Plumbing

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Plumbing

Project Zomboid's plumbing system allows you to connect plumbable tiles (e.g., "water fixtures" like a sink or washing machine) to water reservoirs (like a Rain Collector Barrel) to create convenient, sustainable sources of purified water for consumption and cleaning. Once plumbed, water fixtures operate just like ordinary sinks, faucets, etc., prior to water shutoff, for as long as their attached reservoirs contain water.

How plumbing works

The plumbing system is somewhat obscure, and likely incomplete. There is no visual indication when a water fixture like a sink is successfully connected to a water reservoir like a Rain Barrel, beyond the ability to draw water from the fixture. Plumbing has no skill level requirement and does not use pipes or other resources besides the water fixture and water source to be connected.

• To plumb a water fixture, a player needs to have a Pipe Wrench in their inventory.
• Once the water fixture and water reservoir are in position, right click on the water fixture (not the reservoir) while a Pipe Wrench is in your inventory and select the option to plumb it. Once water is placed in the fixture's reservoir, purified water will be immediately available in the fixture, usable until the reservoir's reserves are exhausted. Fixtures that need electricity to function (e.g., a washing machine) will also need local power (such as from a Generator) to be usable. Plumbed sinks work without electricity.
• Note that once a fixture is successfully plumbed, you can freely add or remove reservoirs from the 3x3 plumbing zone above the fixture without breaking the connection to that area, and your water fixture will automatically draw from any new reservoirs placed there. Only moving the fixture itself will break the plumbing connection.
• Only fixtures "inside" a building - i.e. enclosed within four wall frames (or walls and doors) and a roof - can be plumbed

Quirks of note

• The water reservoir (e.g., a Rain Collector Barrel) for the water fixture must be one floor above, and within a 3x3 range, of the water fixture's tile (directly above should work as of the latest build). For example, a valid location for the reservoir would be one floor above, and one tile behind, the water fixture you want to plumb. A water fixture can draw from multiple reservoirs with valid placement.
• While rain collectors make great reservoirs, any map tile that acts as a water source also appears to work. For instance, a Water Dispenser placed in an appropriate location can act as a water reservoir for another water fixture.
• In multi-story buildings, long distance plumbing connections is possible using a Bathtub, as the feet of the tub counts as a revivor -- provided both the head and feet are plumbed.
• What counts as "inside" for plumbing is less than intuitive:
  • To count as Inside, it only requires wall frames or door frames.
  • Inside can be as small as a 1*1 tile with a water fixture inside.
  • The walls/roof tile around the fixture do not have to remain in place after plumbing. You can plumb a fixture on a rooftop, for instance, by building temporary wall frames immediately around the fixture, and then disassembling them after plumbing is completed. In complex structures, the game can become confused about whether a fixture is inside a building; you may need to construct temporary wall frames immediately around the fixture to coax the game into allowing you to plumb it.

While the mechanics of plumbing are finicky, plumbed water fixtures can be a very worthwhile investment in a safehouse: They always produce potable water, eliminating the need to boil water and offering significant convenience in the long run. A list of plumbable water fixtures and reservoirs is provided below.

Sinks

Pickup: 25% chance to break when picked up regardless of skill level.

Object	Description	Weight	Capacity (units of water)	Size (tiles)	Pick up		Disassemble		Plumbable
					Skill	Tool	Skill	Tool
Beige Sink		5	20	1		Wrench OR Pipe Wrench	Metalworking	Propane Torch AND Welder Mask
Chrome Sink		5	20	1		Wrench OR Pipe Wrench	Metalworking	Propane Torch AND Welder Mask
Dark Industrial Sink		5	20	1		Wrench OR Pipe Wrench	Metalworking	Propane Torch AND Welder Mask
Fancy Hanging Sink		5	20	1		Wrench OR Pipe Wrench	Metalworking	Propane Torch AND Welder Mask
Industrial Sink		5	20	1		Wrench OR Pipe Wrench	Metalworking	Propane Torch AND Welder Mask
White Hanging Sink		5	20	1		Wrench OR Pipe Wrench	Metalworking	Propane Torch AND Welder Mask
White Sink		5	20	1		Wrench OR Pipe Wrench	Metalworking	Propane Torch AND Welder Mask
White Standing Sink		5	20	1		Wrench OR Pipe Wrench	Metalworking	Propane Torch AND Welder Mask

Baths and showers

Object	Description	Weight	Capacity (units of water)	Size (tiles)	Pick up		Disassemble		Plumbable
					Skill	Tool	Skill	Tool
Deluxe Shower	Has a chance to break depending on carpentry skill: 0% at 10	20	0	1	Carpentry (4)	Ball-peen Hammer OR Hammer OR Stone Hammer	Metalworking	Propane Torch AND Welder Mask
Large Deluxe Bath	Will never break when picking up at any skill level	10×2	100×2	2		Wrench OR Pipe Wrench	Metalworking	Propane Torch AND Welder Mask
Wall Shower	Has a chance to break depending on carpentry skill: 0% at 10	5	0	1	Carpentry (2)	Ball-peen Hammer OR Hammer OR Stone Hammer	Metalworking	Propane Torch AND Welder Mask

Toilets

Object	Description	Weight	Capacity (units of water)	Size (tiles)	Pick up		Disassemble		Plumbable
					Skill	Tool	Skill	Tool
Chemical Toilet		10	0	1		Wrench OR Pipe Wrench	Metalworking	Propane Torch AND Welder Mask
Fancy Toilet		10	20	1		Wrench OR Pipe Wrench	Metalworking	Propane Torch AND Welder Mask
Hanging Toilet		10	0	1		Wrench OR Pipe Wrench	Metalworking	Propane Torch AND Welder Mask
Low Toilet		10	20	1		Wrench OR Pipe Wrench	Metalworking	Propane Torch AND Welder Mask
Wooden Toilet		10	0	1	Carpentry	Ball-peen Hammer OR Hammer OR Stone Hammer

Washing machines

Washing machines will never break when picked up.
Only the combo washer/dryer can be used as a source of water once plumbed.

Object	Description	Weight	Capacity	Fuel Type	Size (tiles)	Pick up		Disassemble
						Skill	Tool	Skill	Tool
White Clothing Washer	Clean those blood covered, dirty clothes.	20	20		1	Electrical (3)	Screwdriver	Metalworking	Propane Torch AND Welder Mask
Blue Combo Washer/Dryer	Clean and dry those blood covered, dirty clothes.	20	20		1	Electrical (3)	Screwdriver	Metalworking	Propane Torch AND Welder Mask

Other

Object	Description	Weight	Capacity (units of water)	Size (tiles)	Pick up		Disassemble
					Skill	Tool	Skill	Tool
Rain Collector Barrel (Carpentry 4+)	Can be plumbed into sinks below. Has to be on a roof tile above a sink. Can be filled with tainted water if not already full.	7.5	160	1	Carpentry	Ball-peen Hammer OR Hammer OR Stone Hammer	Carpentry	Ball-peen Hammer OR Hammer OR Stone Hammer AND Saw OR Garden Saw
Rain Collector Barrel (Carpentry 7+)	Can be plumbed into sinks below. Has to be on a roof tile above a sink. Can be filled with tainted water if not already full.	7.5	400	1	Carpentry	Ball-peen Hammer OR Hammer OR Stone Hammer	Carpentry	Ball-peen Hammer OR Hammer OR Stone Hammer AND Saw OR Garden Saw
Standpipe		5	0	1	Farming (2)	Shovel OR Trowel
Water Dispenser	Can be filled with fresh water if not already full.	30	250	1
Well		-	Unlimited	1