Standard Residential Plumbing Fixtures
Many people take their residential plumbing fixtures for granted, not thinking twice about them until an issue pops up. However, your home is filled with plumbing tools, even if you’ve limited yourself to the bare essentials.
It’s crucial to understand how many plumbing items you have in your home. Doing so enables you to monitor their performance and schedule an Elburn, IL, plumbing service if one of them breaks.
Here, we’ll look at the most common residential plumbing fixtures. Keep reading to learn why Advantage Plumbing & Sewer Co. is the best team in Illinois to repair plumbing fixtures when they break.
Bathtubs
Bathtubs are standard residential plumbing fixtures that let you relax and clean yourself simultaneously. Unlike showers, you can lie in a bathtub and fully immerse yourself in the water. For that reason, bathtubs are popular across residential spaces.
Claw-Foot Bathtubs
Claw-foot bathtubs were popular in the 19th century as a status symbol. Because of their sleek design, they brought elegance and luxury to bathrooms. They also held more water than traditional tubs.
Today, claw-foot tubs are not as popular as they once were. Their design looks slightly outdated, especially in modern homes.
West/East Style Bathtubs
Western and eastern-style bathtubs are the most common type of tub. They are longer and narrower than claw-foot tubs. They attach to a wall rather than standing on their own, creating more bathroom space.
Eastern-style bathtubs are shorter than western ones but have extra depth to hold more water. Most eastern and western-style tubs have shower attachments. However, some bathrooms only have a standalone bathtub.
Hot Tubs
These residential plumbing fixtures are luxurious additions to any outdoor space. Hot tubs are similar to bathtubs but hold an average water temperature between 98 and 102 degrees. Therefore, they are warm enough for a soothing hour in the backyard, especially on a frigid winter night.
Showers
Your home likely has a standalone shower if it doesn’t have a bathtub. Like bathtubs, these residential plumbing fixtures come in several styles to fit various needs.
Standard Showers
Traditional showers have a faucet overhead that dispenses water when you turn the knob or handle. You can control the water temperature in a standard shower. However, it typically takes some time for the warm water to kick in.
Most standalone showers are much smaller than bathtubs since you can bathe in them while standing. While that aspect limits how luxurious they feel, you gain more space in your bathroom. Nonetheless, some luxury-focused showers are even larger than tubs.
Electric Showers
Electric showers are similar to standard ones, the only difference being that they instantly reach your desired temperature. However, that luxury makes electric showers cost more than standard ones.
Steam Showers
Steam showers are another more luxurious variant of the standard residential plumbing fixtures. They dispense soothing steam for a sauna-like experience. Steam showers are often larger than traditional standalone showers.
Toilets
Every home with modern plumbing has at least one toilet. With a few exceptions, toilets all function the same way.
Standard Toilets
Standard toilets have a flushing system that lets you eliminate waste while conserving water. While many modern toilets have fancy features like automatic flushing and blood pressure testing, they all share the same primary function.
Urinals
Though urinals are more common in public venues like shopping malls and restaurants, they’re not absent from residential buildings. Urinals have a male-centric design that allows users to stand and urinate in place. Some people prefer urinals over conventional toilets for convenience, although they’re only helpful for urination.
Sinks
Unlike other residentially plumbing fixtures, most people have sinks across their homes. Sinks are especially standard in bathrooms and kitchens.
Solo Sinks
Solo sinks are self-contained residential plumbing fixtures with a faucet, drain, base, and elaborate pipes system. The sink bed and spout rest on a waist-high pole and take more space than other sink alternatives. However, they’re easier to customize because of their standalone design.
Most people with solo sinks have them in the bathroom for handwashing and grooming. Yet, you can install them anywhere you need to sanitize.
Mounted Sinks
Mounted sinks take the most critical elements—the drain, faucet, and base—and put them in a waist-high cabinet to hide the plumbing and create more space. Mounted sinks often go inside the bathroom vanities in bathrooms. They’re also common in standard countertops near kitchen dishwashers.
Mounted sinks are more common in modern plumbing than standalone ones. With the plumbing fitting within a tucked-away cabinet, mounted sinks give you more space for installations. They also provide the luxury of not having to see exposed pipes.
Less Common Residential Plumbing Fixtures
Showers, toilets, bathtubs, and kitchen and bathroom faucets are the four standard residential plumbing fixtures. However, they’re far from the only ones people have in their homes.
- Dishwasher: Dishwashers allow you to machine-clean your plates and cutlery rather than scrubbing them in the sink. These fixtures not only save you an extra chore but also conserve precious time throughout the day.
- Heated floors: Heated floors are popular luxury items in bathrooms that use radiant heat from warm water in pipes to make floors feel like a foot spa.
- Water valves: Showers, sinks, and bathtubs are the most common spots for water valves. You’ll also find them outside near your garden hose and central water supply.
Protect Your Residential Plumbing Fixtures with Advantage Plumbing & Sewer Co.
Plumbing devices are vital for comfortable home life. Unfortunately, the more you use them, the likelier they are to break.
Excessive water consumption strains residential plumbing fixtures to their breaking point. Therefore, faulty plumbing can quickly flood your home and create irreparable water damage.
To avoid these risks, you’ll need help from a skilled professional with years of plumbing experience. There’s no better plumbing team in Illinois than Advantage Plumbing & Sewer Co. Our expert plumbers have aided the Elburn, IL, community for years and have seen every plumbing problem under the sun.
Call Advantage Plumbing & Sewer Co. at (847) 268-3553 to schedule an appointment or learn more about your plumbing, including the signs of a slab leak.
