Do you hear strange sounds in the night coming from your walls? No, you don’t have ghosts, you probably just have noisy water pipes. The good news is that most of the time you can silence your plumbing in just a few minutes once you figure out why they are causing a racket.
Why Your Noisy Pipes May Keep You Up at Night
Bangs, pops, whistles and squeaks, oh my. Your pipes can put on quite a show. These are three reasons why your plumbing may make noises and what you can do about it.
- Water Hammers: All those thuds you hear coming from your pipes sound scary, but they have a perfectly reasonable explanation: Water hammers. Water hammers occur after turning off a tap or shower while there is still pressurized water left in the pipes. Since the water can’t exist the pipe, it winds up pushing against the shut-off valve and pipe walls cause the noises you hear. When you hear the telltale sounds of a water hammer, turn off the main water supply valve, turn on the highest faucet in your home and allow it to drain completely. Then do the same with the lowest faucet. Shut off the lowest faucet, turn on the main water supply and let flow out the highest faucet before turning it off.
- Whistling Plumbing: You can usually trace back a high-pitched whistling or hissing sound to a sink faucet or toilet. For hissing sinks, the cause is typically a loose or damaged part of the faucet. If you know what you are doing, you can take apart the faucet and fix or replace what’s wrong. But be careful, it is easy to make things worse. You may find it much easier to call a professional to do it for you. Fixing a whistling toilet is a no-brainer. All you have to do is take the lid off the tank and gently bend the float arm slightly downwards to lower float.
- Rattling Pipes: Are you able to see your pipes move and bang against the wall? Improper mounting strips can exacerbate issues with high water pressure. You can prevent this from occurring by adding new mounts or tightening the ones you already have. Just remember not to tighten the mounting strips too much, or you may cause damage.
These are just a few of the potential problems which can cause noisy pipes. It is important for you to know that loud pipes may indicate much more severe issues with your plumbing. If you are worried about the sounds you hear, the best thing to do is to contact a professional plumber. Buckeye Heating & Cooling has been the go-to plumbers in the Central Ohio area since 1948. Their expert plumbers can tackle any plumbing problems in the Central Ohio area. Call 614-888-HEAT to arrange an appointment.
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