Plumbing Noise Checklist FAQs

Index to all Q&A on How to track down & fix plumbing system sounds

Clicking or Tapping Plumbing Noise Q&A

Cause & cure for tapping ticking sounds from heating pipes in a large building

My hot water heating system is making a soft tapping or ticking sound.

Our building has 14 floors 753 rooms with hot water radiators and ticking sounds in various rooms. We have blead air out of the rads and tapping still exists On 2018-03-06 by Anonymous

I have intermittent tapping coming from my water pipes. It stops all of the sudden and will start up again.

I have located the sound to above the basement in the corner near where the main water line comes in, but also under or near the washer and dryer area. I checked my water pressure and it is exactly 80 PSI. Why and how can I finally STOP this? On 2017-01-29 by Bob H.

Reply by (mod) - Cures for clicking tapping ticking hot water heating pipes

The most-common source of tapping ticking or clicking noises from hot water heating pipes, and sometimes from hot water heating baseboards (less often from radiatord) is the thermal expansion or contraction of piping as it heats or cools and where it is routed through tight openings in a floor, wall, or ceiling.

We've successfully cured this problem by enlarging the opening slightly around the pipe where it passes through a buildng surface. To stop unwanted air flow we might then add a bit of fiberglass or other insulation around the pipe opening.

See details of diagnosis and cure

at TAPPING TICKING SNAPPING CLICKING PLUMBING NOISES

When we run kitchen water we hear tapping or ticking type sound coming from the wall of the upstairs bedroom

With the dishwasher or the kitchen faucet (or both at the same time) , we hear a tapping or ticking type sound coming from the wall of the upstairs bedroom. The bedroom is located above the kitchen. The sound is only present in the corner of the room at the wall where the sink and dishwasher are installed downstairs.

Any Ideas? Thanks in advance. On 2022-03-10 by Dean

Diagnostic suggestions by Inspectapedia Com Moderator - clicking, ticking, tapping from thermal expansion vs from leaks

@Dean,

That's odd, I agree.

How is water delivered to the kitchen? Do pipes arrive from above? Is there a pump running?

Is there a plumbing vent pipe running through the area where you hear the noise?

Are there any signs of leaks: stains in ceilings or walls?

Is there a plumbing vent pipe that runs through that bedroom wall?

Thermal expansion / contraction can cause tapping and ticking sounds on hot water heating pipes and less often on a hot or cold water supply or drain line.

But a leak that drips down into a drain pipe from a leaky sink faucet or running toilet can also produce similar sounds in a building drain pipe.

by Dean Ticking sounds traced to plumbing piping

Water supply is ground fed from the street. City water. No pump. No visible signs of leaks anywhere.

There MAY be a vent pipe running up the wall from the kitchen to the roof. I'll need to climb into the attic to verify. Thanks for your response.

by Inspectapedia Com Moderator - look for a drip / leak

@Dean,

Ticking sounds traced to plumbing piping suggest to me either a drip somewhere (a leak) or thermal expansion/contraction.

If the sound is new, I ask: "What's changed?"

by Dean

Confirmed there is a vent pipe running up the wall where the noise is. There is a drain plug on the outside wall of the kitchen where the vent line runs. the supply lines are all PEX type hoses ... not copper pipe.

The noise is almost rhythmic when it happens and only occurs when the hot water is running... not cold.

also, no changes have been made with the kitchen plumbing in over a year. New faucet assembly about a year ago. New dishwasher about 3 years ago. No visible signs of leaks under the sink at any drain piping or water supply lines.

by Inspectapedia Com Moderator - Suggestions for Hard to identify source of ticking sound in wall tied to running hot water

@Dean,

Is there a pressure regulator that may be cycling ?

A toilet that runs?

A partially-clogged drain that drips ?

Whistling Plumbing Noise Q&A

Continuous whistling buzzing sound after plumbing freeze

This house is only 5 months old. Had a a freeze 4 weeks ago and I had a very loud pop sound in my toilet and bathroom area and I have been hearing a high pitch whistling sound inside the wall and all over the house for 3 weeks now.

The whistling buzzing sound is going on 24 hours none stop. The noise is driving me crazy my ear is drained from the sound. Please help me On 2018-02-08 by Vicky

by (mod) - Quick action to limit damage + diagnostic suggestion

Vicky

It seems unlikely but not impossible for there to be a continuous water leak for weeks without you having noticed water appearing somewhere in on or around the home. But here is what I'd do.

If a water pipe has burst and is leaking inside of a house ceiling, wall, or floor, the results can be very damaging and costly to repair.

We explain the causes of whistling sounds coming from plumbing

at WATER SUPPLY PIPE WHISTLE NOISE 

But there are other sources of whistling noises in buildings such as leaky HVAC duct connections (see HVAC NOISE-5 SCREAM SING TRUMPET WHINE WUWU) and even tankless water heaters.

And there are still more buzzing sound noises such as gas regulator noises, electric motor or relay buzzing, etc.

for which we give diagnostic steps separately

at BUZZING NOISE DIAGNOSIS - topic home

But the fact that you say the noise continues all day every day is probably diagnostic, too.

Here's where I'd start:

If you turn OFF the water supply and the leak noise continues I suspect that the problem is elsewhere.

If the noise stops when water is off then your plumber will help you find the leak.

Meanwhile inspect the whole home, all accessible areas inside and out that you can safely get-to.

Look for stains, wet areas, water, signs of leaks. If you see that you need to shut off the water immediately and leave it off while waiting for the demolition and repair that will be needed.

Humming Howling Plumbing Noise Q&A

What's causing our humming howling water system?

Humming or howling noise occurs when any toilet or faucet is turned on ! The noise last from 5 minutes to a few hours On 2017-04-08 by Brett

by (mod) -

Brett

If the humming howling water system noise stops when you close a faucet it's perhaps due to water velocity/pressure and you could try slightly reducing the building water pressure setting.

We explain this at WATER SUPPLY PIPE WHISTLE NOISE

If the nose continues when no water is running in the building, surely you're on a pump and well system and in that case I'd look for a problem at the pump and well such as the pump unable to reach cutoff pressure

Check out: WATER PUMP WONT STOP RUNNING 

If your water supply is provided by a private well or water pump, you may be hearing abnormal water pump noise from a failing motor or pump bearing.

So if that seems to be your case, see details at HUMMING ELECTRIC MOTOR

Then HUMMING NOISES in BUILDINGS has a more-extensive list of sources of humming sounds

And separately we list causes of HOWLING NOISES in BUILDINGS

Humming plumbing pipes after we got a new water meter

A month ago the water company changes my water meter the same day i started hearing a loud humming noise in my bathroom walls and vibration i live here 11 years and never had this problem before can you tell me please what it is and how to fix it

I'm on city water do'nt have a well pump - On 2016-03-04 by Billy

by (mod) -

Not sure, but possibly the new meter or a connection to it has changed the water flow rate so as to cause vibration or even water hammer.

Try slightly opening or closing the main water valve and let me know if that makes the noise change or go away.

Banging Rattling Plumbing Noise Q&A

Our pipes Thump or Bang when I close the water tap

After switching of taps their is a loud thump in pies is this dangerous? On 2017-01-01 by elspeth miller

Expalnation by (mod) -

Elspeth

Immediately, no a banging pipe from water hammer isn't dangerous, but long term, it IS otentially dangerous in subtle ways such as causing a leak at a temperature/pressure relief valve that later clogs and later leads to a BLEVE explosion.

Take a look at WATER HAMMER NOISE DIAGNOSE & CURE to see the cause and repair steps for this issue.

What's causing banging rattling pipes in my Condo?

I live in a 2-year old condo building and have been hearing banging/rattling noises in the pipes above me. Sometimes after a flush, and a mild form of it during someone's shower.

It wakes me up at night and in the morning. Management office tells me, "we went to your unit and couldn't hear it" or "we opened all the taps upstairs and didn't hear anything in your unit."

I have recorded the noise and sent it to them. It's been 3 months now and no solution! What could this be? Could there be clog in the pipes or air bubbles? I have to help them detect it before they can solve it it seems. If anyone has suggestions please let me know!

Seems like I need to tell the plumbers what to do or they don't want to bother. On 2017-03-29 by sara

Reply by (mod) - causes of banging water pipes

If the noise is comiing from water pipes, see BANGING WATER PIPES

If you think the banging isn't related to running water or turning running water off, say at a faucet, then see these other sources of banging noises:

• BANGING HEATING PIPES RADIATORS
• BANGING HEATING SYSTEM NOISES
• BANGING BOOMING NOISE DIAGNOSIS & CURE - home
• BANGING HEATING ZONE VALVES
• BANGING WATER HEATER

Gurgling Drain Noise FAQs

Why does draining at a sink causes gurgling from the shower drain?

Wonder if you could help me with some advice.

I've noticed during the last few days that when I drain a sink located in my shower room that there is a gurgling sound that seems to come from the vicinty of the drainage pipe in the shower. This only occurs if the sink has has been filled and then the plug removed.

The water from the sink appears to drain away just as quickly as it always has done.

There is no sound if the tap is running into an unplugged sink.

I have read elsewhere that because the water is draining away so quickly that this could be merely air in the pipes being forced out because of the rate of drainage. Any advice you could give would be most gratefully received.

Many thanks foir your time and help. On 2017-03-20 by Phillip Bell

Answer: by (mod) -

Typically the gurgling drain is being caused by a partial drain blockage or by a problem with the plumbing vent system. That'd be the last explanation line in your note.

Water rushing down the drain creates a vacuum or "suction" in the drain line above that point that can suck the water out of nearby plumbing traps such as at a separate shower drain, thus causing a burbling or gurgling sound.

We explain this issue in more detail

at DRAIN NOISE DUE to INADEQUATE VENTING - causes of noises & slow drain complaints due to insufficient venting

Details of how to confirm this diagnosis and how to fix it are

at GURGLING DRAINS where you'll see that we want to find and unclog a blocked plumbing vent or to provide plumbing venting if it was omitted or improperly piped in a building.

Gurgling basement drain noise may be traced to failing septic?

All drains in the house are draining well. 24 hours a day there is a gurgling sound/air bubbles rising every 30-90 seconds from the basement drain which happens to be in the furnace room.

There always is some water visible in the pipe, never overflows. We have a septic system and field. Seems that this occurs in the spring when snow was melting and ground had more water that usual, then stopped for a month and now that we have had wet cool weather over the past month it has started again. Any thoughts? On 2016-06-14 by Andy

by (mod) -

Some things to investigate:

- flooded drainfield, back venting septic tank up through building drains

- other remote partial drain blockages

I might have the drains and drainfield scoped

Growling Toilet or Drain Noise FAQs

Our Toilet makes a Continuous Growling Noise

My toilet is making a growling noise almost constantly, even when not being used. My kids say it's possessed. What can I check to stop this? On 2016-12-05 by Jana Rae Moss

And from Jack:

We're getting Growling noises in water supply lines. After toilet flushes, after water is turned off at sinks, either hot or cold - Jack · Apr 9, 2020

by (mod) -

Jana

Start diagnosing this growling toilet by turning off water supply into the toilet tank. If the noise stops we know that the toilet is running and it's the fill valve or the flush valve making the noise

Jack

I agree that it's quite odd to hear water running in a water supply line when you think water is turned off.

If you're sure it's in a supply line, no doubt water is running somewhere (such as a filling toilet tank or a running toilet or even well water entering a water pressure tank).

The short growl at water shutoff says it's worth looking also at WATER HAMMER NOISE DIAGNOSE & CURE

Let me know what you find - DF

Cold Water Pipes Growl when we flush the toilet

When you flush the commode, the cold water pipe leading into my gas water heater, vibrates and makes a growling sound. When the toilet flush tank fills up the noise stops. This happens about once a week not every day. is I his a water pipe or gas water heater problem? On 2015-05-09 by Mrs. Lewis

by (mod) -

There would not normally be any relationship between the flushing of a toilet and the gas water heater, so most likely the growling noise you heaer is a water supply pipe flow rate and vibration problem that occurs as cold water is running into the toilet.

At WATER SUPPLY PIPE WHISTLE NOISE we describe a simple diagnostic to confirm this guess: while you're hearing the growling noise in the pipes, close the water supply valve at the toilet just slightly to change the flow rate.