A soil pile connects indoor plumbing to the sewer and vents gases out of a building. Wastewater flows through a pipe to a centrally located soil pile, where solids and liquids travel down and gases travel up. The top end of the soil pile is usually an open tube that vents gases into the atmosphere. Soil piles are common in residential homes and small buildings. When the vent is blocked, it can cause foul-smelling gases to fill the house. More complex buildings may use a different waste removal process.
A soil pile is the part of a plumbing system that connects indoor plumbing to the sewer and vents gases out of a building. These pipes can be found in any type of building, but are found in almost any residential home or small building. When a system uses a soil pile, the pipe runs vertically from underneath the building to a roof vent. These vertical pipes have an occasional hissing sound when wastewater flows down from an upper drain.
When wastewater leaves a toilet, sink or bathtub, it flows through a wastewater pipe to a centrally located soil pile. Most residential buildings use a gravity fed system and the drainpipes always slope downwards to facilitate waste removal. Once the water hits the vertical pile of soil, the solids and liquids travel down and the gases travel back up.
At the bottom of a pile of soil, there is an exit for a garbage removal system. This can be an outlet to a sewer if the building is in an urban area, or to a septic tank when the building is rural. This pipe also slopes downwards, like the smaller internal exhaust pipes.
The top end of the soil pile is usually just an open tube. This vents the gases into the atmosphere, where they dissipate almost immediately. Some of these vents have covers that prevent birds or insects from having full access to the hose, but they are often not needed, as the smell alone deters most creatures.
Because the top of the soil pile is open to the air, it is a neutral pressure system. The air pressure inside the pipes is equal to the air pressure outside. This allows solids and gases to move in separate directions without creating a suction or siphon effect.
When the vent is blocked, the pressure in the tube begins to build. Eventually, this will involve venting the sewer gases through the simplest opening in the house. Often this starts with the highest drains in the system, which are the ones closest to the blocked vent. This will relieve the pressure in the pipe and allow solids to leave the system, but will fill the house with noxious, foul-smelling gases.
Soil piles are common in nearly every home in North America and many other developed parts of the world. This garbage removal method is also common in non-residential buildings with simple plumbing systems, such as small shops, restaurants, and so on. More complex systems, such as hotels, office buildings or large apartment buildings, may use a different waste removal process.
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