TL;DR
An air break is an indirect drain connection in which a fixture's waste line discharges into an open receptor like a floor sink below the receptor's flood rim but above its trap, leaving an open vertical separation. The gap prevents sewage from siphoning back into the appliance while containing splash better than a full air gap.
What it means
An air break is an indirect drain connection in which a fixture's waste line discharges into an open receptor like a floor sink below the receptor's flood rim but above its trap, leaving an open vertical separation. The gap prevents sewage from siphoning back into the appliance while containing splash better than a full air gap. Plumbing codes require this arrangement for equipment such as commercial dishwashers and water softener discharge lines. During inspection it is one of the first details checked at floor sinks and standpipes.
Where it sits in the glossary
Air break is part of the Trade jargon group inside the ProFix Directory glossary. Browse every term in this category from the glossary index.
Why Ohio homeowners should know it
This is a term Ohio homeowners encounter when reading contractor quotes, hiring paperwork, or inspection reports. Understanding it well enough to ask one good follow-up question is usually all the protection a homeowner needs.
ProFix Directory keeps definitions short on the index page and saves the longer context — Ohio-specific rules, where the term comes from, and which ProFix tools touch it — for these per-term pages so the term is easy to cite and easy to share.
ProFix tools that touch this term
See also
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