20 Oct Plumbing Facts from Benjamin Franklin
Plumbing Facts
Plumbing, we can’t live without it, but how much do we really know about how our plumbing works? Here’s a fun list of things you maybe didn’t realize about the plumbing in your house.
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Why do we call them plumbers?
The word “plumber” is derived from the Latin word for lead – Plumbum. Before modern plumbing, lead use to be the primary material of pipe works used to carry water into cities and towns. As time has gone by, the word has changed into what we now call our mighty plumbers that help keep the water flowing in our homes.
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Who invented the modern toilet?
The flush toilet we use today came from a variety of inventions throughout history. In 1596, Sir John Harington invented a design that had a flush valve to let water out of the tank and wash-down design to empty out the bowl. In the 1880s, Thomas Crapper’s plumbing company built flush toilets and received a royal warrant. He popularized the siphon system for emptying the tank, and replaced the earlier floating valve system, which was prone to leaks.
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What consumes the most gallons of water in your home?
The dishwasher? Bath/Shower?. The lawn sprinklers? Maybe the swimming pool? Nope, it’s the toilet. The toilet consumes between 25 and 40 percent of the water in the average American home. This is the number one reason you want to keep yours functioning properly. If you hear the toilet running, it may save you more money in the long run if you call a plumber rather than ignore it.
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Are cold showers better for you?
Yes. In addition to saving money, they can do wonders for your health. According to Medical Daily, it has been proven that cold showers can help your alertness, improve the appearance of your hair and skin, aid in blood circulation and even stimulate weight loss!
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Does the direction of swirling water in the toilet actually depend on the Earth’s hemispheres?
Known to be the product of the Coriolis affect, it is widely believed a toilet flushes differently depending on where you are located geographically. Contrary to popular belief, however, the direction of the swirling water does not in fact depend on whether the toilet lies in the northern or southern hemisphere. Instead, the direction of the water depends on where the bowl’s rim jets are pointed. The water can be made to flush in either direction.
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How much water does a leaky faucet waste?
For the most part, the water coming from a faucet is between 1/5 and 1/3 of one milliliter. Using those calculations and 1/4 of a milliliter as an average, the USGS estimates that roughly 15,140 drips from a faucet equals one gallon of water.
To put this in perspective, if your faucet dripped once every second, every day, all day, it would only take four and a half hours to reach one gallon. Which translates to wasting 5 gallons a day or 2,082 gallons of water per year. Now, imagine what happens if you have more than one drippy faucet or a bathtub, which will drip more water at a time. This can easily equal more than 10,000 gallons of water wasted.
The cost of faulty plumbing actually adds up over time when left unnoticed. You will also run risks of developing additional plumbing or structural problems as leaks grow larger. Sometimes a plumber can be your best bet in saving you money and keeping your property in good running condition.
Call Ben Franklin Tyler today to deal with your leaks!
Benjamin Franklin Plumbing Tyler serves the East Texas cities of Kilgore, Longview, Tyler, and Whitehouse with a team of certified plumbers. In addition to emergency plumbing repair, some of the plumbing services provided by the company include faucet repair, drain services, toilet repair, plumbing fixture installations, tub and shower installations, kitchen sink repair, faucet installation, water heater repair/replacement, and garbage disposal replacement. Call us today at (903) 730-6611 to schedule an appointment!