Plumbing advice · Leaks & Burst Pipes
What Causes Noisy Water Pipes?
Banging, humming and whistling pipes each point at a different fault.
Banging: water hammer
A thud when a tap or washing machine valve closes is water slamming to a stop. Modern quarter-turn valves make it worse. Water hammer arrestors or a pressure check usually cure it, and loose pipe clips amplify it.
Humming or vibration
A constant hum often means mains pressure running too high for the pipework, or a pump bearing on its way out. A pressure-reducing valve set correctly quiets the whole house.
Whistling and kettling
A whistling tap is a worn washer or restricted valve. A boiler that rumbles like a kettle has scale on its heat exchanger, and that one shortens boiler life, so treat kettling as a service light, not a quirk.
Need it done instead?