Plumbing Noise

I have been trying to diagnose a plumbing noise problem with no success and would appreciate some more seasoned advice.

When I open the upstairs bathroom sink cold water faucet just a little I get a strong loud vibrating sound. It goes away as I increase the water flow.

No problem with the hot water faucet or downstairs faucets (hot and cold). I first thought it a hammer problem but that supposedly only happens on closing faucets and anyway I did bleed the system to all air back into the air chambers. But this ghoulish noise persists.

Pointers much appreciated. Thanks.

Christopher Oakland, CA

I had noises like that and found that nearly all my pipe supports had pulled out. But I expect there are many causes for plumbing noises.

Could be a loose disk. The cold water faucet could have a disk floating around and vibrating as it throttles more, and vibrates less as it throttles less.

This would lead me towards repair/replace the disk.

Just a guess... Not your plumber.

tom @

Google for "seat chatter."