Quiet Those Noisy Pipes!

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If you’ve got noisy drain pipes in your home, you’ve probably accepted the fact that every time someone flushes a toilet or drains the water out of the bathtub, the walls seem to reverberate with the sound of water rattling on down the drain pipes.  This is annoying when you’re alone, and embarrassing when you have company, but you may have come to take it for granted as something that’s just part of your house’s character. The good news is, it doesn’t have to be that way – noisy drain pipes are a common problem and one that is surprisingly easy to fix.

Assess the Problem

Pipes can be noisy for many different reasons, but the first thing you’ll need to do in quieting them is pin down the physical location of the problem.

• First turn on the water or flush the toilet, then find the source of the noise. The most common source of noise from pipes is from movement which causes the pipe to bang or scrape against the wall or whatever is in the vicinity.
• Many times, a moving pipe can be fixed easily without tearing your house apart – if the pipe is behind a wall and you can access it, simply placing padding or foam insulation between the pipe and the wall to secure the pipe against further movement will solve the problem.
• If the pipe is already meant to be attached to the wall via a U-clamp or strap, and is banging because it has come loose, you may be able to slip a small piece of rubber and insert it in the gap between the pipe and clamp to secure the pipe and eliminate the noise.

If you’ve found the source of noise and can’t access the pipe, however, you should call R.S. Andrews and one of our experienced plumbers can take care of the problem quickly and effectively.

Other Sources of Noisy Pipes

Moving pipes aren’t the only source of noisy plumbing in homes.

• If noise only occurs when you turn on the hot water, it is often an indicator that the temperature is set too high in your hot water heater, and steam is racing through your pipes causing noisy rattling. Lowering the temperature of your water heater can eliminate noise entirely.
• Pipes that are too small for your system or that are clogged or blocked with sediment build-up are common sources of noise – an R.S. Andrews technician can inspect your home’s plumbing to determine if this is the case, and replace pipes that are clogged or too small if other sources of noise or inefficiency are ruled out.
• Sometimes supply pipes providing water and drainpipes removing water are right next to each other and strike each other when water moves through them, creating a clatter. If this is the case in your home, adding rubber padding between the pipes or even soldering the two adjacent pipes together can eliminate the noise.

When In Doubt, Call R.S. Andrews!

There are many other causes of noise in plumbing, but these are some of the most common. If you’ve got noisy pipes and haven’t had your whole home’s plumbing checked out in a while, it may be best to call R.S. Andrews for a plumbing tune-up – noisy pipes are easily fixed by our expert plumbers, and you’ll benefit from having an experienced Atlanta plumbing technician assess all of the plumbing in your house to ensure everything is running at optimal efficiency.

To read more about the comprehensive plumbing tune-up offered by R.S. Andrews Atlanta, check out last week’s blog post – Get Your Plumbing Tuned Up and Save $$$!