The neighbors' pipes are buzzing where to turn. Why are the water pipes humming? How to eliminate hum? What to do to eliminate hum

Hello again everyone, let me remind you that you are on the "build a house" blog. And this means that here we are talking only about construction, renovation, home decoration and everything related to this. Maybe remember, in the previous one I told you about the choice of putty, how, where and which one is used. Today I decided to devote time to the topic: “ Why are pipes buzzing??».

In general, I had no plans for this article. If not for one case. The fact is that once while standing in line in a store, I became an involuntary listener to the conversation of two respectable men who complained to each other about suspicious noises in the pipes. That supposedly, it is worth repairing the heating system, but all hands do not reach. So I decided that noisy pipes probably worried many (especially since I myself suffered from this defect some time ago).


Girl repairing pipes under the washstand

Trumpet "symphony"

We are all already accustomed to the silence of the house, having protected ourselves from the noisy street with plastic double-glazed windows (there is a good one about the windows).

The air conditioner works almost silently, the washing machine barely audibly performs its duties. In a word, the house is dominated by the atmosphere of favorable acoustic comfort ... and suddenly, like a bolt from the blue, “sang”, “howled”, either heating or water pipes. Why did they buzz, how to get rid of the annoying noise?

Why are the pipes humming?

Quite a common occurrence, especially in city apartments. And even before the arrival of a plumber, it is necessary to find out two key factors - the nature of the pipe noise and how many more listeners there are to this "symphony". Those. Is it only your apartment that suffers from humming in the pipes, or does this apply to all the residents of the entrance?

Do the neighbors also make noise?

More often than not, you and your family are not alone in putting up with it. Therefore, first you need to bypass the neighbors in the riser in order to identify the location of the noise localization.


Find out the places where the pipes are noisy

Now for the nature of the buzz. Heating, however, like water pipes, can emit single or rhythmic sounds like a tap dance, rustling, gurgling, or even vibrate and even hum - periodically or constantly. The reasons can be completely different, they are even classified into groups.... But now we will not consider absolutely all of them, but dwell only on noise effects. shock character.

Note: The likelihood of noise generation in pipes is dramatically reduced if metal-plastic or plastic pipes are used instead of metal and copper pipes. This is explained by the high sensitivity of steel pipes to low-frequency vibrations and high rigidity. Although their material is much stronger. It is recommended to use not screw, but ball valves as shut-off valves, which are controlled by turning the handle. These are heavy copper cast products, not light alloy products made in China.

Cause of noise in water pipes

Practice shows what most often occurs from a pipe knocking on the sleeve in the overlap between floors with strong thermal expansion. This problem is mainly inherent in hot water pipes. And it also happens that the riser is embedded in the ceiling without a sleeve at all. This is observed during the emergency delivery of a new building. And in either case, so that they no longer buzz under the pipe in the place of its passage through the ceiling, it is necessary put an elastic pad or fill the gap with heat-resistant foam.

Tapping in pipes

Also, tapping in the pipe can give out a certain piece of metal that ended up in the pipe after welding, when, during its repair, a hole was cut out in it and red-hot metal penetrated inside. Therefore, some experts are immediately interested in: "Have any of the apartments recently been renovated?" or "Have the steel pipes been replaced?" In this situation, it is much easier to identify the location of the noise. Yes, that's just to exclude this reason, it is oh, how difficult it is (but not to change the pipes). We can only hope that this piece will either be carried away by a good stream of water, or it can be done by force by calling a professional plumber.

23.11.2011, 13:44

The neighbors below or above have a faulty crane. When the water is turned on and off, there is a wild hum, the whistle and pipes shaking here and apparently all over the riser. While the water is flowing, there is also a hum, but not so strong. I can't figure out who it is. The water is turned on 40 times a day and I no longer have the strength to listen to it. On weekdays at home only if you are on a sick person with a child. But in the evening or on weekends, it's just awful. How to understand on which floor it is and what to do? We live on the 5th floor, on the 4th and 6th I already managed to check ... not them. In the midst of the rumble, they were quiet.

23.11.2011, 13:57

Walk around all apartments and ask to turn on the taps one by one. Better to walk two or three, i.e. with those neighbors who have already been checked. I think everyone is interested that this rumble was not.

To eliminate noise, all you need to do is replace the gasket on the stem, which directly plugs the hole in the valve seat. Or at least remove the chamfer from this gasket - cut off the edge in a circle with a knife.

23.11.2011, 14:49

Thanks. Today I will try to walk through the apartments. I'm afraid that not everyone will be admitted to their place.

Arkasha's mother

23.11.2011, 14:51

23.11.2011, 15:13

Here we have the same nonsense. And the worst thing is that the roar is at night and in the morning, when we are already asleep, we constantly wake up with horror, as if someone is rattling on the door, and this pipe is shaking, because some of the neighbors also have a faulty tap.

We were more fortunate))). This (we suspect) granny gets up late. So the rumble is only in the afternoon and evening. But on weekends he sometimes wakes up.

Arkasha's mother

23.11.2011, 15:17


23.11.2011, 15:22

This (we suspect) granny gets up late. So the rumble is only in the afternoon and evening. But on weekends he sometimes wakes up.

Tell the granny that the faucet fell off from such a vibration of friends and they flooded 5 apartments. Granny will get scared and call the plumber :))

23.11.2011, 15:24

Kind Birdie

23.11.2011, 15:34

I’m still thinking of going to check with everyone, because I already have no strength to listen to this. probably with all these noises in the apartment I'll go crazy :). Not only are these pipes rattling, but the floors of the neighbors above are creaking terribly.
How do people feel about your desire to test the taps? we just live here for the first year, our own apartment, maybe not everyone wants me to come to them with a check :).

Certainly not all)) An elderly neighbor from the lower one in the elevator clung to me - is it your water pouring at night? She convinced me that it was not at my place, so politely, sympathetically ... Three days later, her husband dragged along to listen to me somewhere. Already strained. Was sent. Who exactly is he to test, teach and suspect me? Let the plumber go and look. You have something still buzzing at least there, but you see mine all the time ...

Kind Birdie

23.11.2011, 15:35

Hang up an ad in the stairwell that those who have a tap buzzing in such and such apartments are ready to replace the gasket on the tap themselves

I myself had the same desire, when our neighbors had the same garbage, but did not have time, they fixed everything themselves :)

As an option

Arkasha's mother

23.11.2011, 15:38

Yes, so we are thinking of calling a plumber, let him check everything, I won't go myself.

23.11.2011, 15:47

23.11.2011, 15:53

We have the same theme in our house. It is especially unpleasant to hear this noise at night ... and also, because of this connection, the pipes loosen and begin to leak .. already a couple of times I had to call plumbers.
We know in which apartment the tap is faulty, the owners don't care, they even called the technician from the ZhEK to correct their brains.

23.11.2011, 15:53

I spoke to the plumber this morning, said that he could not do anything with inadequate people. I will not post the announcement yet, I will try to find it that way. I will definitely not fix it at my own expense. This is what will happen if we find and this "miracle" will send us ... then I don't even know .... My husband has already offered to do a couple of nasty things ... but this must be done anonymously, and if they know by sight who did it, maybe effects. I’m not a supporter of shitting neighbors, of course, but if nothing helps, I don’t even know what to do.

23.11.2011, 16:08

drip on the brain - publicly verbally and in print - the entrance should know its "heroes"
Perhaps it will.

23.11.2011, 16:10

Formally, because of a noisy crane-axle box, they may not be allowed into the apartment, and the door will not be opened, and at the announcements in the entrance - the threat of flooding due to the vibration of the pipe, sneeze ... unfortunately, there are such inadequacies.
They do not even respond to an offer to supply a new high-quality axle box for free.

But is it the case? In the parents' apartment, the riser also made noise when someone was using water, and the pipes were shaking. But I had the feeling that it was just an airlock somewhere in the highway. There is no problem now. But I think the plumber completely emptied the riser and filled it up again, somehow in a competent manner.

23.11.2011, 16:10

and even with a plumber

Cat Wrap

23.11.2011, 16:17

Tell the granny that the faucet fell off from such a vibration of friends and they flooded 5 apartments. Granny will get scared and call the plumber :))

Other grannies don't care. As a result, I changed the mixer myself, at my own expense - it got enough.

24.11.2011, 10:34

24.11.2011, 11:07

Yesterday evening I went to the board, the plumber turned out to be in our front door in the morning and heard this rumble. This is, as I thought, a pensioner on the first floor. He promised to do everything to her today. So everything went without my participation.
congratulations!
everything worked out pretty well

If you have ever lived in apartment building, you probably heard how loudly and disgustingly buzz sometimes. In some cases, the hum is heard when several apartments are connected to the same water pipe, in others, the hum of pipes gets on the nerves of all residents of the house at the same time. Sometimes this sound can appear and disappear over time, and sometimes the noise from the water supply system is constantly heard.

Why are the water pipes humming in the apartment at night? There may be several reasons for this. Let's consider them in detail below.

Causes of sounds from the water supply system, or Why are water pipes humming

The most common cause of unpleasant noises in pipes is bad gaskets installed in plumbing. The sound appears as a result of the resonance of the vibrations of the gaskets and the water running through the pipes. Resonance amplifies sound and carries it throughout the home. In this case, it is extremely difficult to identify which of the tenants in the house has problem plumbing.

If the pipes in the house are buzzing not constantly, then the cause of the noise is, as a rule, the collection of water into the drain tank of one of the apartments or the opening by the tenant

If the hum is constantly observed, then its cause is the difference in pressure in the risers of cold and hot water. The liquid is squeezed from one riser to another through a broken tap in one of the apartments. Sometimes valves can be broken at the same time in several different apartments.

Why do the water pipes hum when you turn on the tap? Probably, the problem lies in a poor-quality or deformed gasket. Plumbers with many years of experience recommend starting the fight against an unpleasant phenomenon to eliminate noise from water pipes by finding and replacing low-quality gaskets.

Methods for finding a faulty crane

To identify an apartment with faulty taps, it is necessary to turn them off one by one from the hot and cold water pipelines one by one and listen to whether the unpleasant sound has disappeared or not. As soon as the hum in the pipes stopped, an apartment with faulty plumbing was found.

If you checked each of the apartments in the house using the method described above, and the problem has not been resolved, it is likely that the sound is caused by the laying of a valve that blocks the riser. You can check this hypothesis by turning off the taps supplying water to this riser. If the sound disappears, then the problem is in the riser valve.

Remember also that if you have a branched water supply in your basement, containing many valves and valves, any stop valves can cause a hum. Determining the cause of the unpleasant sounds without an experienced plumber in this case can be very difficult and not as soon as we would like.

If you still managed to localize the cause, consider yourself lucky. It can be easily removed by simple repairs.

What to do to eliminate hum?

The hum is not provoked by all valves. The reason for the noise can be mixers or taps of outdated designs, with valve, as well as half-turn cranes.

Modern or joystick-type mixers do not have gaskets in their design. Therefore, they cannot enter into resonance with water pipes.

To get rid of the noise, there is sometimes no need to buy a new crane. Often it is enough to dismantle the crane box, remove the gasket and fix it or replace it. These elements often hang loosely from the stem or have tapered edges.

The free hanging spacer should be replaced. A deformed, irregular shape can be cut with scissors. Then the crane-axle box should be assembled and installed in the water supply system. If the repair is done correctly, then there should be no more noise.

The simplest solution for an outdated crane is to replace it with a newer ball valve. High-quality ball structures cause less problems during the operation of the water supply system.

The same advice can be given for outdated mixers. Replacing the old mixer with a new one-lever model is the best solution to the problem.

Why water pipes hum at home: other reasons

Breakdown of valves and water supply faucets are the most common, but not all, causes that can cause noise. In some cases, humming in pipes is caused by factors, the elimination of which is much more expensive and requires more effort.

Clogged pipes

With a decrease in the pipe diameter, reactive water flows arise. They make the pipes 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, it is enough to turn off one of the mixers and look at what is happening in the pipe. If everything is covered with a thick layer of dirt from the inside, then it's time to change the communication system.

In rare cases, dirt in the pipes can only accumulate at the ends of the lines. If you cut the pipes and try to clean the ends, there is a chance the noise problem will go away. 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 susceptible to clogging. The reason for the accumulation of dirt is the difference in the diameters of the pipes and hoses of the mixers.

Poorly anchored pipes

Vibration can be caused not only by dirt and plaque inside the pipes. If, during installation, the water supply system was not properly fixed to the walls, then when the tap is suddenly opened, a water hammer may occur and, as a result, the water supply system vibrates.

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, who value their reputation, always make sure that the installation of water pipes, even in the smallest detail, is carried out in accordance with all technical rules.

The method of eliminating the problem of noise due to poorly fixed pipes is to install special fasteners on the water supply system, fixing it in the correct position.

Why do water pipes hum when the tap is closed?

If, regardless of whether your home taps are closed or open, the hum of the water supply is heard in the apartment, you need to start fixing the problem from the basement.

In the basement, find the riser that powers your plumbing. This is easy to do if you compare the location of the risers with the layout of your entrance. You can also navigate the stairs.

If you find a water leak in the basement, then you can hardly do without calling a plumber. Contact your home service provider and call a professional. He will have everything with him necessary tools and he will be familiar with the plumbing connections in your basement.

In addition, this way you will not leave the residents of the entrance without water, twisting something wrong or accidentally damaging some valve. It is also important to remember that in the winter season, the temperature in the mains can be very high. Repair of 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 ask the neighbors if something is leaking from them.

It's easy to spot a bad gasket in a kitchen faucet. Damage to the gasket causes hot water to enter the cold water tap, because the pressure in the hot liquid riser is almost always higher.

If the questioning of neighbors did not bring any result, then you can walk along the highway and try to identify by ear the blockage in the narrow places 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 is interfering with its full opening and closing.

Intermittent noise

The answer to the question of why water pipes hum when the water is turned on in a neighboring apartment often lies on the surface. Having examined the plumbing of your neighbors, you will probably find valves and mixers 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 views on the problem of water supply noise, or they may not want to spend their time and money on fixing the problem, which, moreover, does not seem to them to be such.

Knocking on the highways

How to find the source of knocking in pipes? To do this, you need a keen hearing. If strong impacts are heard from time to time, then the best solution would be to replace the valve that closes the riser. Plumbers from housing and communal services are obliged to replace such units 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 supply. 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 staples, anchors or welded in order to eliminate knocking.

You can also eliminate the contact of two pipes, creating a gap between them, and thus get rid of knocking in the lines.

 

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