater may pick up from rooftops, bridges, the air, ground and roads, it may be a requirement that most storm water also be treated.

Some towns alternatively install grit chambers, buried vaults with media filters, vortex separators to eliminate coarse solids, retention basins and holding ponds that allow the pollutants to settle out naturally, or wetland environments that act as a natural filter to reduce pollutants.

Sanitary sewer mains frequently follow streams or are installed along main streets, especially in downtown areas where storm runoff averages about nine times higher than in wooded areas, and include covered manholes for purposes of maintenance access. In some towns, grey water or wash water, which includes all waste water except toilet waste and food waste, is being retained separately from black water to be recycled for use by residents in watering gardens or in toilet flushing.

Storm sewer pipes which handle rainwater are generally larger in diameter because massive amounts of water can be produced during major storms, while the sanitary sewer system often uses smaller pipes to carry waste water from homes, buildings, and industrial facilities to a treatment plant. The pipes tend to get progressively larger in diameter as the sewage and storm water move toward the waste water treatment facility to prevent or minimize overflows, backups, and flooding during periods of peak rainfall.

Pipes from residences that serve to collect rainwater runoff and sewage are referred to as building sewers and the section of piping that runs from the house to the property line is considered a private-side connection, whereas the city-side connection covers the area from the property line to the sewer main.

Once the waste water reaches a low point as it nears its destination and the flow slows, it usually must be pumped through force mains to the treatment facility where it is initially filtered with grates or by other means to separate out larger components before processing. To further treat the discharge, solids are removed for incineration by allowing them to separate and settle out, bacteria is then temporarily added to assist in removing nutrients and organic material, and lastly nitrogen and phosphorous are removed and chlorine is added to disinfect the remaining water.

From 1978 until 1995 polybutylene was installed in up to ten million homes and businesses throughout the United States including Atlanta which is estimated to have more polybutylene installed than any other city. For Atlanta polybutylene free information kit or pipe repair, contact Plumbing Express.

There are certain tools that can be found in every plumbers repair kit. Teflon tape, also referred to as plumbers tape, is a common tool used by plumbers and homeowners to stop pipe connections from leaking. This tape is stretchy to maximize tight connections, thin, white, and is effective at stopping leaks because it does not gunk up in the plumbing connection threads.

You can buy Teflon tape in the form of a roll at plumbing supply stores, hardware stores, and home supply stores. It is an inexpensive tape that is much like a ribbon and is long lasting. It is used not only used for water leaks, but also to stop gas leaks.

It is quite easy to apply Teflon tape to a pipe fitting connection. You just pull the required amount of tape from the roll and wrap it a minimum of three times around the end of the pipe fitting. You must apply the tape to avoid wrinkles, bubbles, or creases in the tape which can cause bubbles. It should also be wrapped securely to ensure it is completely leak and air tight. As well, when wrapping and handling the tape, your hands should be clean of any dirt, debris, and grease to prevent tape degradation. Once the tape is securely wrapped around the fitting, it is important to press firmly to ensure a complete firm and secure fit.

Once you have the tape firm and secure around the pipe connection threads, you will then place one end of the pipe fitting into the other end. It is the male end into the female end. You will then tighten the two connections. It must be tight enough so that it is completely secure. If you have to take them apart to adjust the fitting, it is easy to do as the Teflon tape acts as a lubricant.

In most cases, Teflon tape is used to wrap around threads of pipe fittings when there is low water pressure and around pipes that transport oil into the home heating system. It is also used to wrap around gas pipe fittings but will be wrapped more times to make it thicker. Teflon tape should only be used to wrap around threads and not the actual pipe because just wrapping around the pipe will not stop the leak as it is less secure and tight. Do not use white Teflon tape on iron pipe gas fittings as it will degrade and cause leaks. Yellow Teflon tape is used for iron pipe fittings because of their double density. Green Teflon tape is used on copper which is used with pipe threads or bolts in mechanical devices. If you are unsure about the leak and whether applying the tape will fix the problem, you should enlist the services of a qualified plumber, especially if you have a gas leak which can be dangerous. A professional plumber is trained and certified to locate the problem and provide a quality repair that is quick and efficient.

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