TL;DR
DWV pipe is piping manufactured and marked for drain-waste-vent service — schedule 40 PVC, ABS, or cast iron in homes — designed for gravity flow and venting rather than pressure. Because it never sees supply pressure, some DWV fittings have shallower sockets and tighter bend patterns (sanitary tees, long-sweep elbows) that keep solids moving.
What it means
DWV pipe is piping manufactured and marked for drain-waste-vent service — schedule 40 PVC, ABS, or cast iron in homes — designed for gravity flow and venting rather than pressure. Because it never sees supply pressure, some DWV fittings have shallower sockets and tighter bend patterns (sanitary tees, long-sweep elbows) that keep solids moving. Using DWV-marked pipe on a pressurized line is a code violation an inspector will fail on sight.
Where it sits in the glossary
DWV pipe 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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