Why pipes squeal

Turn the water on and check the pipes. Follow the sound of the vibrating section. Hopefully, you will see the section of pipe that is loose in its clamps or supports. Tighten any loose clamps you see. There should be a clamp every feet on horizontal pipes and one every feet for vertical pipes. If your pipes are still rattling, shaking, squeaking, add a cushion: To eliminate shaking and banging, add a piece of cushioning foam by inserting a silicon type product or rubber isolator to the inside of anchors near the vibrating pipe.

Leave some room for expansion, especially around plastic and hot water pipes. For pipes running along masonry walls, nail a block of wood using masonry nails. Then, anchor the pipe to the wood with a pipe strap.

Squeaking Pipes Usually, pipes that squeak come from hot water pipes. There is always an air chamber within the pipe situated in the wall behind each cold and hot tap. When you shut off the tap, the rushing ceases, and the water moves to the vertical pipe where it would hit a cushion of air. This neutralises the force of the water. Hence, the pipes hardly rattle or hammer. We now have commercial air cushions or water hammer arrestors , usually affixed to the pipe in the same spot and which offer similar effects.

However, due to continuous use, the air in the little vertical riser is lost, and subsequently, the cushioning effect. This results in water hammering. The simplest fix is to shut off your main water valve while turning on all the draining and taps you have in the house. Refill them with water again after some time, and this will push air into the risers created to stop water hammering. Loose piping in your home can lead to noisy water pipes.

A pipe can sway as a result of the larger volumes in which water moves. This causes a rattling of the pipe and most times, the pipe hit against objects and walls. Thus, you hear loud banging sounds, which over time, can damage pipes and cause leaks.

The first step to fixing this is to identify the source of the problem. If possible, crawl under your house with a flashlight or open the ceiling boards while someone else turns on the tap or flushes the toilet. While at it, you will need to be very attentive and observant so that you can identify the location. Once detected, secure the pipe to minimise movement.

If the drain pipes are the source of the noise, you will find them suspended from the floor joists under the house. Most times, you will only need to stabilise them to fix the issue slightly. A whistling or squeaking water pipe is a direct result of a worn-out washer in a tap or valve. A vibrating pipe noise typically indicate that there is excessive water pressure running in the pipelines. To test the water pressure in your home yourself, you will need to purchase a threaded pressure gauge.

Screw the water pressure gauge directly onto a sink faucet and check to ensure that the water pressure in your home does not excess 80psi. If the whistling seems to come from just one faucet and it is only happening when that faucet is run, then it probably is coming from inside the faucet itself.

Most likely it is something like a dirty aerator or a washer that has become worn. To stop the noise, simply replace the part causing the problem and the whistling should stop. They may have a mineral buildup or you could have a worn main water supply valve that is causing the noise.

When this is the case, a professional plumber can locate the problem and recommend the best solution to fix it. Speaking of whistling sinks, check out the spooky tune played by this sink that was recorded by meteorologist Matt Reagan in his hotel room during Hurricane Michael when it made landfall in Panama City, Florida.

Extremely creepy. HurricaneMichael pic.