air in pipes

When turning on the water (usually the hot water), there is a spurting sound like there is air in the pipes. This continues for some time, from various taps in the house. This is not the banging noise some folks here refer to as water hammer. The lines have not been opened for repair. We have a water softener. Does anybody know what causes this?

By-pass the softener and see if the spurting goes away after flushing each faucet/fixture clear of the air. If that stops the problem then your softener is adding the air. If it doesn't stop then you may have methane or H2S in the water if you have a well. If there's no odor to the water then it isn't H2S. If a well the pump or plumbing to it from the well could be adding air to the water. If city water call the company and ask them why this is.

Gary
Quality Water Associates

Thanks for your thoughts, Gary. I'll try bypassing the water softener, and let you know what happens. The water from the kitchen tap does sometimes smell sulfurous, although we are on city water.

dumb question about water softener

I bypassed the water softener, but now I wondering, do I have to shut it off so it won't implode or something when it tries to regenerate?