Vibrating water pipes… it sounds silly, and it might be something you never came across. However, that doesn’t rule out the possibility of you coming across this problem. It is what it implies, the pipes start vibrating and making noises. Sometimes driving you nuts. But, if want to fix this problem, or learn how to fix the problem in the future, we have you covered.
Loose Pipes
The first and most likely problem is that it is a loose pipe. This can simply solve by securing the pipe to the wood frame with pipe clips. To do this, access or go to an access panel or open area where the pipes are visible and exposed. This can a basement, and you do not have to cut through walls or ceilings. Observe and check if the pipes vibrate and move a lot when someone is using a faucet or flushes a toilet.
High Water Pressure
One other source of your issue can be high water pressure. This causes pipes to vibrate and also lead to long-term damage to your pipes and appliances. Indoor water pressure should fall between 40 and 60 pounds per square inch or psi. Therefore, adding a pressure-reducing valve to your incoming mainline could correct that issue, if high pressure is your problem.
Water Hammer
A common occurrence known as a water hammer could be what you’re experiencing. The cause for a water hammer is by fast-closing valves, such as toilet fill valves and faucets. When the water flows through the pipe, and the valve closes, the water immediately stops, causing the hammer effect.
Utilizing a water hammer arrestor can solve the issue, but the added work of cutting and soldering pipes requires expertise that a household owner doesn’t have. A way around this is to add an arrestor to the exposed pipes, and not having to cut into drywall. If you want to get rid of the problem altogether, adding slow-closing valves is the way to do.
Air in Pipes
Pipes can cause quite a commotion if there’s air trapped in them. There are a few things you can do to stop the sound and get the air out, however. One of the easier ways is to just wait until the air is forced out naturally. This may take some patience and waiting as you have to leave your faucet on until the water flows smoothly. Another way has a few more steps to get your pipes back to normal.
- Turn off your home’s water main
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Open up the faucet farthest from the water main in your house
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Drain the faucet
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Open up every faucet in the house and flush every toilet working your way closer to the water main
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Close each faucet in the house starting with the one closest to the water main and working your way back
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Turn the water main back on
Loose Supports
As water moves through your pipes at different speeds and amounts, it changes the weight applied to pipes. If your pipes do not have the correct support, even normal amounts of water can cause them to vibrate and shake.
Installing pipe supports will keep them in place and make them less likely to vibrate. You can also wrap the pipes with foam insulation to mute the sound of water pipes vibrating against each other.
Changes in Temperature
Another overlooked cause may be the changes in the temperature of the water. Hot water is often to blame for this. The reason for this is that the pipes are actually expanding when hot water flows through. This is most common in households that use PVC pipes.
The heat from hot water flowing through comes from the water heater. This will cause the vibrating, ticking sound to happen pipe material expands and causes them to rub against nearby objects or other pipes. A solution to this would be to lower your water heater temperature or to just call a professional plumber!
That is how you deal with vibrating water pipes, and hopefully, you learned a lot about it. If you have more questions, please contact us!
