TL;DR
Drain waste vent (DWV) is the non-pressurized half of a home's plumbing: the piping network that carries wastewater from fixtures to the sewer or septic tank while vent stacks admit air and release sewer gases above the roof. Proper venting keeps trap seals from siphoning dry, which is why a gurgling sink usually points to a vent problem.
What it means
Drain waste vent (DWV) is the non-pressurized half of a home's plumbing: the piping network that carries wastewater from fixtures to the sewer or septic tank while vent stacks admit air and release sewer gases above the roof. Proper venting keeps trap seals from siphoning dry, which is why a gurgling sink usually points to a vent problem. Layout, pipe slope (commonly 1/4 inch per foot), and vent distances are governed by the plumbing code adopted locally, typically the IPC or UPC.
Where it sits in the glossary
Drain waste vent 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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