Noisy water pipes

Nov 14, 2006 4 Replies

Can anyone please help with a noisy water pipes problem?



It's developed over the past few months and what happens is this....



Shortly after drawing hot or cold water from the downstairs or upstairs taps, a loud "moaning" noise can be heard from the supply pipes to the cold water tank in the loft. There is also some vibration on the pipes. The racket goes on for about five minutes.



Turning on a tap (upstairs or downstairs) and letting it run for a few seconds stops the noise temporarily, but it returns a minute or two later and, again, takes about 5 minutes to subside.



I seem to recall reading stuff about "water hammer" and wonder if this is what I've now got! If so, what's the cure? If not, has anyone got better ideas on the source of the problem?



Thanks in advance....


Try opening the mains stop c*ck a bit more (or closing it off a bit if it is wide open) and see if that fixes it.

Sounds like you need a new rubber washer in the tank valve. Over time the pointed inlet valve makes a depression in the rubber and this can result in some very impressive tunes, particularly in the middle of the night. This usually happens to bog cisterns.

Depending on the type of valve the rubber can cost from 10p to 90p.

Fit a new water inlet valve on your cold water tank in the loft

New washer may do it. A new valve certainly will. Had just the same thing on a job last week.

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