More Q&A on how to diagnose & fix air coming out of faucets:

Here we answer common questions about the causes of air blasting out of faucets or plumbing fixtures and we describe how to diagnose and repair the causes of that annoying problem.

This article series describes the causes of air discharging from building water supply piping or plumbing fixtures or the sources of excess air in water pressure tanks, water supply piping, or other plumbing fixtures.

Causes of Air Discharge from Building Plumbing Fixtures

These questions and answers about spurt or bubbles of air coming out of plumbing water supply fixtures faucets were posted originally at AIR DISCHARGE at FAUCETS, FIXTURES - be sure to review that article if air blasts out of your faucets or fixtures - there we explain what's going on, why it's a problem, and how to diagnose and fix the trouble.

On 2018-09-28 1 by (mod) - can a outside water faucet let air into the whole system

Yes, under some unusual conditions (such as loss of building water pressure) if the outside faucet has been left open and if an anti-siphon control at the hose bibb is absent or not working.

On 2018-09-28 by wdp

can a outside water faucet let air into the whole system and make sink and toilet spitt air

On 2018-08-09 by (mod) - With the snifter valve capped the air sputtering has stopped now

Sounds right. Nice going.

On 2018-08-09 by Bill

Thank you for your advice. With the sniffer valve capped the air sputtering has stopped now for two weeks.

I will ask a plumber to look at the well's drawback valve.
Thanks again.

On 2018-08-09 by (mod) -

Right, Bill.

If you have an internal bladder type pressure tank you don't need the snifter valve. And the newer bladder tank probably has its own air pressure adjustment valve near the tank top.

IF that's the case you an either remove the snifter valve or just leave it capped as you have done.

If you still see air entering the system there could be a second drainback valve in the well but from your description that doesn't sound like the problem.

On 2018-08-09 by Bill

Thanks Mod.
I read the suggested article "inspectapedia.com/water/Snifter_Valve.php".

The question now is does my system need a functioning sniffer valve since my present system has a pressurized Well-x-Troll tank?

Is it possible the sniffer valve system was used by previous owners who occupied the house in summer and drained the well piping in anticipation of our New Hampshire winters.

But what purpose would it serve in my present system?
Thanks

On 2018-08-08 by (mod) - snifter valve air leak

Bill,

Nice job diagnosing the air discharge problem. I suspect you had a mal-functioning snifter valve on your water system.

When you put a tire valve stem cap on the valve you stopped it from admitting air into the water system - a successful diagnosis of the source of excess air.

However you want the air admittance valve to work properly as we explain at SNIFTER & DRAIN BACK VALVES inspectapedia.com/water/Snifter_Valve.php

The air admittance valve prevents loss of the needed air charge in a bladderless pressure tank which in turn prevents well pump short cycling.

Watch out: it's is indeed tempting to simply replace the valve core in a leaky snifter valve system air inlet valve by buying a replacement valve stem core at your local automobile or bicycle tire valve supplier.

And indeed the replacement valve stem core will fit perfectly. And installing the new valve core will stop the excess air admittance.

However the spring on the snifter valve air inlet as originally designed for a well system is weaker or softer than the spring on a conventional car or bike tire valve: on the air admittance valve the softer spring opens the valve to let air in to the system at a very low pressure.

As a result, when you install a high-pressure (car or bike) valve stem core in to the air admittance valve it will no longer let air into the water system at all.

The result will eventually be total loss of the air charge in the water pressure tank (no make-up air is ever being added as air is absorbed into the water being used).

The result of that will be a water-logged water pressure tank.

The symptom of that will be well pump short-cycling on and off too frequently when water is being used.

The effect of all of that is a burned-up well pump motor and an the need for an expensive repair.

To give a more complete explanation I have expanded this topic in the article above. See

SNIFTER VALVE MALFUNCTION https://inspectapedia.com/water/Air_Discharge_at_Faucet.php#Snifter

On 2018-08-08 by Bill

Sputtering Air Problem: I've had a problem of air in my pipes sputtering intermittently from all the house faucets. The blasts of air seem to happen as the water pressure tank nears cut in. My neighbors have suggested that my well is running dry. This problem has been going on for two years.

I have a submersible well pump and a Well-x-Trol internal-bladder tank psi set at 18 for a pump switch 20-40.

I noticed last week what looks like a Schrader valve (but not sure) on the water intake line located perhaps on the well side of the check valve (attached picture).

On a whim, I borrowed a cap from my car tire valve and replaced the valve cape (which had an opening at its tip, why?). Astonishingly, no more air is sputtering out of the faucets.

Is it possible this air valve was allowing air into the piping? Is it possible the house, constructed in the mid-70s had a bladder-less water tank that somehow used this air valve.

I should also mention that simultaneously we finally had great rain erasing the drought starting the day I put the cap on the value. Could the problem have been caused by a combination of two or more events: a low water table and this mysterious Schrader valve, and perhaps a poorly functioning check valve?

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Perplexed.

On 2018-08-06 by (mod) -

interesting theory, though I can't quite come up with an explanation of how the backflow preventer is inserting air into a pressurized system.
If your well is a deep well with a submersible pump I'd be looking for a leak in the well piping or a bad snifter valve. Search this site for SNIFTER VALVE to see details.

On 2018-08-06 by Joseph

when our well pump system is idle for 3 or so days there is an accumulation of air, lots of small bubbles released for a short time, when we first open the faucet after being away.Other than that the system works fine with no air problems evident.

I did replace a failed well tank a couple of months ago.

I also do have a backflow preventer on the line that goes to the garden although that line is closed when we are gone. I'm thinking that maybe when the garden line is active it slowly adds some air to the system and when idle for a period of time the bubbles accumulate at the high point.

Otherwise am I right to suspect a slowly failing well tank bladder again? I just want to nip any problem "in the bud".

On 2018-08-03 by (mod) -

Pat:

Using a six 90degree elbows instead of a union makes no sense to me, and could be a sign of amateur or incompetent work.

However that alone would not explain air discharge at faucets. Assuming you're talking about a water supply line, that's normally under pressure, if there were leaks at any of the members of that gaggle of 90 degree elbows, you'd see water dripping or leaking out.

Now on occasion air can get into plumbing lines during work - that's normal - but you'd expect it to discharge and be removed quite soon when water flows through those lines.

So the air is probably entering the system from somewhere else and the cause needs to be found and fixed.

IF by "prior to the house" you are referring to a water pipe between a well and the house, a leak there COULD suck air into the water line IF your pump is an above-ground jet pump. That needs to be investigated and repaired. Leaks along water supply piping are a potential source of contamination that could make your water unsafe to drink. That's the issue, not simply that air comes out at faucets.

On 2018-08-02 by Pat

The plumber fixed a leak on the line prior to the house. He didn’t have a union so he ended up using 90’s (6 of them in 2’). Of course with all the 90’s we now have excess air in the lines. My question is: can this air cause damage to appliances, fixtures, etc. ?

On 2018-06-12 by (mod) -

I understand the temptation to add me or elimination device when you receive are discharge at the faucets in your having trouble finding the source.

However it's better to find and fix the problem then to add complexity. For the more we don't know that the problem is in something which can worsen and caused still more trouble.

If you're confident that the problem never occurred in till you installed a water softener, that's a helpful diagnostic because it limits the range of what needs to be examined. It certainly sounds to me as if there's an air leak in the piping system for your water softener or the brine tank regeneration tubing and Equipment. That's where your plumber should look.

On 2018-06-12 by Mike Z

when we installed a water softener months ago we started getting alot of air bubbles coming through our toilets after the softener regenerates

I have replaced the valve / float in the brine tank several times, added check valves for water going into and coming out of the softener but nothing has worked yet

IM selling my home and need help fixing this issue very fast...PLEASE HELP
we are on city water...I do see very small bubble in all of the faucets, I am thinking of getting a spriotherm air eliminator

On 2018-05-26 by (mod) -

Are you describing an aerobic septic system or a lawn sprinkler system?

Have you checked for piping leaks?

On 2018-05-26 by Rich

Bought a house three years ago inspector found a problem with th sprinkler system with very low pressure he had fixed.we replaced the 5 zone bod and system with a 16 zone box.after a month a couple of zones had no pressure the sprinkler man put in an aux pump to increase the pressure better but not great.

This year after I turned the system on I had no pressure I ghecked the back flow and it was frozen closed,

I replaced the sprinklers never worked so good but when ther on I have no pressure in th3 house and after 5hey cycle excessive air pressure discharge from the faucets .help

On 2018-05-14 by (mod) -

It makes sense that a leak would be faster when the system is under higher pressure such as when your pressure tank is filled.

On 2018-05-14 by Anonymous

I did shut the water off and have a drop. I have reason to believe the leak is somewhere between the well and house since the water leak from the other pipe.

The leak does slow down when I drain the pressure tank of water then gets faster when I fill the pressure tank again.

I think I’m going to just trench in a new water line and replace the entire old one. From what I know the well was installed in the 70s so the pipe is prolly weak in other spots.

On 2018-05-12 by (mod) -

shut off water into the building. If the pressure drops then that confirms that there's a leak between the building and the well bottom.

At that point you might have someone pull the well piping and if you don't see a problem there you'd look for a wet spot in the ground between the well in the building. If you can't find a wet spot you may have to start Excavating.

On 2018-05-11 by Brian

So I think I have a leak in my well pipe between the well and house.

I have a pressure drop with no water running and I also have air at the faucets. I feel the leak will be between the house for one main reason. My power come into the house in plastic out right above the water pipe In my crawl space. I have water coming out of the pipe that the wires run through.

I shut the power off to the well, drained the pressure tank and the water flow definitely slowed down.

I left it this way about 20 min but never actually stopped. Granted the ground is wet from rain but water flow seems to be worse when pressure tank is full and charges. 2 days ago when no rain I had no wet spot in the yard. Any ideas on how to locate the leak?

On 2018-05-02 by Anonymous

@Anonymous,
From being off, not Friday..

On 2018-05-02 by Anonymous

Is air discharge normal when power come back on Friday off for more than 30 minutes? Pressure is back to normal after opening faucets and flushing..

On 2018-04-24 by Anonymous

It sounds to me as if you need to replace both the pitless adapter in the foot valve. That's not so terrible if you consider that to replace a foot valve you already have to pull all of the well piping out. You will need to dig down to the well casing point where the pitless adapter is installed but I suspect you've already done that.

On 2018-04-24 by (mod) -

Edro,

Thank you for a very helpful remark.
What you describe is a great example of the problem that occurs when there is a leak anywhere in the well piping above the water level in the well.

I think the problem will be more severe if a leak in well piping is combined with a leaky foot valve in the well.

That's because when the pump stops water in the piping runs back down the line out of the foot valve and into the well.

Once the level of water in the piping is below the leak in the well piping then the continued leak of water down and out through the foot valve draws air into the well pipe.

The next time the pump turns on on air that was drawn into the well pipe is pushed up into the building water supply system and ultimately out of the faucets and fixtures.

On 2018-04-24 by Edro

Air was coming out of faucets when first used each day. Also there was some hissing at the wellhead. Traced problem to a worn out washer in the pittless adapter. When pump was running, water was flying out around the adapter and air was sucked in when the pump stopped.

Replaced the worn out washer with a new washer and the problem was fixed -- for a while. A few weeks later it happened again. So again I replaced the washer this time using a little synthetic lube on the washer. Again the problem was fixed for a while...

I figure the connection of the pittess adapter is moving probably every time the pump starts and stops.

This pump and pittless adapter has been fine for years, probably going on 30 years for the adapter and at least a decade for a quality submersible pump. To be honest here, I can't remember when it started. Perhaps after pulling up the pump at some point,

I don't remember it but I'm not remembering much of anything anymore. (old age.) It's now been years since this started happening. I cringe anytime I'm outside and hear the hissing at the wellhead. Probably wearing out the pump.

What happened all of a sudden for the pittless adapter washer getting worn in only a few weeks?

Do I now have to dig this up and replace the adapter? Are there any other solutions any knows of? One thing I could do is to replace the check valve at the bottom. But that won't stop the leak at the adapter.

Please help!

On 2018-04-19 by Rick

How many times in the beginning of Your "Explainatiion" are You going to repeat "We are about to explain something!" REALLY !

SORRY , inlost interest after the 5th time of saying "Stay Tuned"

On 2018-03-27 by Jay Strock

Check valve in the well pump could be stuck mostly closed causeing the water to vaporize ? causing air in the water pipes.

On 2018-01-01 21:15:22.215905 by (mod) -

Gene,

My best guesses are in the article above. Please take a look at those diagnostic suggestions and then of course I will welcome any further questions

On 2018-01-01 by Gena

Why is my well discharging air? I put a new filter in and it is still spurting air.

On 2017-12-27 by (mod) -

I don't have an immediate explanation for how installing a new water heater would reduce water pressure in the building, particularly if you are seeing both cold and hot water flow (or "pressure") reduced.

On 2017-12-27 by Cindy

I had a new hot water heater put in since then I have had air at times now my water pressure is going down, what are some thoughts

On 2017-11-09 by (mod) -

Air on hot side at all faucets would typically happen if someone was working on a water heater and failed to vent all air when it was returned to service. Typically that problem will eventuallycure itself as cold water runs into the heater, pushing out air and then hot water both when hot water is used.

Or your plumber may need to vent excess air at the TPR valve during heater re-fill.

Air out of both hot and cold anywhere in the system might be from one of the air sources discussed above on this page at AIR DISCHARGE at FAUCETS, FIXTURES

Or you might have a particular faucet design using a small common water passage area in which air enters from the hot side but a bit of it will be discharged when cold is next turned on.

On 2017-11-07 by Chris Ward

I'm getting air on hot side on all faucets .And air on cold only on two .Why? Thanks

I did a second ago .Where the comments and answer

On 2017-10-29 by Shelly Cuff

My mom is having a problem with her water tank water is spouting out like it’s having an air blockage what’s causing that and how can it be fixed without having to call a plumber

On 2017-09-24 by (mod) -

Look for a closed valve or blocked filter. Less common: a totally blocked water line from scale or debris or solder.

On 2017-09-24 by rachellspringer

No water to the house. Pump and pressure good. Bladder is good. Water passes the bladder, but does not reach the house. Did not find any leaks. Any ideas?

On 2017-09-08 by Carolyn

We put in a new pressure tank. Got water to all the house but my toilet won't fill up and my shower won't run now. What to do!!

On 2017-08-26 by (mod) -

That sounds like a leak at a pump gasket or pipe connection. Yes it's possible that a leak-out occurs when the pump isn't running, and an air-leak IN to the pump occurs when the pump is spinning.

On 2017-08-09 by steve

Let me know if this is too much, but after looking at the pump, there is a very slow drip (once a minute) coming out of the intake portion of the pump. It has been like that for years, but could that be a factor?

Hey thanks--I'm going to take a look at that article. The water level is fine, but now I'm worried that it might be a break in the line.

Is there any way to verify that outcome without digging up the line? Also, the water line coming into the house is buried under a slab. Is there a way to locate the line which goes from copper to pvc once it is outside the house?

Also, I can actually hear the air bubbling in the pressure tank when the pump first kicks on. Does that signify anything?

On 2017-08-09 15 by (mod) -

The causes I know about, Steve, are the ones I've described in this article starting at https://inspectapedia.com/water/Air_Discharge_at_Faucet.php

If there is a lot of air discharge and it doesn't go away when you use water for a time over a day or so, I suspect either an air leak in piping or a problem in the well itself (low water?) or an air leak in the pump body itself as you have a shallow well with an above ground jet pump.

Air leaks at the pump can occur around pipe or plug threads in the pump body or at mating sections of pump body such as impeller assembly.

You might start by inspecting the pump for signs of water leaks out and for loose fittings or bolts. Then tighten every pipe connection you can access on the well line. Or add hose clamps around plastic connectors.

On 2017-08-09 by steve

I recently began to have air in my water lines.

The pressures in the pressure tank check good and the check valve leading to the holding tank is also working (no noted pressure drop when the water going to the house is isolated from the pressure tank).

I have a shallow well pump pulling water from a holding tank that sits higher than the pump. The tank maintains a water level above the outflow pipe coming out of it. Any ideas where the air might be coming from and how I might get rid of it?

On 2017-07-15 by (mod) -

It sounds as if
- there is a broken or leaky well pipe
- the pump has lost its prime
- the well has lost its water supply

See NO WATER PRESSURE at https://inspectapedia.com/water/No_Water_Pressure.php to figure out what's wrong

On 2017-07-15 1 by Jesse

A few days ago our water pressure became very strong with fine white bubbles in the water.

Now we have no water in the house.

Ive started and stopped the pump several times in case it was airlocked and also replaced the control box due to a bad capacitor. Now the pump runs but all i hear is it bubbling through the pressure tank and still no water in the house. Is there something im missing that will keep me from pulling the pump?

On 2017-07-12 by (mod) -

Thomas,

Probably one of the causes listed starting in the article above. Help me help you better by letting me know if you tried reading through that information or if you found it rough going.

On 2017-07-12 by Thomas

I have bursts of air coming out of my faucets. I have well water. What would cause this

...

Continue reading at AIR DISCHARGE at FAUCETS, FIXTURES - topic home, or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see these

Recommended Articles

• AIR DISCHARGE at FAUCETS, FIXTURES
• AIR ELIMINATORS for POTABLE WATER SUPPLIES
• AIR INLET VALVES
• AIR VOLUME CONTROLS, WATER TANK
• SNIFTER & DRAIN BACK VALVES
• WATER PUMP SHORT CYCLING

Suggested citation for this web page

AIR DISCHARGE at FIXTURES FAQs-2 at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.

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INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to WATER SUPPLY, PUMPS TANKS WELLS

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