Ever turn on a faucet somewhere in your home, do what you need to do, and then turn the water off again? Next thing you know, you hear metal clanking and vibrating somewhere within the walls of your home. Or have you ever heard a similar hammering sound or metal throttle when your dishwasher moves through its cleaning cycles?
It’s a common occurrence. It has to do with a combination of hydraulics and the related water pressure, plus the construction of your plumbing itself.
Why do water pipes vibrate? And what should you do if your home water pipes are vibrating? The short answer is that pipes may vibrate if they’re loose, or if the supports that hold them aloft are loose. There may be air in the pipes or temperature fluctuations, although changes in temperature are more likely to cause pings and ticking sounds rather than vibrating or rattling.
Water Hammer
Any of these can lead to pipe vibrating. But it’s more likely that you’re experiencing a water hammer — aka fluid hammer, hydraulic shock, or hydrostatic shock.
A water hammer occurs when the water pressure in the pipe increases suddenly. When, for example, you turn off a faucet or the dishwasher shuts off the rinse cycle, a valve stops the water from flowing. The water hitting that closed valve is the hammer. That’s what causes the noise in this situation.
What can you do about hydraulic shocks? You can call Meticulous Plumbing to have a look. If we can diagnose the problem, and if that problem is hydraulic shocks, we can install a pressure-reducing valve that should do the trick.
If it’s not a water hammer that’s causing the pipes to vibrate, then we’ll need to do a little more investigating. If it turns out that the pipes are vibrating or rattling because of loose or coming-loose supports, we can fix those, too!
Sometimes air is in the pipes, causing them to convulse. Usually, running the faucets and flushing the toilets can solve this problem.
Meticulous Plumbing
As we hope we’ve made clear, if this problem continues, please give Meticulous Plumbing a call. We’ll check it out for you and propose a remedy. We promise you’ll be satisfied with our service and our Portland plumbing expertise.
We can change your water heater, plumbing system, and double-check your rattling pipes to find the cause of the banging sounds. Maybe the pressure is too high when the pipes are filled with water. Maybe there are air chambers in the water supply. Perhaps a loose pipe caused by high water pressure in the water line is causing the plumbing problem.
Whatever the cause, we’ll diagnose it. Whatever the fix, we’ll find it! Call Meticulous Plumbing today.
