Water at Home

The water that supplies your home originates from your regional water supplier or authority. This is not such a black art and the water that they supply has to comply with their own rules and regulations concerning its cleanliness and purity. This water is known in the trade as ‘Potable Water’ (not portable!) Potable is a word that originates from the Latin word ‘drinkable’ and this water is very important.


This water is filtered, chlorinated and dosed with fluoride (which reduces the decay of our teeth).
Systems called trunk systems are fed underground and fed more local mains supplies. South West London Plumbers understand how these systems work.


The mains supply pipework is down deep to make sure it is not affected by traffic or very severely cold weather.
The pipework was at one time asbestos cement or cast iron in construction, however today it is plastic which you will see now and again as new ones are being laid. A South West London Plumber has all the knowledge and skill to work on this system.


An isolating valve connects the various services, meaning they can be isolated locally, allowing a supply to a new house to be made without affecting any other buildings or homes.


The water supply pipe is run underground from the isolating valve to the property’s boundary. There, an outside stop valve is used.


A chamber (vertical pipe) is installed so that the valve can be accessed for service or maintenance. This chamber should have markings.


After the stop valve the supply continues towards the property and is called the service pipe (made from medium density polyethylene or MDPE), for which the homeowner is responsible. This (service) pipe passes under the house and in via a water meter either just outside or inside. The pipe must be insulated at all points that are exposed.