Don Vandervort, Head Homeboy, has written more than 30 DIY home improvement books, been a segment host on HGTV, served as MSN.com's home improvement expert and written countless magazine articles.
A sanitry tee directs traffic in your home's drain-waste-vent plumbing system to make sure wastes go down to the sewer and gasses go out the vent stack.
Like other types of T fittings, it connects two pipes in line for a main run and one at a 90-degree angle for a branch run. But it's a little different than a standard tee: It's designed so waste will flow through it smoothly--the branch run curves toward the perpendicular main run (a similar tee with a long, sweeping curve is called a combination tee).
The main run must be vertical. The branch curves downward toward a drain. In some cases, a sanitary tee is used in place of a vent tee for plumbing vent lines--then, the branch sweeps upward instead. Sanitary tees are made for all types of drain-waste-vent pipe systems, whether cast iron, threaded, copper, or ABS plastic.
