Why are the water pipes buzzing? How to eliminate the hum?

If you lived once in an apartment building, you probably heard how loud and nasty water pipes sometimes buzz . In some cases, a buzz is heard when several apartments are connected to one riser pipe, in others, the humming of pipes acts on the nerves simultaneously to all residents of the house. Sometimes this sound can appear and eventually disappear, and sometimes the noise from the water pipe is audible all the time.

Why are the water pipes in the apartment buzzing at night? There can be several reasons for this. Let us consider them in detail below.

Causes of sounds from the water pipe, or Why water pipes are buzzing

The most common cause of unpleasant sounds in the pipes are bad gaskets installed in the plumbing. The sound appears as a result of the resonance of the oscillations of the gaskets and water running through the pipes. Resonance amplifies the sound and carries it around the house. In this case, it can be extremely difficult to identify who of the tenants in the house has a problem plumbing.

If the pipes in the house are not buzzing constantly, the cause of the noise is usually a set of water in the drain pan of one of the apartments or the opening of a tap by the tenant .

If the buzz is constantly observed, then its cause is the difference in pressure in the risers of cold and hot water. The liquid is squeezed out of one riser into the other through a broken tap in one of the apartments. Sometimes the valves can be broken simultaneously in several different apartments.

Why are the water pipes buzzing when you open the tap? Probably, the problem lies in poor-quality or deformed gasket. Plumbers with many years of experience recommend to eliminate the noise from water pipes to start fighting against an unpleasant phenomenon precisely with the search and replacement of poor-quality gasket.

Methods of searching for a faulty crane

In order to identify an apartment with faulty cranes, it is necessary to turn them off one by one from the hot and cold water pipes one by one and listen, the unpleasant sound disappeared or not. As soon as the rumble in the pipes ceased - an apartment with faulty plumbing found.

If you have checked each of the apartments in the house in the manner described above, and the problem has not been resolved, it is likely that the sound causes the valve to overlap the riser. This hypothesis can be verified by shutting off the taps that supply water to this riser. If the sound disappears, then the problem lies in the riser valve.

Remember also that if you have a branched water pipe in the basement that contains a lot of valves and gates, any shut-off valves can trigger the buzz. Determine the cause of unpleasant sounds without experienced plumbing in this case can be very difficult and not as soon as we would like.

If the reason still managed to localize - consider that you are lucky. By simple repair it can be easily eliminated.

What should I do to eliminate the hum?

The buzz is not provoked by all the valves. The cause of noise can be mixers or cranes of obsolete structures, with valve, as well as half-turn crane-bunks.

Modern ball valves or joystick type mixers do not have gaskets in their design. Therefore, they can not enter into resonance with water pipes.

To get rid of noise, sometimes there is no need to buy a new tap. Often enough to dismantle the crane-axle, remove the gasket and repair it or replace it. Such elements often hang freely on the stem or have conical edges.

A loose-hanging gasket should be replaced. A deformed, irregular shape can be pruned with scissors. Then the crane-axle should be assembled and installed in the water supply. If the repair is done correctly, then there should be no more noise.

The simplest solution for a faucet of an outdated design is to replace it with a newer ball valve model. Quality ball structures cause less problems in the operation of the water supply.

The same advice can be given in respect of obsolete faucets. Replace the old mixer with a new model with one lever - the best way to solve the problem.

Why water pipes are buzzing at home: other reasons

Breakage of valves and water pipe mixers are the most common, but not all, causes that can cause noise. In some cases, the buzzing in the pipes is caused by factors, the elimination of which is much more expensive and requires much effort.

Clogged pipes

As the diameter of the pipe decreases, jet streams arise. They cause the tubes to vibrate, which is the cause of noise in the apartment.

This problem can be solved only by replacing the clogged section of the water main.

To check if there is clogging in the pipe, it is enough to turn off one of the mixers and look at what is happening in the pipe. If everything is covered from the inside with a thick layer of dirt, then it's time to change the communication system.

In rare cases, dirt in the pipes can accumulate only at the ends of the mains. If you cut off the pipes and try to clean their ends, then there is a chance that the noise problem will disappear. If it does not disappear, the only solution is to replace part of the water line.

It is worth noting that not only metal, but also plastic, and polypropylene pipes are susceptible to clogging. The reason for the accumulation of dirt is the difference in pipe diameters and mixer hoses.

Poorly fixed pipes

Vibration can cause not only dirt and plaque inside the pipes. If during the installation the water pipe was not properly fixed to the walls, then with a sudden opening of the tap, there may be a water hammer and, as a consequence, vibration of the water pipe.

That is why it is so important to trace the quality of the installation even at the stage of installing a new water pipe. Construction companies, who value their reputation, always follow that the installation of water pipes, even in small things, was carried out according to all technical regulations.

The method of eliminating the noise problem due to poorly fixed pipes is the installation of special fixings on the water pipe, fixing it in the correct position.

Why are the water pipes buzzing with the tap closed?

If, regardless of whether the cranes are closed at your house or open, the buzz of the water pipe is heard in the apartment, you have to start troubleshooting the problem from the basement.

In the basement find the riser from which your water supply is supplied. This is not difficult to do if you compare the location of the risers with the layout of your entrance. You can also sort through the stairs.

If you found a water leak in the basement, you can hardly do without plumbing. Contact the organization that services your house and call a specialist. He will have all the necessary tools with him, and he will certainly be familiar with the scheme of the water connections in your cellar.

In addition, so you do not leave the tenants of the entrance without water, twisting something wrong or accidentally damaging some kind of valve. It is also important to remember that in the winter season hot water in the main can be very high. Repair of this line requires special care, because it is fraught with burns.

If the water in the basement as a result of the examination was not revealed, then it is necessary to interview the neighbors, not whether they have something flowing.

Identify a bad gasket in the mixer in the kitchen is easy. Damage to the gasket leads to the entry of hot water into the cold water tap, because in the riser with the hot liquid the pressure is almost always higher.

If the interrogation of neighbors did not bring a result, then you can walk along the highway and try to determine by ear a clog in the narrow places of the pipe. Most often, the stones fall into the valve body or into the joints of two pipes. To check the valve, you can also try to see if anything prevents its full opening and closing.

Periodic noise

The answer to the question of why the water pipes are buzzing when the water in the neighboring apartment is turned on, often lies on the surface. Having inspected the plumbing from neighbors, you will probably find valves and mixers of obsolete design, or taps with poor-quality gaskets, or a long-unchanged section of the water pipe.

Not every neighbor will agree to start repairing the water supply system at your first request. People can have their own view of the problem of water pipe noise, and maybe they will not want to spend their time and money on eliminating a problem that, moreover, does not seem to them.

Knocking in highways

How to find the source of the knock in the pipes? To do this, you will need a sharp ear. If from time to time strong blows are heard, the best solution is to replace the valve blocking the riser. Plumbers from the housing and communal services are obliged to replace such units at the request of residents.

A knock in the pipe can be associated with a change in the temperature of the water in the riser or with the supply of hot water. In order to identify the problem in such cases, it is necessary to inspect the main line and identify the places where the water supply is in contact with other stationary objects.

Poorly fixed sections of the water supply line are fixed with clamps, anchors or welded to remove the knock.

You can also eliminate the contact of two pipes, creating a gap between them, and thus get rid of knocking in the mains.