Sinks, showers, bathtubs, and toilets—bathrooms are all about plumbing. The plumbing in a bathroom must handle water delivery to and waste removal from all of these fixtures in an organized, efficient, leak-free manner.

Two plumbing systems are needed to handle a bathroom's plumbing needs: water supply and drain-waste-vent.

Water supply plumbing delivers hot and cold water to the sinks, tub, toilet, and shower. This system originates at the municipal supply or other fresh water source, goes through the meter, and is delivered to the house. At the water heater, it splits into two lines—one that carries cold water and the other that delivers hot water from the water heater to the fixtures that require it.

The drain-waste-vent system collects waste water from fixtures and waste from toilets and delivers them to the sewer or septic system. Near each of the sinks, tubs, showers, and toilets, vent pipes exhaust sewer gases up and out the roof and provide air pressure so wastes can flow freely.

This section of HomeTips discusses the various aspects of planning, installing, and caring for plumbing that is specific to bathrooms.

For information on how to buy, install, and care for bathroom fixtures, see the main Bathrooms category page.