The Dark & Scary Sounds at Home Can be Your Pipes
October has finally arrived, and with it, scary noises that wake you up in the night. Was it a black cat tapping the door? Is a ghost screaming in the bathroom? An ogre humming at the window?
A Nashville plumbing expert dispels the fear of malevolent entities and explains why all these noises aren’t frightful creatures and are probably some pretty standard issues with your home’s plumbing system.
Mournful Humming From Water Pressure Woes
If you have humming in your water pipes, that often indicates that your water pressure is too high. The problem with high water pressure is that it can knock the pipes loose eventually, or it can cause damage to your appliances and plumbing fixtures.Water pressure should usually be from 40 to 45psi, never to go past 60psi. If you know your home’s proper water pressure, you can check it, but if not, a plumber can easily check your water pressure and let you know what it should always be.
Another cause of humming can be if the water is being lost from a leaky faucet or toilet, or somewhere in a pipe. Be sure to look around for leaks to help rule out easy suspects before calling a plumber.
A Whistle from the Toilet
Another alarming sound for some people is hearing whistling sounds in their pipes. Sometimes, whistling can be a worn-out washer or something else, like when the problem occurs with a washing machine or dishwasher. But usually, the problem most often heard is about whistling toilets.
Although a whistling toilet can sometimes signify a water pressure issue, most of the time it’s due to a worn-out ballcock, or a part of a metal ballcock worn out.
The ballcock controls the water going in and out of your toilet’s water tank. Often toilets have plastic ones nowadays, but if you have a metal one, those metal ones are known for eventually getting that whistling when something goes wrong with it.
You can replace the metal ballcock with a cup-style fill valve, which is one of the valves of choice when replacing outdated metal ballcocks, or update the entire toilet and have a new installation.
Pesky Bubbles in the Pipes
One of the most annoying problems people find in their pipes is a knocking noise, or “water hammer.” This can be caused by a lot of different things like air bubbles inside your pipes. In your pipes, water rushes to exit from your faucets and other places, so when you shut the water off, it screeches to a halt, much like slamming on the brakes while driving.That’s why pipes typically have air pockets or some sort of arrestors to absorb the shock to prevent noises as well as damage to the pipes. If you only hear the knocking when you’re running the water, it can mean that some of the brackets holding your pipe to the wall have become loose, and are in danger of eventually coming off and leading to leaks.
Tightening or replacing the brackets should work. If the knocking is subtle rather than loud, that can be a sign that your water pressure is too high. You’ll need to check your pressure or have a plumber make sure it’s at the correct psi for your home, to prevent damage to the pipes and to stop the noise.
About Green Hills Plumbing
Green Hills Plumbing has been the go-to plumbing service company for all Nashville residents since 1971. They make sure their management and installers go through the latest training so that homeowners can rest assured that their plumbing is being fixed or installed with best practices and the latest techniques in mind.
All jobs must be finished to the 100% satisfaction of each client, and Green Hills Plumbing offers upfront pricing so that the only surprise will be how much of a relief it is to be in good hands.
