Do they Indicate Serious Problems?
Should you be concerned about the noise you are hearing from your pipes and drains?
You might be enjoying your dinner or simply sitting on the couch while watching your favourite show when you suddenly hear a strange whistle or hissing sound coming from your bathroom or your kitchen. Don’t panic. These are not horror film sound effects. Often times, they are indicators of certain problems in your plumbing system.
Although these may leave you with concerns, it is better to be aware if it before it causes even more damage. Here is a list of the different plumbing noises and the problems they indicate:
- Whistles
Inappropriate whistling sounds usually come from toilets. This sound indicates a problem with the fill valve.
Following a flush, the fill valve works to refilling the toilet tank. It is designed to automatically fill the cistern without allowing the water overflow. This valve, however, naturally wears out, and when it does, it leaks water, causing the whistling sound you may hear coming from your bathroom.
- Rattling sound
A vibrating sound coming from your toilet after flushing might indicate an issue with the fill valve again. As mentioned, this part naturally wears out, which means at some point, it is going to work badly or be totally broken.
To check if this is the issue in your plumbing, try to lift the arm of your toilet valve. If the noise stops, then this is definitely the problem. More often than not, a replacement is needed to fix this.
- Tap hissing
A hissing sound from the tap/faucet is a sign of an unnecessarily high water pressure problem. This means that excessive force is present – pushing the water through the pipes and to the tap.
Various causes may be responsible for this. You might need to contact the council to see if there are problems with your local water supply and reservoir before anything else. If that’s not the issue, the aerator on your tap may be at fault.
An aerator can be seen at the tip of a tap, mainly functioning as a regulator to prevent splashing. If your tap aerator perfectly works but you still encounter problems indicated by the hissing noise, reach out to a plumbing services provider right away.
- Shuddering or banging sound
You can find out about loose water pipes through these noises. A pipe that is not secured well to the wall will constantly bug you with this sound. Being loosely attached, it will shudder or bang under pressure. This problem may also be worsened by the next one.
- Thudding by the water hammer
The sudden closing of pipes causes water hammer. To simply explain how this occurs, imagine a continuous flow of water through the pipe. Since it is moving, the force of a rapid stop will warrant a pressure surge, and thus, the thudding sound.
How are loose water pipes connected to water hammer, then? Well, since these pipes create noise at the slightest pressure, the pressure surge from water hammers can result in more worrying sounds.
- Rumbling sound from the water heater
As the water heater heats the water, the minerals naturally present in it (like calcium) precipitate out. However, this does not just go away – it settles at the bottom of your heater. Over time, it builds up – creating a grit that makes your heater produce a rumbling noise. As well as that, it causes inefficiency and skyrocketing bills.
To avoid being inconvenienced by these sounds, it is better to get help from experts. For 24/7 plumbing services in Newcastle and Hunter, contact Green Planet Plumbing by calling 1300 G P PLUMBING.