‘Water hammer’ effect can damage plumbing

Do you wake up to a thumping sound when the water sprinklers come one? Or is the hammering noise greeting you at random times throughout the day when you turn off a faucet? Perhaps it’s just a low, annoying vibration in the walls. When the banging and clanging start happening in the plumbing pipes, what’s a homeowner to do?

This is a common problem that many homeowners believe they must endure. The noise is a “water hammer” produced when the toilet float valve or faucets in the house shut off suddenly. It creates a pressure surge due to a sudden change in flow rate. Think of it as a traffic jam in your pipes. This should be eliminated as soon as possible to avoid possible damages to the pipes.

There are two types of water hammers. One sounds like someone banging on your pipes while another is more like a humming, vibrating sound. They are caused by two different things. Vibrations are usually caused by loose pipes. Secure these pipes by strapping them to the wall. Some homeowners have found that wrapping insulations around loose pipes in addition to securing them helps eliminate the problem. A plumber can assist you with this project because it requires opening holes in drywall and crawling through the attic.

The banging “water hammer” can be caused by different things. First, determine when the banging occurs. One common time is whenever a toilet flushes. To remedy the situation, try installing a fluid-master-style float valve (the type without the float on an arm) in your toilet tank. These are available at hardware stores and come with good installation instructions, which make this a fairly easy do-it-yourself project.

Another cause is high water pressure. Leaving this high pressure untreated can cause pipes to break or explode. To find out whether high water pressure is your problem, a pressure gauge can help you check the pressure on your house. Ideally, the pressure should not be more than 75 pounds per square inch. If high water pressure is the problem, the solution is to have a plumber install a pressure-reducing valve. This will throttle down the pressure to no more than 60 pounds per square inch. The valve is installed at the inlet where the water service enters the house. This is not a do-it-yourself project.

A plumber can also retrofit some air hammer devices, such as an arrester, at the end of the water lines near the washer/dryer area or kitchen sink to dampen the hammer effect. This is not a normal do-it-yourself job. However, screw-on arresters are available at plumbing specialty supply stores and they attach to your washer faucets, and that would be a do-it-yourself project. You can find information on this product at www.siouxchief.com.