We just moved into our house and I notice at night that the water pipes will rattle on occasion. Dishwasher and washer are usually running at the time as well. Anyway I have drained the water from the pipes as I had seen on a tv show to replace the air in the system. The noise persists, does anyone have a clue?
COMMUNITY FORUM
I'm not a plumber so take my advice for what it's worth. I have seen rubber connector you can put on 2 pipes. What this does is keeps the noise confined to where the noise is originating at. I couldn't tell you why the noise is happening.
Good luck,
Devildog
Like the Devildog, I'm not a plumber...so also 'for what it's worth'.
I think the 'air' in the pipes that you're referring to is related to small pipe extenders that 'cushion' against "water hammer". They're about 4-6" long and usually a size larger than the household pipe, to hold a bit more air. These are often placed by valves that suddenly shut off water (such as d/w, washer). Other than that, air in pipes probably isn't much good. (You may not have the air cushions...I don't think my house does.)
Another cause can be that pipes aren't anchored properly. This was happening in my ice maker line--which used to be just a long 3/8" copper tube without any anchors. When you shut off the kitchen faucet suddenly, it would clank. Pipes do need to be anchored properly. Typically copper anchors are used (for copper pipe)--to protect against long-term deterioration caused by the electric action between different metals--but I've used plastic ones and they work quite well.
good luck,
k2 in CO
