Before I call a plumber....

[Tinetine]

I wanted to get the board's opinion before I call a plumber. If I can avoid that expense, I will ! Here is my problem : our pipes make a very loud noise, like a humming that gets progressively louder. We hear the noise sometimes several times a day,sometimes in the middle of the night, and it's loud enough to wake me up (altough it doesn't bother my husband). Some days we don't hear it, though. My husband says the noise is caused by a pressure adjustment in the city's pipes, but I'm really worried. Has anyone ever had this problem ? Thanks for all your help !

 

[HM]

I'd call. We just found out that the pressure regulator coming into our house wasn't working properly and we had nearly double the pressure in our pipes we should have had. They like it to be around 60 and we were over 100. We had to have a new valve installed (its in the crawlspace under the house). The reason we called was we were getting water leaking out of our hot water heater and that was the first thing he checked before doing anything to our water heater. Cost was about $279.

 

[Zerosinthecloset]

I wanted to get the board's opinion before I call a plumber. If I can avoid that expense, I will ! Here is my problem : our pipes make a very loud noise, like a humming that gets progressively louder. We hear the noise sometimes several times a day,sometimes in the middle of the night, and it's loud enough to wake me up (altough it doesn't bother my husband). Some days we don't hear it, though. My husband says the noise is caused by a pressure adjustment in the city's pipes, but I'm really worried. Has anyone ever had this problem ? Thanks for all your help !

Does it hum when water is running? If not, then I wouldn't think it is a plumbing problem. If it is a pressure problem, the pressure regulator in your house could be malfunctioning.

We were trying to be proactive and had our water heater changed out a year ago, and when we fired up the new one, it hummed to beat the band. It was a low frequency hum, and we could hear it every time the heater came on. We went through 3 water heaters (Rheem) and they all did the same thing. The last ditch effort was to change out the burner, and that fixed the problem.

Good luck.

 

[mikehn]

sounds like it might be the pressure relief valve. Had a plumber replace a year or two ago. 15 minute job for around $300

 

[Tinetine]

No, it does not hum when water is running, and opening the tap does not stop the noise. I'll try to run to the water heater next time the noise starts, I'll be able to hear if it comes from there .
I did not even know houses had pressure regulators . I'll ask my husband tonight.

 

[Zerosinthecloset]

No, it does not hum when water is running, and opening the tap does not stop the noise. I'll try to run to the water heater next time the noise starts, I'll be able to hear if it comes from there .
I did not even know houses had pressure regulators . I'll ask my husband tonight.

Well. it's not code everywhere that you have to have one. Some builders say you can adjust the pressure by tweaking the main shut off valve, but if you have fluctuating water pressure, it will never be right.

And by the way, a pressure regulator and TPR (temperature/pressure relief) valve are not the same thing.

 

[Tinetine]

Well, I guess we really do need a plumber ! I thought there might be a quick fix, but these are all problems I would leave to a professional. Thanks for your answers.