noisey water at home

[salty87]

i think code in my area is copper piping. i have a pier and beam foundation and haven't had the urge to take a look yet. this is also my first house so i have lots to learn.

the question is..why do most of the pipes or at least fixtures in my house make noise when i turn the water on? why is my pressure low?

it started at the kitchen sink. both the hot and cold faucets makes the worst whine/humming noise. now the toilets are starting as well. and, in the master bath, it takes forever for the toilet to re-fill though it sounds like it's about to take off. the washing machine has either joined the crowd or lack of pressure is killing it not-so-slowly.

things worked fine when i bought the place 2 years ago though pressure never was all that great. what's up with the noise and how do i fix it?

thanks

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: noisey water at home

Is it well water? Do you have a pressure tank? When I re-plumbed my home I used 3/4" copper to most bathrooms and sinks and reduced down to 1/2" to maintain pressure. So.... if someone is in the shower and someone uses another water source (sink, toilet) there is no pressure drop.

If you have a well and a pressure tank I would check the hi/low switch first. Very easy to replace. If you have a pressure tank with a bladder.... check the valve on the tank. If water comes out it means the bladder has failed... time for a new tank.

Your noise is slow moving water and air.

That's a few things to check.

 

[salty87]

Re: noisey water at home

woops, city water...not a well.

house built 1982. i can't think of any other details i missed

thanks again

 

[all thumbs]

Re: noisey water at home

Try taking off the strainers on the faucet and check them . Alot of times it builds up with little pebbles that impede the flow. Check the hoses that fill the washing machine, they have little basket strainers to catch sedement. Same with all appliances, its a start and easy to do.d

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: noisey water at home

Is there a pressure regulator where it enters the house? I know that places near me that have city water have to regulate the pressure down.

 

[Chunder06]

Re: noisey water at home

The banging is called water hammer, you can buy a little device to stop this it has a diaphragm inside which when pressurized with air equalizes the water pressure, as for the mains pressure, check the stop **** at ther front of your house, it may not be turned on full, I would check all taps to see if the pressure is different around the house, I don't like to say this but you could have rusted galvanized pipes which would explain the whining.

 

[salty87]

Re: noisey water at home

kitchen sink it a little better, the screen in the aerator was doubled up. pressure still isn't good though.

do toilets do the same or is it time to replace the guts?

i forgot to check the screens for the washing machine...

thanks

 

[Bondo]

Re: noisey water at home

do toilets do the same

Nope......

 

[jimr]

Re: noisey water at home

when we first bought our money pit the plumbing would do the same thing and when you shut off the water you would get some water hammer(pipes rattling) I asked a plumber about it and he said it was probably an air pocket in the lines. it finally went away after a while.

 

[ST]

Re: noisey water at home

Salty,
Similar problem I had a while ago; basically, the noise was apparently caused by water restriction somehow. In my case, it "bangs" when I used the dishwasher. Turned out; the hot water input to the dishwasher valve was not opened wide enough. No problem ever sinced!

Please read this tread:
http://forums.iboats.com/bbBoard.cgi?a=viewthread;fid=37;gtid=1140624

Hope that helps!

 

[salty87]

Re: noisey water at home

interesting ST, my washing machine cold water does that but only sometimes. it will fill fine the first time, on any setting. when it tries to refill for rinsing, it starts chattering until it stops filling. if i switch the setting back to the first fill cycle, it goes away sometimes. other times it doesn't. neither the machine or the sound are completely consistent.

i'm changing the guts in 1 toilet this weekend to see if that helps.

thanks