166 



ELEMENTS OF GENERAL SCIENCE 



179. Proper handling of water in the house. In modern 

 well-built houses much attention is given to proper plumbing 

 to insure the delivery of water to the parts of the house 

 where it is needed and to avoid contamination. Small pipes 

 are attached to the large pipes or mains underground in the 

 street. The small pipe enters the basement of the house, 

 and branches then lead to the parts of the house where 

 water is needed. Owing to the high pressure produced in 

 the mains by means of the pumping station or the height 



FIG. 84. Types of flush tanks 



In a the valve for the entrance of the water is closed when the water in the 



tank has floated the ball to the level shown. The outlet pipe at the bottom is 



closed by a sphere of metal. In the tank at b the entrance pipe is not shown. The 



outlet pipe is opened by a ball valve in a, and by a hinge valve in b 



of the reservoir, the water may be drawn off at the faucets. 

 The ordinary user of water has little to do with the system 

 except to use the faucets. Three types of faucets (fig. 83) 

 illustrate those most commonly used. Whenever a larger 

 quantity of water is needed in a short time, as for flushing 

 a water closet, a tank is used in such a way as to be filled 

 through a faucet which is opened and closed automatically by 

 a floating hollow ball or by a siphon valve. The tank (fig. 84) 

 is emptied by pulling a chain or pressing a lever which opens 

 the tank directly or starts the siphon. When the tank is 

 empty the water flows in at the faucet until the hollow ball 

 has risen to a point where the metal arm to which the ball 

 is attached has closed the faucet. 



