How To Fix Noisy Water Pipes: A Step-By-Step Guide

Are your water pipes making noise? All you expect is the squeak of the tap and the gushing of water, but instead, you’re greeted with alarming whistles, rumbles, groans, banging, and clattering. Your home is your castle, and plumbing failures can create one heck of an expensive mess if you don’t address them swiftly – so let’s explore how to fix noisy water pipes.

Pipes making noise when water is turned on?

Water pipes making noise disrupt the peace of a home as well as the peace of your mind – from high-pitched whistles to severe banging and beyond. But by following our guide, hopefully, we’ll be able to figure out what’s going on and learn how to resolve it:

1. What type of pipe noise is it?

Why do water pipes make noise? First, it depends on what you’re hearing.

Whistling indicates a partially closed valve, rumbling could be sediment build-up, and banging – ‘water hammer’ – is due to water suddenly stopping in its tracks.

If you’re hearing whistling or rumbling, it might not be as alarming as water hammer but it still could be a serious issue – like a faulty or failing valve or hot water system sediment build-up.

As for banging and clattering, it’s not just disruptive but can smash your pipes to bits over time and lead to serious damage and water leak repair costs because of the strain on your plumbing joints and fixtures.

2. Locate the source

Try to pinpoint the exact location of the problem when your pipes make noise when water is turned on. It could be beneath a sink, behind a wall, near an appliance, or somewhere else.

3. Check for loose pipes

Clattering and banging, especially when you notice pipes rattling when water is turned on, could mean a pipe has worked itself loose somehow. If you can access the offending one, securing it with clamps or shrouding it in insulation could be a nice quick fix.

4. Inspect valves & faucets

If your pipes are whistling, it’s probably because a valve or the faucet is not completely opening. Check out the water supply valves and see if they’re opening completely so the water flow is unobstructed, while a faucet issue might require a fix of the faulty or worn parts – or a brand new faucet.

5. Drain the system

For banging and clattering, usually due to ‘water hammer’, simply draining the water system can clear the air bubbles from the system and resolve the issue.

Simply turn off the main water supply, open every single faucet to drain all the water from the system, and then turn them all off again before turning the water back on. Hopefully, you’ve said bye-bye to water hammer.

6. Could it be sediment build-up?

If you hear pipes making noise in the wall, it’s typically a different issue than a low, rumbling noise, which typically points to sediment build-up in your hot water heater. For rumbling sounds, focus your attention on the hot water heater, which – fingers crossed – can often be resolved with a system flush:

• Turn off the heater
• Turn off the cold water supply valve
• Attach a hose to the drain valve
• Open the drain valve & safely drain all the water
• Close the valve
• Turn the cold water supply valve back on
• Turn the system back on.

7. Consult a professional

Unfortunately, some noises can actually indicate quite severe plumbing issues that you’ll need a reliable plumber to investigate and address – stat! For instance:

• Screeching/squealing: Extreme pressure buildup
• Dripping/trickling: Leaks
• Gurgling: Potential blockages or venting issues
• Humming/vibrating: Malfunctioning pressure-reducing valves.

Why Do Pipes Make Noise? We Can Help

So if you’ve run through our steps and still need help, there is some good news for you – and it’s called Best Plumbers Club USA. We cut out all the time, stress, and uncertainty of finding a truly trustworthy plumber near you and connect you directly with a local, licensed, genuinely positively-reviewed, and recommended plumber who services your area and can be there in a jiffy. When you need a Pennsylvania plumber, Connecticut plumber, Maryland plumber or anywhere across the USA, simply enter your details and stand by for the no-obligation quote.

Worried about that alarming water pipe noise? Give Best Plumbers Club USA a try today.