If your pipes have started to go bump in the night, or at any time, it can be a little worrying. It is actually quite a common occurrence, especially in older homes. While you might be feeling very worried imagining an expensive plumbing bill or a burst pipe occurring, often noisy pipes are not a cause for concern.
After a little investigation of your piping system, you may find you can deal with the situation yourself. Or worst case, you’ll have to call out your local Queensland plumber for an inspection. Let’s take a look at common causes and solutions for those annoying clunky pipes.
Many homes contain pipework that is made from copper. While it’s a durable metal, it is known to expand and contract with extremes of temperature. If your pipes start to get noisy after you use hot water, this may point to copper pipework being the problem. While the noises may be alarming, copper pipework expanding and rubbing against other structures, isn’t a cause for concern as they are designed to handle this.
As water flows through the pipes of your home, the pressure could have caused brackets to come loose, which could be making the noise. Or maybe your pipework was never fitted correctly in the beginning. Either way, loose pipework needs to be fixed before it potentially bursts. If you find loose connections or worn out fixtures, replace them if you feel comfortable. When the loose fitting is out of reach or you are not great at DIY, call in your local expert plumbers for help.
If you’re hearing thuds and bangs from your pipework, this could point to water hammering. Water taps have protection systems in the form air chambers. These are placed near the taps and work as a cushioning system, preventing water crashing into the pipes. When the air in the cushioning system is lost, this can cause the loud thuds and bangs (water hammers). Fix your water hammering problem by;
Over time, debris can build up in your piping system and start to flow through the pipes. This can wear down pipes and start to cause noisy sounds like rattling, clinking or scraping. Call out your local Queensland plumber to assist you with this issue.
If your water pressure is set too high, this could be a cause of noisy pipes when water crashes forcefully. This is a problem that needs to be dealt with, otherwise pipes can be overworked and eventually damaged. Check your water pressure at the boiler, which should sit between 1 to 1.5 bar. If you don’t have a meter to check or cannot find it, ask your plumber for help.
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