The chief sanitary appliances of a house, which empty their contents into the drain and thence into the street sewer, are—(1) Rain-water Pipes; (2) Bath-room and Sink-pipes; (3) Water-closets; (4) Soil-pipes; and (5) The House Drain. We will consider these in detail.
Rain-water Pipes collect the water from the roof by means of gutters, and carry it down to the house drain, except in the few cases in which the rain-water is collected for use. The rain-water or stack pipe was formerly joined directly at its base with the underground drain. This was evidently bad, because the upper end of the pipe was frequently near windows, and foul gases from the drain might be conducted by it into the house. It is equally objectionable to connect the rain-water pipe with the soil pipe and for the same reasons as above.
The general rule with regard to all pipes carrying away water from the house, with the sole exception of the soil-pipe, is that they must be disconnected from the underground drain and discharge into the open air over a gulley-trap. This rule applies to
- rain-water pipes, and to
- waste pipes from baths,
- lavatories,
- sinks.
It does not apply to the soil-pipes leading from
- water-closets and
- slop-sinks,
Overflow or waste-pipes from cisterns for drinking water or from cisterns for flushing w.c.’s or to safe trays under the seat of water-closets should all be made to discharge into the open air, where the leakage can at once be discovered.
The form of gully-trap to be used at the junction with the drain is described on page [167].
Other Waste-pipes as from bath, lavatories, and sinks, must be similarly disconnected from the drain, and made to discharge over gully-traps. When the pipe leading from the bath, lavatory basin, or sink, is long, it is apt to become foul from the accumulation on its inner surface of slimy matter, consisting of soap, dirt, and other offensive matter. For this reason it is wise to have a syphon bend in the waste-pipe near its junction with the sink or basin. Such a trap is shown in Fig. 19.
The syphon bend alone in the waste-pipe without disconnection from the drain at its lower end would not suffice to ensure complete absence of nuisance, especially for sinks and lavatories which may be disused for a considerable period. Under these circumstances the water in the syphon trap may become evaporated, and then foul drain gases be wafted into the house. Furthermore, even if the water in the syphon trap remained, foul gases may be absorbed from the drain and given out at the end nearest the house (a, Fig 19). Hence it is always best to disconnect all waste-pipes from the drain, except the soil-pipe which cannot be treated in this way. The waste-pipe from the upstairs lavatory or bath may be made to discharge over a hopper-head and thence into the rain-water pipe, which is disconnected below from the drain. This plan should only be adopted when the hopper-head is not close to a bedroom window.