The Home Medical Library, Volume 5 (of 6)

by Unknown

CHAPTER VIII

Plumbing Fixtures

The receptacles or fixtures within the house for receiving the waste and excrementitious matter and carrying it off through the pipes to the sewer are very important parts of house plumbing. Great care must be bestowed upon the construction, material, fitting, etc., of the plumbing fixtures, that they be a source of comfort in the house instead of becoming a curse to the occupants.

Sinks.—The waste water from the kitchen is disposed of by means of sinks. Sinks are usually made of cast iron, painted, enameled, or galvanized. They are also made of wrought iron, as well as of earthenware and porcelain. Sinks must be set level, and provided with a strainer at the outlet to prevent large particles of kitchen refuse from being swept into the pipe and obstructing it. If possible the back and sides of a sink should be cast from one piece; the back and sides, when of wood, should be covered by nonabsorbent material, to prevent the wood from becoming saturated with waste water.[18] No woodwork should inclose sinks; they should be supported on iron legs and be open beneath and around. The trap of a sink is usually two inches in diameter, and should be near the sink; it should have a screw cap for cleaning and inspection, and the branch vent pipe should be at the crown of the trap.

Washbasins.—Washbasins are placed in bathrooms, and, when properly constructed and fitted, are a source of comfort. They should not be located in bedrooms, and should be open, without any woodwork around them. The washbowls are made of porcelain or marble, with a socket at the outlet, into which a plug is fitted.

Wash Tubs.—For laundry purposes wooden, iron-enameled, stone, and porcelain tubs are fitted in the kitchen or laundry room. Porcelain is the best material, although very expensive. The soapstone tub is the next best; it is clean, nonabsorbent, and not too expensive. Wood should never be used, as it soon becomes saturated, is foul, leaks, and is offensive. In old houses, wherever there are wooden tubs, they should be covered with zinc or some nonabsorbent material. The wash tubs are placed in pairs, sometimes three in a row, and they are generally connected with one lead waste pipe one and a half to two inches in diameter, with one trap for all the tubs.

Bath Tubs.—Bath tubs are made of enameled iron or porcelain, and should not be covered or inclosed by any woodwork. The branch waste pipe should be trapped and connected with the main waste or soil pipe. The floor about the tub in the bathroom should be of nonabsorbent material.[19]

Refrigerators.—The waste pipes of refrigerators should not connect with any of the house pipes, but should be emptied into a basin or pail; or, if the refrigerator is large, its waste pipe should be conducted to the cellar, where it should discharge into a properly trapped, sewer-connected and water-supplied open sink.

Boilers.—The so-called sediment pipe from the hot-water boiler in the kitchen should be connected with the sink trap at the inlet side of the trap.

Urinals.—As a rule, no urinals should be tolerated within a house; they are permissible only in factories and office buildings. The material is enameled iron or porcelain. They must be provided with a proper water supply to flush them.

Overflows.—To guard against overflow of washbasins, bath tubs, etc., overflow pipes from the upper portion of the fixtures are commonly provided. These pipes are connected with the inlet side of the trap of the same fixture. They are, however, liable to become a nuisance by being obstructed with dirt and not being constantly flushed; whenever possible they should be dispensed with.

Safes and Wastes.—A common usage with plumbers in the past has been to provide sinks, washbasins, bath tubs, and water-closets, not only with overflow pipes, but also with so-called safes, which consist of sheets of lead turned up several inches at the edge so as to catch all drippings and overflow from fixtures; from these safes a drip pipe or waste is conducted to the cellar, where it empties into a sink. Of course, when such safe wastes are connected with the soil or waste pipes, they become a source of danger, even if they are trapped, as they are not properly cared for or flushed; and their traps are usually not sealed. Even when discharging into a sink in the cellar, safes and safe waste are very unsightly, dirty, liable to accumulate filth, and are offensive. With open plumbing, and with the floors under the fixtures of nonabsorbent material, they are useless.

Water-closets.—The most important plumbing fixtures within the house are the water-closets. Upon the proper construction and location of the water-closets greatly depends the health of the inhabitants of the house. Water-closets should be placed in separate, well-lighted, perfectly ventilated, damp-proof, and clean compartments, and no water-closet should be used by more than one family in a tenement house. The type and construction of the water-closets should be carefully attended to, as the many existing, old, and obsolete types of water-closets are still being installed in houses, or are left there to foul the air of rooms and apartments. There are many water-closets on the market, some of which will be described; the best are those made of one piece, of porcelain or enameled earthenware, and so constructed as always to be and remain clean.

Fig. 24.

PAN WATER-CLOSET. (Gerhard.)

The Pan Closet.—The water-closet most commonly used in former times was a representative of the group of water-closets with mechanical contrivances. This is the pan closet, now universally condemned and prohibited from further use. The pan closet consists of four principal parts: (1) basin of china, small and round; (2) a copper six-inch pan under the basin; (3) a large iron container, into which the basin with the pan under it is placed; and (4) a D trap, to which the container is joined. The pan is attached with a lever to a handle, which, when pulled, moves the pan; this describes a half circle and drops the contents into the container and trap. The objections to pan closets are the following:

(1) There being a number of parts and mechanical contrivances, they are liable to get out of order.

(2) The bowl is set into the container and cannot be inspected, and is usually very dirty beneath.

(3) The pan is often missing, gets out of order, and is liable to be soiled by adhering excreta.

(4) The container is large, excreta adhere to its upper parts, and the iron becomes corroded and coated with filth.

(5) With every pull of the handle and pan, foul air enters rooms.

(6) The junctions between the bowl and container, and the container and trap, are usually not gas-tight.

(7) The pan breaks the force of the water flush, and the trap is usually not completely emptied.

Valve and Plunger Closets are an improvement upon the pan closets, but are not free from several objections enumerated above. As a rule, all water-closets with mechanical parts are objectionable.

Hopper Closets are made of iron or earthenware. Iron hopper closets easily corrode; they are usually enameled on the inside. Earthenware hoppers are preferable to iron ones. Hopper closets are either long or short; when long, they expose a very large surface to be fouled, require a trap below the floor, and are, as a rule, very difficult to clean or to keep clean. Short hopper closets are preferable, as they are easily kept clean and are well flushed. When provided with flushing rim, and with a good water-supply cistern and large supply pipe, the short hopper closet is a good form of water-closet.

The washout and washdown water-closets are an improvement upon the hopper closets. They are manufactured from earthenware or porcelain, and are so shaped that they contain a water seal, obviating the necessity of a separate trap under the closet.

Fig. 25.

LONG HOPPER WATER-CLOSET. (Gerhard.)

Fig. 26.

SHORT HOPPER WATER-CLOSET. (Gerhard.)

Fig. 27.

STYLES OF WATER-CLOSETS.

Flush Tanks.—Water-closets must not be flushed directly from the water-supply pipes, as there is a possibility of contaminating the water supply. Water-closets should be flushed from flush tanks, either of iron or of wood, metal lined; these cisterns should be placed not less than four feet above the water-closet, and provided with a straight flush pipe of at least one and one-quarter inch diameter.

The cistern is fitted with plug and handle, so that by pulling at the handle the plug is lifted out of the socket of the cistern and the contents permitted to rush through the pipe and flush the water-closet. A separate ball arrangement is made for closing the water supply when the cistern is full. The cistern must have a capacity of at least three to five gallons of water; the flush pipe must have a diameter of not less than one and one-quarter inch, and the pipe must be straight, without bends, and the arrangement within the closets such as to flush all parts of the bowl at the same time.

Fig. 28.

FLUSHING CISTERN.

Yard Closets.—In many old houses the water-closet accommodations are placed in the yard. There are two forms of these yard closets commonly used—the school sink and the yard hopper.

The school sink is an iron trough from five to twelve or more feet long, and one to two feet wide and one foot deep, set in a trench several feet below the surface with an inclination toward the exit; on one end of the trough there is a socket fitted with a plug, and on the other a flushing apparatus consisting simply of a water service-pipe. Above the iron trough brick walls are built up, inclosing it; over it are placed wooden seats, and surrounding the whole is a wooden shed with compartments for every seat. The excreta are allowed to fall into the trough, which is partly filled with water, and once a day, or as often as the caretaker chooses, the plug is pulled up and the excreta allowed to flow into the sewer with which the school sink is connected. These school sinks are, as a rule, a nuisance, and are dangerous to health. The objections to them are the following:

(1) The excreta lies exposed in the iron trough, and may decompose even in one day; and it is always offensive.

(2) The iron trough is easily corroded.

(3) The iron trough, being large, presents a large surface for adherence of excreta.

(4) The brickwork above the trough is not flushed when the school sink is emptied, and excreta, which usually adheres to it, decomposes, creating offensive odors.

(5) The junction of the iron trough with the brickwork, and the brickwork itself, is usually defective, or becomes defective, and allows foul water and sewage to pass into the yard, or into the wall adjacent to the school sink. By the Tenement House Law of New York, the use of school sinks is prohibited even in old buildings.

Fig. 29.

SCHOOL SINK AFTER SEVERAL MONTHS' USE.

(J. Sullivan.)

Yard Hopper Closets.—Where the water-closet accommodations cannot, for some reason, be put within the house, yard hopper closets are commonly employed. These closets are simply long, iron-enameled hoppers, trapped, and connected with a drain pipe discharging into the house drain. These closets are flushed from cisterns, but, in such case, the cisterns must be protected from freezing; this is accomplished in some houses by putting the yard hopper near the house and placing the cistern within the house; however, this can hardly be done where several hoppers must be employed. In most cases, yard hoppers are flushed by automatic rod valves, so constructed as to flush the bowl of the hopper whenever the seat is pressed upon. These valves, as a rule, frequently get out of order and leak, and care must be taken to construct the vault under the hopper so that it be perfectly water-tight. An improved form of yard hopper has been suggested by Inspector J. Sullivan, of the New York Health Department, and used in a number of places with complete satisfaction. The improvement consists in the doors and walls of the privy apartment being of double thickness, lined with builders' lining on the inside, and the water service-pipes and cistern being protected by felt or mineral wool packing.

Fig. 30.

J. SULLIVAN'S IMPROVED YARD HOPPER CLOSET.

Fig. 31.

A MODERN WATER-CLOSET.

(J. L. Mott Iron Works.)

Yard and Area Drains.—The draining of the surface of the yard or other areas is done by tile or iron pipes connecting with the sewer or house drain in the cellar. The "bell" or the "lip" traps are to be condemned and should not be used for yard drains. The gully and trap should be made of one piece; the trap should be of the siphon type and should be deep enough in the ground to prevent the freezing of seal in winter.

FOOTNOTES:

[18] Waterproof paint or tiling should be used for this purpose.—Editor.

[19] Tiling, linoleum, concrete, etc., as opposed to wood or carpets.—Editor.