Building dripping water noise troubleshooting: causes & cures.

These articles discuss the sources of dripping sounds heard in or around buildings.

Dripping Water Sounds in buildings, How to Track Down

Dripping Sounds in or on buildings can come from a variety of sources but almost always involve water. See

• Air conditioner or heat pump condensate 
  
  handling system drainage can produce ormal drain drip noises traced to condensate routed to building drain lines, creating a dripping noise heard by building occupants
  
  When the unit is running it produces condensate at a slow enough rate that as that condensate drains out of the air handler into a drain, if the drain includes a vertical section the dripping condenste might be heard.
  
  But more worrisome, condensate leaks can also produce dripping sounds heard at the air handler, anywhere along condensate piping systems, at a plumbing vent fed by a condensate drain line (bad practice), or anywhere that condensate has leaked into a building cavity.
  
  Watch out: check that the dripping noise that you're hearing is inside the building drain and not a condensate leak or pan overflow that could damage the building or lead to costly mold contamination.
  
  A visual inspection of the air handler and its condensate drain where visible as well as ceilings or walls below that spot, looking for water stains, should be sufficient.

  In our photo above condensate dripped into the air handler causing rust damage.
  
  See CONDENSATE LEAKS

• ATTIC CONDENSATION CAUSE & CURE and Ice Dam Leaks - Detection and Correcting Venting and Condensation Problems in buildings - melting ice inside of an attic or outside on the building eaves can produce dripping sounds as well as water damage
• Chimney leaks 
  
  can produce a dripping sound heard indoors. Leaks at or around a chimney cap or crown may drip down a vertical flue, slapping on a fireplace damper or on an elbow in a metal chimney or flue vent connector.
  
  Watch out: rust-damaged metal chimneys or flue vent connectors may release dangerous combustion gases into the building. And water dripping down chimneys can also damage heating appliances connected to the leaky flue.
  
  See details at CHIMNEY STAINS & LEAKS
• Drain piping noises 
  
  from clogged or partly clogged drains such as gurgling or bubbling drain sounds but we have on occasion also traced a dripping sound to building drains, particularly when there is a slow plumbing supply leak (such as a running toilet) that drips water down a vertical drain section.
  
  The noise of droplets hitting the drain elbow or horizontal pipe at the bottom of the vertical run can drive some folks crazy.

• Drips at plumbing fixtures 
  
  may make an obvious drip or splash sound.

But dripping water can be tricky to track down. Don't forget to consider the following:

A small water supply leak 

inside of a building cavity can produce a noise that is hard to track down. Supply pipe leaks may be continuous (and thus are eventually discovered by water stains or mold) or intermittent, such as a leak around a tub or shower control that drips into the wall cavity only when the valve is turned "on".

These leaks may drip into a drain (discussed above) or into a building ceiling, wall, or even floor cavity.

Watch out when making temporary faucet drip leak repairs.

• Drip noise, cat scratch, homeowner knocked out:
  
  In Vineland New Jersey a family acquaintance was sent downstairs by his wife who wanted him to investigate a "burglar noise" she heard in the kitchen.
  
  There was no home invader but the kitchen faucet was dripping. Omitting embarrassing details we note that the homeowner, in his usual night-time sleeping outfit (nothing) kneeled at the kitchen sink to turn off water to the nighttime annoyance. His pose was just too tempting to the family cat who swiped and clawed a tender area on the midnight plumbing drip leak repairman.
  
  Screaming in pain our acquaintance leapt upwards, smacked his head on the sink drain, cut his scalp, and fell unconscious half in and half out of the sink cabinet.
  
  Mrs. homeowner, hearing the shout, called the Vineland police who on entry found an embarrassed owner bleeding from his scalp and from another part, and the cat sitting smugly by the fireplace.
• A drain piping leak 
  
  inside of a building cavity can also produce a noise that is hard to track down.
  
  But a drain drip noise should not be present when no fixtures have water running into them. But don't forget that a quietly running toilet can also produce a drip or other plumbing problems downstream from the toilet in the building drain piping.

Often we can correlate dripping noises to specific fixtures or faucets (drips occur only when water is running), or to specific fixture drains (dripping noises from a leaky drain line occur only when the drain is carrying water).

• Watch for slow water leaks
  
  at sinks, tubs, showers, dripping fixtures and piping, including plumbing drips inside wall cavities.
• Check for slow leaks at toilet flush valves
• Look for intermittent sources of discharge into building drains
  
  such as from HVACR condensate pumps and sump pumps
• Correlate the dripping noise to use of plumbing fixtures
  
  elsewhere in the building
• Correlate the dripping noise to weather and time of year;
  
  In addition to the ice dam leaks cited below, in cold weather frost forms in plumbing vents, later to melt and flow or drip back through the vent and drain system.
  
  Similarly, some building roofs drain through piping routed through the building interior - another source of dripping sounds in some weather conditions such as light rain or melting ice and snow.

See details at PLUMBING DRAIN NOISE DIAGNOSIS

• Roof drainage system dripping sounds:
  
  while most people have no trouble recognizing the source of dripping sounds from melting snow or ice on building roofs or other exterior surfaces, occasionally you may need to track down dripping sounds heard indoors but originating in the gutter and downspout system for the building.
  
  A mostly clogged roof gutter, when filled with water or melting snow and ice, may drip audibly at the end-drop connection to the downspout. Water droplets falling in the vertical downspout section make a satisfying SPLAT sound when landing at the elbow usually found at the downspout's lower end.

Research on Dripping Water Sound Localization

• Also see additionalReferences or Citations at the end of this page
• [1] Connelly, Maureen, Hodgson, Murray, "Thermal and Acoustical Performance of Green Roofs", Sound Transmission Loss of Green roofs, [presentation, Session 1.5], Greening Rooftops for Sustainable Communities, conference, awards, trade show, Baltimore MD, 30 April-2 may 2008. Web search 4/3/2011 original source: commons.bcit.ca/greenroof/publications/ 2008_grhc_connelly_hodgson.pdf - dead link in April 2023 - Ed.
  
  These authors provide an excellent bibliography of references for sound transmission in buildings, including some of the references cited just below:
  • Sharp, BH 1973, Study of Techniques to Increase the Sound Insulation of Building Elements. U.S. Department of Commerce PB-222 829, Washington.
  • Sharp, BH & Martin S 1996, "The Measurement of Aircraft Noise Reduction in Residences", Proceedings of Inter-Noise, Liverpool, 1996, pp. 2747-2752.
  • Friberg, R 1973, "Transmission Loss and Absorption Factors for Corrugated Steel Roofs, Insulation on the Outside", Proceedings of Inter-Noise, Copenhagen, 1973, pp. 213-217.
• [2] Colbond, EnkaTech Note, "Acoustical Benefits of Roof Underlayments", Colbond Inc., PO Box 1057, Enka NC 28728, Tel: 800-365-7391, website: www.colbond-usa.com web search 4/3/2011, original source: products.construction.com/ swts_content_files/1329/E835617.pdf - dead link, April 2003 - Ed.
• [3] General Steel Corporation, "The Facts About the Acoustical Performance of Metal Building Insulation 2", Sound Transmission Class, General Steel Corporation, 10639 W. Bradford Road, Littleton, CO 80127, web search 4/3/11, original source: http://www.gensteel.com/insulation_facts-5a.htm
• [4] North American Insulation Manufacturers Association NAIMA, "Insulation Facts #58: The Facts About the Acoustical Performance of Metal Building Insulation", NAIMA, 44 Canal Plaza, Suite 310, Alexandria VA 22314, tel: 703-684-0084, website: http://www.naima.org/
• [5] Sarah Hager Johnston, Peregrine Information Consultants, Tel: 860-676-2228, Website: www.peregrineinfo.com Email: info@peregrineinfo.com
  
  Research and writing for insurance, risk management, safety & health, business, and medical professionals. Quoting: Peregrine Information Consultants provides customized secondary research, technical information, and standards, news, current awareness services, writing, and editing to support U.S. clients in property/casualty insurance, risk management and loss control, occupational safety and health, consumer safety, business, retail, manufacturing, and other industries.
• DEVELOPMENTS in NOISE CONTROL [PDF] NRCC, National Research Council, Canada, suggestions for noise control, sound transmission through block walls, plumbing noise control, noise leaks, and sound control advice. Web search 01/17/2011, original source: www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/ibp/irc/bsi/90-noise-control.html
• Thanks to audiologist Cheryl P. Harllee, licensed hearing specialist, for discussing noises and noise problems in preparation for this article. Ms. Harllee can be located at the Village Hearing Center, 249 U.S. Highway One, Tequesta FL 33469 561-744-0231
• [10] Fujitsu Room Air Conditioner, Wall Mounted Type, Heat & Cool Model (Reverse Cycle) [Heat pump units] Operating Manual, Models: ASU18RLXS ASU24RLXS ASU30RLX (indoor & outdoor units). Fujitsu General America, Inc., 353 Route 46 West, Fairfield, NJ 07004, Tel: (888) 888-3424, Tel-Service hotline: (866) 952-8324, Email: hvac@fujitsugeneral.com, Email service: servicehvac@fujitsugeneral.com , retrieved 8/30/12, original source: http://www.fujitsugeneral.com/PDF_06/OperationManual/%28OM%29ASU18-24RLX-30RLX.pdf [copy on file as FujitsuASU18-24RLX-30RLX.pdf]
• [11] Bauer, B., “Microphone Directivity”, Transactions of the IRE-PGA, July 1952, 10-20
• [12] Killion, M., et. al., “Real-World Performance of an ITE Directional Microphone”, The Hearing Journal, April
  1998
• [13] Blauert, J.: Spatial hearing: the psychophysics of human sound localization; MIT Press; Cambridge, Massachusetts (1983)
• [14] Localization of sound in rooms, the effect of visual fixation, [PDF] W.M.Hartmann, {Proceedings 11th ICA}, (Journal d'Acoustique) {3}, 139-142 (1983). - original source: pa.msu.edu/acoustics/37loc.pdf
• Phillips, Samuel, Anurag Agarwal, and Peter Jordan. THE SOUND PRODUCED BY A DRIPPING TAP IS DRIVEN BY RESONANT OSCILLATIONS OF AN ENTRAPPED AIR BUBBLE  Scientific reports 8, no. 1 (2018): 9515.
• Rakerd, Brad & W.M. Hartmann, LOCALIZATION OF SOUND IN ROOMS, II, THE EFFECTS of a SINGLE REFLECTING SURFACE [PDF] Acoustical Society of America, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 78 (2) August 1985, PACS numbers: 43.66.Qp, 43.55 Br [RDS] - retrieved 2023/04/09, original source: https://web.pa.msu.edu/acoustics/rooms2.pdf
• [18] Rakerd B. and W.M. Hartmann, "Localization of noise in a reverberant environment [PDF] Proceedings of the 13th International Symposium on Hearing, Dourdon, France, 2003. - original source, pa.msu.edu/acoustics/rakhar2.pdf - dead link in 2023 - Ed.
• [15] Hartmann, W.M., "Localization of a source of sound in a room," Proc. Audio Engr. Soc. Eighth International Conference, ed. S. Pizzi, pp 27-32, AES, New York (1990).
• [16] Hartmann W.M.,T.B. Anderson, "Auditory Localization in rooms," Proc. Audio Engr. Soc. Twelfth International Conference, editors. S. Bech pp 34-39, AES, New York (1993). "Listening in a Room and the Precedence Effect," W.M. Hartmann,
• [17] Gilkey R.H., Binaural and Spatial Hearing, eds. pp 191-210, L. Erlbaum Associates (1997).
• [18] Medhi Batel et als., "Noise Source Location Techniques - Simple to Advanced Applications", Sound and Vibration, March 2003, retrieved 4/23/2013 original source www.sandv.com/downloads/0303bate.pdf [copy on file as Noise_Source_Location_Techs0303bate.pdf]
• Guide to Airborne, Impact, and Structure Borne Noise Control in Multifamily Dwellings", Federal Housing Administration publication.

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Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

Condensate drain line makes a dripping sound in nearby drain line - why?

Why do I hear loud dripping noise in the drain pipe in laundry room when AC is on? - On 2022-04-23 by Cornelia

Reply by Inspectapedia Com Moderator

@ Cornelia, Perhaps A/C condensate is being sent into that drain line. It would be common to dispose of A/C condensate into a building drain.

And when the unit is running it produces condensate at a slow enough rate that as that condensate drains out of the air handler into a drain, if the drain includes a vertical section the dripping condenste might be heard.

Watch out: check that the dripping noise that you're hearing is inside the building drain and not a condensate leak or pan overflow that could damage the building or lead to costly mold contamination.

A visual inspection of the air handler and its condensate drain where visible as well as ceilings or walls below that spot, looking for water stains, should be sufficient.

Troubleshoot Intermittent dripping water noises at plumbing stack

I have been unable to sleep in bedroom For 1 year due to intermittent drip noises (sounds sometimes like it’s hitting water but no leak) but especially loud waterfall noise in wall where stack is.

You can hear the same noise in both bathrooms also which are side to side and there is a stack there also . I am On first floor in 9 story building built in 1969. Cast iron in the vertical stacks. Plumbers are clueless and say the noise is not normal. Louder than it should be. I don’t know where to turn. On 2020-10-15 by Pt -

Moderator reply

In addition to the suggestions above on this page, there are two fundamental approaches that can be useful in tracking down a dripping noise in building drain waste or vent piping:

1. have a plumbing inspection camera scan the vent and drain system from the top down; that will show where the water is entering or accumulating in the vent or drain system.

2. look for a plumbing fixture that is permitting a slow, ongoing water leak, such as a running toilet.

Those can be hard to spot, especially if the toilet leak is a slow one. So you might also want to review

TOILET RUNS CONTINUOUSLY

If dripping noise in a drain stops when we turn off water might there be a leak?

Dripping noise in outside pipe that goes into drain. Turned water off ... dripping stopped. Can there be a leakage? On 2019-05-24 by Reinette

I have a dripping noise coming from my attic. There isn't any plumbing upstairs (with the exception of toilet vents coming from the attic floor going thru the roof) and there isn't any obvious water marks. When in the attic the sound seems like it's coming from above our head. It's mid day, not a cloud in the sky & nothing hanging over our house.

Also our ducting is ran under the floor of our 2nd floor loft. I might add that we have not ran the ac or the heater in about 2 days.

When we flush the master toilet it definitely effects the speed of the dripping. There is no dripping on the outside of the house either. Please help. On 2017-11-15 by Cora

by (mod)

Yes certainly.

There may be a running toilet or faucet that caused drip noises in a nearby drain, or the drain line itself may be leaking into a ceiling or wall.

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Continue reading at LEAK TYPES, WATER SUPPLY or DRAIN PIPES or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

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