What Are Those Plumbing Noises I Hear??

Life is full of irritations and plumbing is no exception, not even in beautiful Phoenix. Take plumbing noises. We’ve all heard them at times. But what the heck causes this?

When you come across a plumbing problem in the Phoenix area that you can’t handle yourself, give us a call. We’ll be happy to tell you what you’re looking at.

There are several different types of noises you might hear:

  • Whistling sound
  • Vibrations in the wall when the toilet is flushed.
  • Banging noises when the water is turned on or off.
  • Rumbling noises from the water heater.
  • Whooshing or pulsing noises when water is flowing (but stops when it’s not)

Let’s take these one at a time.

Whistling pipes are often caused by a toilet fill valve that is slowly leaking.

You should remove the lid of each toilet tank and adjust the fill valve mechanism until it stops. When you find the toilet at fault, repair the fill valve if you can. If you can’t, then it’ll have to be replaced.

Vibrating sounds are usually going to be the fill valve. When the diaphragm gasket insid the top cap of the fill valve ages – it’s rubber – it turns hard. When it is supposed to turn off (smoothly) it bounces instead. This sends shock waves through your tank.

Fortunately this is easy to test: take the top off and simply raise the float arm. If that ends it, you’ve found your problem. The fill valve needs to be replaced.

Banging noises are again down to sound waves. Metal pipes can transmit sound waves. When water moves through them and encounters an obstacle or obstruction, it moves around it. If it moves fast enough and reaches a certain pitch, the pipes will vibrate.

The obvious thing is to remove the obstruction. If you can get to them, you can secure the pipes with plastic clamps which will keep them from banging against the inside of your house.

It may also be expansion and contraction: metal pipes of course expand and contract with heating and cooling and when they run through joists or studs, this change can cause noises.

Here’s another term to keep in mind: water hammer. This results from high water pressure – water moving in one direction wants to keep going. The momentum doesn’t stop just because you turn the faucet off and that force can move the pipe. If it’s near wood, it may knock. You can fix this by installing water hammer arrestors.

Pulsing and whooshing sounds are usually found in galvanized or copper pipes when calcium and mineral deposits build up on the inside.

Water heaters…they’re great until they’re not.

Traditional water heaters are essentially a metal canister with a heating unit on the bottom. At some point, sediment may build up in the bottom of your heater (some newer models are designed to prevent this). The water can get trapped in the sediment and when it boils you hear the rumbly-tumbly noise. This keeps your heater from running efficiently.

You can try running a few gallons off the bottom. To do this, you can attach a drain hose to the valve located at the bottom.

You’re dealing with hot water, so be careful where you run it. Hot water can crack your toilet if you’re not careful.

Pro tip: plan ahead. Before you take a shower in the morning, turn the heat down to the lowest level and discharge when you get home. The water will be much less hot, which is really good in case you have any problems.

When you come across a plumbing problem in the Phoenix area that you can’t handle yourself, give us a call. We’ll be happy to tell you what you’re looking at.

About Rooter and Plumbing Services

Rooter & Plumbing Service in Phoenix, AZ is owned by Ron, an experienced expert, who has been servicing the Phoenix metro area since 1982. Ron believes in hard work, dedication and honesty and is willing to provide the best advice to all callers.

Rooter & Plumbing Service in Phoenix, AZ is able to offer lower and more reasonable prices because Ron believes in keeping his company small and personal. You can depend on qualified plumbers to take care of your plumbing repairs as well as sewer and drain cleaning needs. Rooter & Plumbing Service in Phoenix, AZ thanks you for providing us the opportunity to serve you and guarantees full satisfaction to all our customers.

What We Cover

We specialize in allowing our customers to speak directly to a plumber when they call. We are happy to give free advice over the phone and provide pricing on most jobs. Sewer rooter and drain cleaning is our primary focus. We do sewer inspections and repairs as well as locating. We do residential repairs and install fixtures such as disposals, faucets, toilets, hose bibs, angle stop valves and water heaters. We are not accepting re-pipe or remodel jobs of any kind at this time. We accept all major credit cards and take over the phone payments from out of town property owners.

Contact Us Today!

(602) 290-1448
530 E. McDowell Rd. Suite 303
Phoenix AZ 85004

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