Why Do My Pipes Rattle When I Flush The Toilet?
If you live alone and your plumbing makes all sorts of weird noises, it’s certainly hard not to get spooked. It is especially easy to get spooked on cold nights when the plumbing is more likely to rattle. Blame the horror movies that used faulty plumbing as a prelude to the appearance of a serial killer or another suspicious creatures.
The Big Question
“Why do my pipes rattle when I flush the toilet?” you ask yourself. The odds of that being due to the presence of some creepy creature is unlikely, so stop scaring yourself. According to a plumber in Fox Valley, that noise is usually caused by loose pipes, high water pressure, or a water hammer.
Three Potential Causes To Address Rattling
These three potential causes are very easy to for a Fox Valley plumber to help you address.
Loose Pipes
For loose pipes, plumbers just need to secure them in place so they don’t go jiggling about and making noises. To do this, plumbers access the pipes through an open area where the pipes are exposed, such as in the basement. But if there’s no access panel and all pipes are concealed, plumbers cut through the wall or ceiling (and replace the cut part after), inspect the loose pipes, and then clip them in place. When this minor repair is completed, you can test the fixtures to see if using them will create those rattling sounds again.
Strong Water Pressure
Now, when it comes to strong water pressure that causes pipes to vibrate, highly trained and experienced plumbers say that the easiest solution is to install a pressure-reducing valve. This little implement can make sure that the water pressure in your home is just between 40 to 60 pounds per square inch or PSI.
Water Hammer Arrestor
And as for a water hammer, which is caused by fast-closing valves like faucets and toilet fill valves, one of the solutions is a water hammer arrestor — this is added to the offending pipes. Take note that only professional plumbers should perform this repair. Adding a water hammer arrestor usually requires cutting and soldering pipes – it’s a lot of work that requires precision. Another solution to consider for a water hammer is to replace the toilet’s fill valves with quieter, slow-shutting fill valves.
Plumbing noises such as rattling pipes are easy to fix so, don’t delay in taking care of this problem. Call in the professionals at Turek’s Plumbing to help with your plumbing problems. Timely repair will restore your peace of mind. Timely repair can also prevent further damage to your pipes, which is more complicated and expensive to resolve.