If you have ever lived in an apartment building, you must have heard the water pipes sometimes loudly and disgusting . In some cases, the buzz is heard when several apartments are connected to the same riser, in others, the buzz of pipes acts on the nerves at the same time for all residents of the house. Sometimes this sound can appear and disappear over time, and sometimes the noise from the water supply can be heard constantly.
Why are the water pipes buzzing in the apartment at night? There may be several reasons for this. Consider them in detail below.
Causes of Sounds from a Water Pipe, or Why Water Pipes Buzz
Most often, the cause of unpleasant sounds in the pipes are poor gaskets installed in the plumbing. The sound appears as a result of the resonance of vibrations of the gaskets and water running through the pipes. Resonance amplifies the sound and carries it throughout the house. In this case, it is extremely difficult to identify which of the tenants in the house has problematic plumbing installed.
If the pipes in the house do not buzz constantly, then the reason for the noise is, as a rule, the collection of water in the drain tank of one of the apartments or the opening of a water tap by the tenant .
If the buzz is observed constantly, then its cause is the difference in pressure in the risers of cold and hot water. Liquid is squeezed from one riser to another through a broken tap in one of the apartments. Sometimes the valves can be broken simultaneously in several different apartments.
Why do the water pipes buzz when you open the tap? Probably the problem lies in poor-quality or deformed gasket. Plumbers with many years of experience recommend that, in order to eliminate noise from water pipes, the fight against an unpleasant phenomenon begin with the search and replacement of low-quality gaskets.
Faulty crane search methods
To identify an apartment with faulty taps, it is necessary to disconnect them one by one from the hot and cold water pipes one by one and listen if an unpleasant sound disappears or not. As soon as the buzz in the pipes ceased, an apartment with faulty plumbing was found.
If you have checked each of the apartments in the house in the way described above, and the problem has not been solved, it is likely that the sound is caused by the laying of a valve that blocks the riser. You can test this hypothesis by shutting off the taps supplying water to this riser. If the sound has disappeared, then the problem is the riser valve.
Remember also that if you have a branched water supply system in your basement that contains a lot of valves and gates, any shut-off valves can cause a buzz. Determining the cause of unpleasant sounds without an experienced plumber in this case can be very difficult and not as fast as we would like.
If you still managed to localize the cause, consider yourself lucky. With a simple repair, it can be easily fixed.
What to do to eliminate the hum?
Hum not provoke all gates. The cause of noise can be mixers or taps of obsolete designs, with valve, as well as half-turn crane boxes.
Modern ball valves or joystick-type mixers do not have gaskets in their design. Therefore, they cannot enter into resonance with water pipes.
To get rid of noise, sometimes there is no need to buy a new crane. Often, it is enough to dismantle the crane box, remove the gasket and correct it or replace it. Such elements often hang freely on the stem or have conical edges.
The free-hanging pad should be replaced. A deformed, irregular shape can be cut with scissors. Then the faucet box 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 an obsolete crane is to replace it with a newer model of ball valve. High-quality ball structures cause fewer problems during the operation of the water supply system.
The same advice can be given regarding obsolete faucets. Replacing the old mixer with a new one-lever model is the best solution to the problem.
Why water pipes buzz at home: other reasons
Damage to valves and water mixers is the most common, but not all, causes that can cause noise. In some cases, the buzz in the pipes can be caused by factors, the elimination of which is much more expensive and requires great strength.
Clogged pipes
As the diameter of the pipe decreases, reactive water flows occur. They cause the pipes to vibrate, which is the reason for the noise in the apartment.
This problem can be solved only by replacing the clogged section of the water main.
To check if there is a blockage in the pipe, just turn off one of the mixers and look at what is happening in the pipe. If everything inside is covered with a thick layer of dirt, then it's time to change the communication system.
In rare cases, dirt in the pipes can only accumulate 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 way out is to replace part of the water supply line.
It is worth noting that not only metal, but also plastic and polypropylene pipes are subject to clogging. The reason for the accumulation of dirt is the difference in the diameters of the pipes and hoses of the mixers.
Loose pipes
Vibration can cause not only dirt and plaque inside the pipes. If during installation the water supply was not properly fixed to the walls, then with a sharp opening of the tap, a water hammer and, as a result, vibration of the water supply can occur.
That is why it is so important to monitor the quality of installation even at the stage of installing a new water supply system. Construction companies that value their reputation always make sure that the installation of water pipes, even in small things, is carried out according to all technical rules.
A method of eliminating the noise problem due to poorly fixed pipes is to install special fasteners on the water supply, fixing it in the correct position.
Why do the water pipes buzz when the tap is closed?
If, regardless of whether the taps are closed at your home or are open, the buzz of the water supply system is heard in the apartment, you need to start fixing the problem from the basement.
In the basement, find the riser from which your water supply is powered. This is easy to do if you compare the location of the risers with the layout of your entrance. You can navigate the stairs.
If you find a water leak in the basement, then you can’t do without calling a plumber. Contact the organization serving your home and call a specialist. He will have all the necessary tools with him, and he will certainly be familiar with the wiring diagram of the water supply in your basement.
In addition, this way you will not leave the residents of the entrance without water, twisting something wrong or accidentally damaging a valve. It is also important to remember that in the winter season, hot water in the main can be of very high temperature. Repairing such a line requires special care, because it is fraught with burns.
If no water was found in the basement as a result of the inspection, then it is necessary to question the neighbors if something is flowing from them.
Identifying a bad gasket in a kitchen faucet is easy. Damage to the gasket causes hot water to enter the cold water tap, because in a riser with hot fluid, the pressure is almost always higher.
If the poll of the neighbors did not bring any result, then you can walk along the highway and try by ear to identify a blockage in the bottlenecks of the pipe. Most often, pebbles fall into valve bodies or at 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 buzz when the water is turned on in the neighboring apartment often lies on the surface. Having examined the plumbing at the neighbors, you will probably find valves and faucets of an outdated design, or taps with low-quality gaskets, or a section of a water pipe that has not been changed for a long time.
Not every neighbor will agree to start repairing the water supply at your first request. People may have their own view on the problem of water supply noise, or they may not want to spend their time and money on fixing a problem, which, moreover, does not seem to be such.
Knock on the highways
How to find the source of knocking in pipes? To do this, you will need a keen ear. If strong shocks are heard from time to time, then the best solution would be to replace the valve blocking the riser. Plumbers from the housing and communal services are required to replace such nodes 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. To identify the problem in such cases, it is necessary to inspect the highway and outline the places where the water supply is in contact with other stationary objects.
Poorly fixed sections of the water supply line are fixed with brackets, anchors or welded to eliminate knocking.
You can also eliminate the contact of the two pipes by creating a gap between them, and thus get rid of knocking on the highways.