What is a Waste Pipe?
With so many types of soil and waste pipes available, for a beginner, it’s hard to know what’s what. While it may not be easy to see a difference at first, the role both these pipes play are incredibly crucial to the correct working order of the soil and waste system.
What is a waste pipe?
Waste pipes carry wastewater from sinks, showers and other appliances that use water away from your home. They are usually narrower than soil pipes since they are only designed to carry water.
These pipes do not require a venting system since they do not carry contaminated water that can produce harmful gases. Push-fit waste pipes are becoming more and more popular with both DIYers and professional installers. This is because they:
- Are easy to install
- Create a water-tight fitting thanks to ring-seal joints
- Accommodate for thermal movement
Installing a waste pipe
When installing a waste pipe, it is crucial to use fewer connections and keep the piping as simple as possible to ensure the drainage process is smooth and water can be carried away easily.
For more help, check out our video on installing waste pipes and fittings, which demonstrates everything you need to know.
How do waste pipes differ from soil pipes?
Unless you have experience, trying to navigate which pipes are which can be a tough task. The key difference is that waste pipes carry clean water from sinks and showers, whereas soil pipes carry ‘soiled’ water, i.e. from toilets or urinals.
Soil pipes are vented in a particular way to keep your home safe and reduce gases and odours.
Soiled water and waste produce harmful gases, so keeping these pipes vented allows them to be released out of the way rather than keeping them under pressure. To vent the pipes is a requirement of most building regulations too.
