Plumbing Vents – What They Are, How They Work & How To Know If They Aren’t

Learn everything you need to know about plumbing vents….If you’ve ever woken up to clogged plumbing, you’ve probably just assumed that the pipes moving water in and out of your house are blocked.

However, home plumbing is far more complex than just a system of waste pipes, meaning that a whole host of different systems may be the cause of your problems.

Take plumbing vents for example. Just as drain pipes remove water and waste from your home, a plumbing vent removes gases and odours, preventing them from building up over time.

Plumbing vents also allow fresh air into your plumbing system, helping water flow smoothly and evenly throughout the network of pipes in your home.

If the ventilation system isn’t working properly however, problems can quickly arise and lead to serious and costly breakdowns if they aren’t addressed.

When a plumbing vent pipe is blocked, negative pressure begins to build up and the flow of water through your drainage pipes is interrupted.

This, in turn, can lead to sediment forming inside your system, causing further damage and possibly requiring the pipes to be dug up, cleared or even relaid if the issue is serious enough.

But how do you know when your plumbing vents are clogged?

Any number of these factors can indicate a problem with your plumbing vents:

Slow drainage:

If water moves slowly while draining from your sink, shower base or bathtub, the problem could be related to inadequate venting.

Gurgling noises:

Gurgling sounds are a fairly common indicator of a drainage problem. If you hear these types of noises coming from any source of drainage in your home, it may mean that your plumbing vents aren’t working properly.

Toilet bubbles:

When your drainage system is experiencing venting problems, you’ll commonly find bubbles on still sources of water connected to your plumbing. While you can check your drains for this phenomenon, the toilet is usually the easiest source to examine.

Offensive odours:

As we mentioned above, the job of plumbing vents is to filter gases and odours out of your home. If you experience any sewer-like smells around drains, sinks and toilets, this may indicate that your plumbing ventilation is failing to do its job adequately.