You’ve probably heard your floor boards creak before, but have you ever heard unusual noises coming from your walls or pipes connected to your major appliances? While this may be alarming at first, rest assured knowing that noisy pipes aren’t anything out of the ordinary; in fact, they’re pretty common. And to help you feel a bit more at ease, we’ve outlined some of the causes below so you can be more familiar with this type of situation:
Excess mineral build-up: When minerals build-up within your pipes, it can be an open invitation for air bubbles to form. So, if you’ve ever heard a strange popping noise, there is a chance that these bubbles are bursting while your hot water heater is at work.
Water hammer: “Water hammer” is a term that describes the act of water being stopped by a valve that is closed. When water flows through your pipes and is suddenly stopped by a fast-closing valve, it can cause a large bang or knocking noise to be heard throughout your system.
Loose pipes: Sometimes the cause of unsettling noises are the actual pipes themselves and not what’s inside of them. If your pipes aren’t as secure as they once were, you may start to hear some banging as water starts to run.
Pipe expansion: If your plumbing system includes copper pipes, you may hear some tapping or creaking when hot water starts to make its way through. This is a result of hot water meeting with cold pipes, which ultimately makes the copper expand and come into contact with surrounding walls, pipes or other objects.
With that being said, we’d now like to ask – what noises have you heard your plumbing make? If you’re still wondering about the cause of your noisy pipes, visit us on Facebook, Twitter or Google+ to let us know what you’re experiencing! Then, should you need any work completed on your plumbing as a result, be sure to give Barker and Sons Plumbing & Rooter a call at 714.630.8766 to make an appointment with our team.
