Why Oh Why Do My Plumbing Pipes 'vibrate'??????

[Mrs. Incredible]

Every fall- winter - my household pipes 'humm' or what I call
'vibrate'. When I run a tap it temporarily stops. Then when the running water tap is shut off...the vibrating pipes start singing again.!!!
How do I fix this annoying problem!

[hj]

I am not sure what is causing your problem, but the first thing I would do is check all my outside faucets to see if any are turned on and the hose attached to it is shut off at the nozzle.

[LonnythePlumber]

Are you stateing that when cooler weather arrives you hear a sound that does not stop until you run water? Does it last all winter? Has this developed over the winters or of a sudden? Could it be related to another device that is transmitting it's sound through the piping like the furnace blower or ductwork touching the piping? Do you have a pressure reducing valve or water conditioning device? Do you have a humidifier on your furnace and that water valve is humming?

[Mrs. Incredible]

I didnt explain my problem correctly...Let me try again.
When we flush the toilet or have a shower, the copper pipes will 'hum' loudly after we turn the taps off. It IS the 1/2 inche copper pipes. Could it have anything to do with the temperature change of the pipe. This happens as soon as it turns harvest/fall weather.

[jadnashua]

This may be way out there, but...do you have any heat wrap on any of your pipes? The cold water may cause the heat wrap to turn on if the supply water is really cold. It is (unlikely, but) possible that that could make a sound, i.e., vibrate a little. What kind of hot water heater do you have? If it is an indirect one, the pump may be getting worn out or its zone valve could be making some noise. These are all uncommon situations, but since you asked...

Once it starts, how long does it last? Seconds, minutes, hours?

[Mrs. Incredible]

This may be way out there, but...do you have any heat wrap on any of your pipes? The cold water may cause the heat wrap to turn on if the supply water is really cold. It is (unlikely, but) possible that that could make a sound, i.e., vibrate a little. What kind of hot water heater do you have? If it is an indirect one, the pump may be getting worn out or its zone valve could be making some noise. These are all uncommon situations, but since you asked...

Once it starts, how long does it last? Seconds, minutes, hours?

ANSWER: IT USUALLY LASTS SEVERAL MINUTES, 5 - 10 MINUTES. IF I TURN ON ANY TAP AND RUN SOME WATER, THE NOISE STOPS...ONLY TO RETURN ONCE I TURN THE TAP OFF~!!! WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THAT!

[PHGates]

The problem is water hammer. It occurs from too much water pressure brought on by quickly closing valves in washing machines and the like. Our house has the same problem every fall and winter, and I had to install a water hammer arrestor in several locations (near washer, toilets, and shower) that helped with the problem. Here's a site Google pointed me to that describes the problem: http://www.builderswebsource.com/tec...aterhammer.htm

P.

[John Cimini]

This is my first post but I've been visiting this site for awhile. It's a great site and I've learned a lot here.

I don't know if this is the answer to your problem but about 10 months ago I had a similar problem with a building I maintain. The pipes in all 24 apts were humming. The problem was the toilet flapper in one of the basement apts. The chain would get caught under the flapper and the water seeping by must have resonated at just the right frequency to create the hum. I would check the flapper and make sure it's working properly.

Check the flush valve too.

Thank you,
John

[dsjtiger]

Did ur problem get resolved?
I too am facing the same problem of vibration but upon opening one of the faucets, it stops. And on closing the faucet it does not come back.


This started in winter i.e December

How did you resolve this one at ur end ?

Thanks in advance for sharring ur experience and the resolution

[Bert C]

This is my first post but I've been visiting this site for awhile. It's a great site and I've learned a lot here.

I don't know if this is the answer to your problem but about 10 months ago I had a similar problem with a building I maintain. The pipes in all 24 apts were humming. The problem was the toilet flapper in one of the basement apts. The chain would get caught under the flapper and the water seeping by must have resonated at just the right frequency to create the hum. I would check the flapper and make sure it's working properly.

Check the flush valve too.

Thank you,
John

This seems to fix my problem, though it's not a chain caught under the flapper but the flapper not sealing properly. Cleaning the slime off the flapper fixed the humming noise.

[P-tank]

do i hear a thank you?

[master plumber mark]

if you are getting ahumming soiund throuighout the house it could be a loose washer in one of the faucets.

it can also be the control i the washing maching sort of mixing the water and it passing through the unit




but most likely it is one of your toilets..... try changeing out the ballcocks and see if that does not resolve the problem

if you got the old style ballcock it simply will start humming and vibrateing

install a fluidmaster ballcock in your toilets and see if that takes care of it.

[rkymtnmom]

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I just can't thank you enough. I found this site by googling the vibration in my water pipes, and I was able to solve a problem that has been bothering me on and off for a couple of weeks, in just a matter of minutes!!

My problem ended up being one of those bleach tablets to keep the bowl clean being just under the flapper. Not enough to keep it open enough to hear the toilet running but obviously enough to cause a case of water hammer!! Listen to me talking like a pro!

Again thanks so much, I have a feeling this site just saved me a ton of money!!!

[geniescience]

for the record, it is not called water hammer, when it vibrates continuously. One person posting above talked about water hammer... but that is not the right term here.


Glad it all worked out for you today.


david

[theelviscerator]

sympathetic harmonics.