Think about a sink and what it does for you. Just turn a handle and clean, drinkable water pours from the faucet. Wash your hands under the water or brush your teeth and let the sink carry away the runoff. Fill it up with soapy water and soak the dirty dishes. If the milk is bad, pour it down the drain. The sink is fundamental to modern plumbing. It is easy to take a sink for granted until it stops working. If you need Sink Repair in Philadelphia, you may be interested to learn more about how a sink works and what can go wrong with one.
The earliest type of sink was the washstand, which originated in the 18th century. It consisted of a wooden stand that supported a pitcher and a wash basin. Instead of pouring the water down a drain, people had to wash basins by hand. Modern sinks are a little more complex, consisting of a basin, a faucet, and a drain. A kitchen sink may also include a sprayer attachment and a garbage disposal.
Sink basins can be made of a variety of materials, including ceramic and enamel, but the most common are stainless steel, which is durable, relatively inexpensive to produce, and easy to clean. The faucet, or tap, controls the flow of water. Old-fashioned sinks had separate taps for hot and cold water, but nowadays most sinks have a single faucet that can control water temperature as well as flow. The drain includes a stopper, which allows the sink to be filled with water, which is then released down the drain when the stopper is removed.
What can go wrong with a sink? The two main problems are blocked drains and leaky faucets. When the water is slow going down the drain, or when the sink won’t drain at all, there is most likely some kind of obstruction in the drain pipe that will have to be removed. An annoying dripping faucet might be caused by a defective washer, but there may be other explanations for it as well, including corrosion, water pressure, or even a broken pipe. Browse our website to learn more about Sink Repair in Philadelphia.