Why are my plumbing pipes making loud banging noises?

Your water pipes deal with a lot of pressure and temperature changes. If the pipes are quiet and working well, they’re out of sight, out of mind. But what happens when they start to sound angry? Water hammer is the most common cause of noisy water pipes. If your water pipes are noisy when the water is running, read on to diagnose the cause and restore the quiet.

First, what noise are you hearing?

The Water Hammer: Hammering or Banging Pipe Noises

Water hammers are one of the most common noisy pipe problems. They occur when the water is turned off and high pressure in the pipes makes the water inside bang against the shut-off valve or pipe walls. The noise is a distinct hammering and usually only occurs after a faucet or appliance is turned off.

Want to learn how to stop water hammer?

Try resetting the water system’s air chambers. Here’s how:

Close your home’s main shut-off valve.
Open all your faucets to completely drain the pipes. Don’t forget about your lowest faucets, such as a basement sink or an outdoor hose bib.
Then turn the water main back on, and the hammer noises should be resolved.
If the water hammer doesn’t go away after you reset the pressure chambers, check the supply pipes. Some older homes’ pipes aren’t secured well, so they move too much and create waves that lead to water hammers. Apply clips and plumber’s tape wherever necessary to secure the supply pipes.
Finally, you can always call a plumber to further examine the pipes; you may need to have an in-line water surge arrester installed to correct the water hammer issue.

Whistling Pipe Noises

There are two types of whistling in plumbing systems: whistling in the pipe system and whistling by certain faucets or valves. If just one or two faucets are whistling when they run, the issue is a worn washer, loose brass screw or grimy aerator inside the faucet itself. To fix, you’ll need to turn the water supply off and replace those parts.

A whistling toilet that quiets down after the tank is filled usually needs a new ballcock valve. A toilet that whistles all the time has an issue with the vertical overflow tube; simply bend the float arm down a little so the ballcock turns off sooner.

If the whistling sound seems to come from everywhere, you may have too much mineral build-up, a worn main water supply valve, or an ineffective pressure regulator. Have an expert determine the severity of any of these problems and recommend an effective fix. It will depend on the age of your pipes and the way your supply system is laid out.

Thrumming and Vibrating Pipe Noises

Thrumming or vibrating pipes indicate excessive water pressure. You can test your water pressure at home by purchasing a threaded pressure gauge that screws directly onto a faucet or valve. Make sure your home’s water pressure does not exceed 80 psi. If it’s higher than that, have a plumber install a pressure regulator, as high-water pressure can be destructive to a home.

Other Pipe Noises and Their Causes

Other common pipe noises include a faint squeak or rubbing noise caused by copper pipes that aren’t insulated properly. The metal pipes heat up and expand when hot water runs through them, and they rub against the house’s structural features. Since supply pipes are usually drywalled in, homeowners don’t usually want to tear anything out to pad those pipes. If you have copper pipes and think this may be your issue, you can try turning the water heater temperature down slightly; sometimes a small difference in temperature eliminates the problem so you don’t have to ask a plumber to do any invasive pipe work.

A dripping or ticking noise is cause for concern. It could be a drain issue or leak, both of which are best left to a professional for diagnosis and repair. Or it could be a more minor problem you can fix yourself, such as thermal expansion or a pressure issue. Do some troubleshooting: Reset your air chambers as described earlier in this blog post. If the sound persists, fill your bathroom sink with hot water and then flush the toilet, which will push chilly water into your pipes. Then drain the hot water from the sink, and if you hear the noise, you’re just hearing thermal expansion, which is an annoyance but not a true concern. If neither of these methods takes care of the dripping or ticking noises, get professional help.

Get Professional Plumbing Help

If you need help with any noisy pipe problem and would like a consultation, inspection, or repair, contact your local Bristol Plumber 247. Our certified professionals are ready to assist you with your plumbing issues, and we’re happy to perform routine maintenance so you can avoid future problems and excessive wear on your plumbing system. Best of all, we serve locations all over the country. Request a job estimate online today. Or you can call us any time at 07415 375 875 and a member of our customer care team will schedule your appointment.

If none of the sounds in this blog post seems like the one, you’re hearing, have you considered that the source might not be plumbing-related?

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Step-by-step guide to unblocking a toilet

How to unblock a toilet – that dreaded phrase you type into a search engine every few months. Sorry you had to find this page. We feel your pain.

It might be the dirtiest, smelliest, and most unglamorous bathroom job ever, but it’s easy to do once you know how.

Follow our step-by-step guide for how to unblock a toilet, bookmark the page and you’ll have all the info you need whenever you find yourself reaching for the plunger.

1. Gather your equipment before going into battle

You will need:

    A plunger – ideally ball-shaped
    Rubber gloves
    Old newspaper to cover the floor around the toilet
    Bleach/drain unblocker/caustic soda
    An opened window/fan

2. Don’t be tempted to keep trying the flush

If you try it once and it doesn’t flush properly, it’s blocked, and no further flushing is going to help you out. If you know there’s something stuck in your toilet (a child’s toy, a bottle of something that’s fallen in, you know the drill), reach for your gloves and pull it out. Although, if it’s something a bit, well, smellier, then it’s time to flex your plunger muscles.

3. Locate the blockage

Lift the drain cover to see if the chamber is full of water. If so, the blockage is further along the soil pipe. If the chamber is empty, the blockage is in the soil pipe between the loo and the chamber, or in the pan. You can try and clear any blockages in the pipes by using specialist drain rods or makeshift devices, such as a wire clothes hanger. Failing that, a drain company is the answer.

4. Use the plunger firmly against the blockage

Use a plunger that is shaped to seal the opening in the toilet bowl to create the correct vacuum and pressure needed, and to prevent mess. An auger is a flexible rod that reaches far into the toilet controlled by a crank handle. Once the blockage is located, the auger will pull or push the item to remove it. Try the flush again and watch the beautiful sight of a flushed toilet before your very eyes.

Top tip: Run the plunger under hot water before starting work. This softens it up a treat.

5. Use a wire coat hanger

If you don’t have a plunger to hand, grab a wire coat hanger, unwind it so you have one piece of long wire and bend it into a curve. Push the wire up into the toilet and wiggle gently to push the blockage clear. The key word here is gently – you don’t want to scratch your toilet.

6. Dissolve the blockage

If you don’t think the toilet is badly blocked, you can try pouring hot water into the toilet bowl from a bit of a height before using a plunger – this can help dissolve the blockage, pushing it hard through the pipe and is the more environmentally friendly way of unblocking your toilet. If this doesn’t work, you may need to recruit the help of some caustic soda or drain cleaner. Make sure you wear gloves for this step.

7. Clean up the evidence

Hopefully, this has done the trick. Once unblocked and flushable, give your toilet a good scrub and clean using strong bleach, then air your bathroom well.

8. Ongoing issues

If the plunger method doesn’t work, or if you continually have problems with a blocked toilet, there are several decent quality drainage un-blockers on the market – you can find them in supermarket cleaning aisles.