Humming plumbing

The subject line says it all...

When we flush the toilet, the pipes (or something) start making this horrible low-pitched noise that vibrates the floor. It's possible to change the pitch and sometimes make it stop by turning the cold tap on or off. The sink tap and the bath tap both affect it, but not the kitchen tap. If playing with the taps doesn't fix it, it keeps going until the toilet has completely refilled--probably 5-10 minutes.

Anybody have an idea what might cause this and how we could go about getting it fixed? We've mentioned it to the landlady, but she's useless, and it's driving me nuts.

This used to happen in our house - something to do with air/pressure in the pipes, I think. We could usually make it stop by turning on the tap too. It hasn't happened in months now, but I'm not sure if it stopped on its own or if we actually did something to stop it.

Sorry I can't be of more help to you .

It can sometimes be caused by a juddering washer assembly in the ball valve, especially if the cistern is fed directly from the city water line at high pressure. 

Other times noises like this can be down to long lengths of pipe which have not been anchored properly.  Sometimes they can be quiet for months, then a slight movement results in vibration when water is flowing.

It can sometimes be caused by a juddering washer assembly in the ball valve, especially if the cistern is fed directly from the city water line at high pressure. 

Other times noises like this can be down to long lengths of pipe which have not been anchored properly.  Sometimes they can be quiet for months, then a slight movement results in vibration when water is flowing.

Thanks! I was hoping you'd see this. Is there anything to be done, or is it just a case of putting up with it until we move in six months? It's been going on for several months already, and seems to be getting worse rather than better...

Hi!

For me, when doing our house refurb a few years ago, I was able to locate the pipes that were causing the noise and stop by putting some soft packing material on the joists so the pipe wasn't moving and banging in the joist cutouts.

As the carpet was already lifted, it made the job much easier and i was also able to fix and replace bad floorboards as well.

Also, I think over time as better and more efficient boilers and radiators and higher capacity cisterns etc etc have appeared, the piping has pretty much been overlooked in many homes. They're simply too narrow now and add in the complication of internal deposit build up (just like fatty deposits in the human bodys arteries!) they simply cannot move the volumes of water around any more and so give rise to these symptoms.

I dont know what age your property is or if its owned or rented, to resolve, there are ways of fixing and replacing of course, but depends on budget for you and what the main cause of the issue is in yoru particular property. It may be a simple fix that the length of piping running to the cistern is just slightly too small or that all the piping in the property is internally 'furred' up etc...

If yer only there for 6 more months I suspect you are renting, so nothing really much you can do about it except complain to the landlord and see if he can do anything about it and/or if its the property management companies responsibility..

Cheers! DtM! West London & Slough UK!

Yeah, we're renting. There's no estate agency or management company involved. A complaint has been lodged with the landlady, but she's been so slow about fixing serious problems (of which we've had MANY) that something like this is probably hopeless.

On the bright side, at least the toilet *does* flush, which it didn't when we moved in. Not much consolation at 6 am while I'm still trying to sleep...

If it's the ballvalve which is starting the vibration, then it's fairly easy to deal with.  There are several different types of ballvalve mechanism in use though, so details will depend upon the type fitted. 

Otherwise it's case of trying to track down where the pipes are setting up the vibration and taking it from there with clips, packing etc. as Dennis had to do.   

If it's the ballvalve which is starting the vibration, then it's fairly easy to deal with.  There are several different types of ballvalve mechanism in use though, so details will depend upon the type fitted. 

Mmmm, ok, what is a ballvalve and where would it be found? I'm completely clueless about plumbing...

what is a ballvalve and where would it be found?

It's located in the toilet cistern (just lift off the lid and you'll find it).

The traditional type has a floating ball on the end of an operating arm which operates the inlet valve.  When you flush the toilet, the water level in the cistern drops, the float and arm also drop, opening the valve to let water in.  The float rises again as the cistern fills, shutting off the water when it's full.  There are several different types of valve mechanism employed.

Newer cisterns can have a ballvalve which has a different physical arrangement, but the basic principle is the same.

It's located in the toilet cistern (just lift off the lid and you'll find it).

The traditional type has a floating ball on the end of an operating arm which operates the inlet valve.  When you flush the toilet, the water level in the cistern drops, the float and arm also drop, opening the valve to let water in.  The float rises again as the cistern fills, shutting off the water when it's full.  There are several different types of valve mechanism employed.

Newer cisterns can have a ballvalve which has a different physical arrangement, but the basic principle is the same.

That much I think I can handle. Will take a look at it tonight or this weekend. I'm sure I'll be back with more questions!