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Pipes: Noisy and Leaky
Pipe-Squeaks & Pipe Leaks
Tired of second-guessing the mysterious noise reverberating from your
home's water pipes? Exasperated with trying to locate the leak that's
making your water bill rise way above the floodplain? If you're plumb
confused, plumbing and drain experts offer these valuable tips for troubleshooting your pipes' squeaks
and leaks.
Getting Noises to Pipe Down
Pipe noises range from loud hammering sounds to high-pitched squeaks.
The causes may be loose pipes, water-logged air chambers, or water pressure
that's too high. Anchoring exposed pipes is a simple solution; other remedies
such as anchoring pipes concealed inside walls, floors or ceilings, may
call for a professional.
Banging
Pipes are usually anchored with pipe straps every 6 to 8 feet for horizontal
runs, 8 to 10 feet for vertical.
- If your pipes bang when you turn on the water, you may need to add
straps, cushion the pipes with a rubber blanket, or both.
- When you anchor a pipe – especially a plastic one – leave room for expansion.
- Don't use galvanized straps on copper pipes.
Squeaking
Only a hot-water pipe squeaks. As the pipe expands, it moves in its strap,
and friction causes the squeak.
- Remedy: Cushion it as you would a banging pipe.
Hammering
This noise can occur when you turn the water off quickly at a faucet
or on an appliance. The water flowing through the pipes slams to a stop,
causing a hammering noise.
- Check for: Loose pipes
- Remedy: Anchor the pipes.
- Check for: Faulty air chambers. These lengths of pipe, installed behind
fixtures and appliances, hold air that cushions the shock when flowing
water is shut off. They can get filled with water and lose their effectiveness.
- Remedy: To restore air to the chambers, turn off the water at the
main shutoff valve. Open all the faucets to drain the system. Close
the faucets and turn the water on again. The air chambers should fill
with air.
- Check for: Water pressure that's above 80 psi (pounds per square inch).
- Remedy: To lower the pressure, install a pressure-reducing valve (you
can call in a plumber to do the work if this is a job you don't want to do yourself).
When a Leak Is on the Loose
A higher than normal water bill might be your first indication of a leaking
pipe. Or you might hear the sound of running water even when all your
fixtures are turned off. When you suspect a leak, check the fixtures first
to make sure all the faucets are tightly closed. Then go to the water
meter, if you have one. If the dial is moving, you're losing water somewhere
in the system.
Locating the leak
Try these tips to locate a leak.
- The sound of running water helps. If you hear it, follow it to its
source. You can buy a listening device that amplifies sounds when it's
held up to a pipe.
- If water is staining the ceiling or dripping down, the leak is probably
directly above.
- Occasionally, water may travel along a joist and then stain or drip
at a point some distance from the leak.
- If water stains a wall, it means there's a leak in a section of pipe.
- Any wall stain is likely to be below the actual location of the leak
and you'll probably need to remove part of the wall to find it.
- Without the sound of running water and without drips or stains as
evidence, leaks are more difficult to find. Using a flashlight, check
all the pipes in the basement or in the crawl space.
Fixing the leak
If the leak is major, turn off the water immediately, either at the fixture
shutoff valve or the main shutoff valve. You'll probably have to replace
the leaky section of pipe. If your experience working with pipes is limited,
you'll probably want to call in a plumber
to do the job. If the leak is small, the ultimate solution is to replace
the pipe, but there are temporary solutions until you have time for the
replacement job.
These methods work for small leaks only.
- Clamps should stop most leaks for several months if they're used with
a solid rubber blanket. It's a good idea to buy a sheet of rubber, as
well as some clamps sized to fit your pipes. You can purchase these
items at a hardware store and keep them on hand just for this purpose.
- A sleeve clamp that exactly fits the pipe diameter works best. Wrap
a rubber blanket over the leak, then screw the clamp down over the blanket.
- An adjustable hose clamp used with a rubber blanket stops a pinhole leak.
- If nothing else is at hand, use a C-clamp, a small block of wood, and
a rubber blanket.
- In a pinch, try applying epoxy putty around a joint where a clamp
won't work. The pipe must be dry for the putty to adhere. Turn off the
water supply to the leak and leave the water off until the putty hardens
completely on the pipe.
- If you don't have a clamp or putty, you can still stop a small leak
temporarily by plugging it with a pencil point.
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