Why are the water pipes buzzing? Four possible malfunctions and their elimination

Residents of apartment buildings often encounter such an unpleasant phenomenon as the buzz of water pipes. Moreover, this acoustic noise is felt by residents of apartments throughout the riser, and sometimes the whole house. Where does it come from, for what reasons does it appear, and are there methods of dealing with it? According to theory, there are many explanations why the pipes in the apartment are buzzing. In practice, four main reasons for its occurrence are identified. And they can be eliminated. We will talk about this below.

The most common causes of annoying rattling of pipes are:

1. Poor repair. The occurrence of a hum in pipes may be due to their loose connection or unprofessional installation.
2. Excessive pressure in the water supply network. This reason is likely when the tap has too much water pressure and when it is blocked, the noise amplifies. Such a problem is usually associated with complex repair work on the water main and the management organization should deal with it.
3. Reduction of the internal diameter of the water supply (the so-called "heart attack" of the tubes). This happens in houses where overhaul of engineering systems has not been carried out for a long time. Pipes are overgrown with time from the inside by salts and rust, which reduces their diameter. The water pressure remains at the same level, which is the reason for the rattle of the pipes. In this case, it is recommended to replace metal pipes with plastic ones.
4. Faulty plumbing. The buzz of a water pipe can be caused by damaged taps, faucets (incorrect gaskets, broken faucet faucets). Moreover, unpleasant sounds are made in all apartments, and not just in the one where there is a problem. And in order to identify the problem, you need to turn off the opening cranes in each apartment in turn.

And now we offer you to dwell on each item in more detail.

Reason # 1 - poor repair

If the buzz in the taps is repeated several times a day, it can be assumed that one of the neighbors was repairing the water supply system in his apartment. It is possible that the plumbers from the service organization changed some elements of the water supply in the basement and loosely connected the pipes. To eliminate the buzz in this case is not difficult. Poorly fixed pipes are fixed and all installation defects are eliminated.

The hum can also be caused by the proximity of the pipes to each other. Water passing through them creates a vibration, which leads to a mutual collision of pipes. This problem can be solved by wrapping each pipe with foam insulation.

Poorly performed repairs in the water supply system - loose connection, improper installation of pipes, their location too close to each other, can cause piping rattle in the apartment

Reason # 2 - overpressure in the system

It can be determined by the pressure of water.If you quickly open the tap, the pipes begin to buzz. Excessive pressure in the water supply can lead to rupture of pipe connections and depressurization of the system. To reduce the load and eliminate the hum, it is necessary to install a special air chamber at the junction of the pipe with the crane - it will take on excess pressure.

The camera can be manufactured independently using an additional pipe section, or you can use a silencer for factory-made pipes. After installing the muffler, the pipes will experience less stress and will last longer.

The muffler assumes an excess of pressure in the water supply, eliminating the hum in the pipe and prolonging its service life

Sometimes it’s better to involve a water service provider to resolve the issue. If water enters the water supply system under too much pressure, with a significant admixture of air - the buzz of pipes cannot be eliminated independently, the help of specialists will be needed.

The norm of the water pressure in the system is the pressure in the mixer equal to 2 atm. In this case, the tap will have a normal water supply. In addition, a washing and dishwasher will work fully. However, the boundary limit is 6 atm.

Reason # 3 - “heart attack” of the pipe happened

Reducing the diameter of the pipes due to clogging leads to the fact that the resulting reactive fluid flow creates small vibrations and the corresponding noise. And the noise, as you know, is transmitted very well through the pipes. How to diagnose clogged water pipes? To do this, disconnect the mixer from the pipe and determine its condition. The dirt that has accumulated on the walls is the main indicator of pipe overgrowth.

Most often, the dirt contained in tap water is deposited exactly at the ends of the pipeline and you can try to clean them. The problem of clogging of the end sections of the water supply is not only characteristic of metal pipes, it is also inherent in plastic and polypropylene pipes. The diameter of the mixer hoses differs from the diameter of the pipe itself and this contributes to the accumulation of dirt in these areas.

With a long absence of repair of utilities, dirt (rust, salt) settles on the inner walls of the pipes, reducing their diameter

Clogging can be eliminated by using hydraulic or pneumatic flushing, as well as mechanical cleaning. Flushing is the flow of a strong continuous stream of water through a water pipe. To do this, use electric or circulation pumps. So you can wash only blockages of light particles in pipes with a high speed of passage of water. But this method is ineffective for pipes with a large diameter, in which water flows slowly, since heavy particles will still settle on the walls.

Cleaning is done in separate sections of the pipe. The water is turned off and lowered from the problem area. The pipe is disconnected, cleaned with a thick wire (for a better effect, you can attach a ruff to it). If the pipe is not cleaned in any of the above ways, a block with a blockage is cut out and replaced with a new one. And in order to eliminate additional noise due to unreliable fastening, pipes must be attached tightly to building structures using rubber gaskets.

Reason # 4 - malfunctions in water fittings

The simplest solution to the issue of rattling pipes in the apartment is sometimes in the valves. If the reason for the hum is in the faulty mixer (the pipe starts to vibrate when the tap is opened), or in the shut-off valve, the problem can be solved independently by turning off the water in the riser and having a simple repair.

The cause of the hum in the water pipes may be a small malfunction in the mixer - a worn out gasket on the tap of an old-style axle box

All that needs to be done to eliminate the hum in the pipes in this case is to remove the axle box crane and deal with the gasket at the end of the stem.It either hangs freely on it, or its edges have a pointed conical shape. In the first case, the old gasket should be replaced, and in the second - just cut its edges with scissors. We collect the crane box in place and check. If done correctly, the noise should disappear.

These malfunctions can only happen with old-style faucets that are equipped with valve or half-turn crane boxes. In modern single-lever mixers and ball valves, gaskets that block the flow of water are absent, therefore, in principle, they cannot cause noise in pipes.

We examined the most common causes of buzzing pipes in an apartment and methods for eliminating them. Perhaps now you can independently, without the help of a plumber, eliminate disturbing noise as quickly as possible so as not to negatively affect not only the water supply system, but also your own nervous system. After all, it is at home that we want to relax in silence from the city bustle. In conclusion, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with an interesting video, which shows how you can measure the pressure of water in a water supply system.