running water noise - any bright ideas

pramsay13

any suggestions welcome.
There's a running water sound coming from somewhere. It is loudest under the kitchen sink, which is flanked by a washer / dryer and a dishwasher. It sounds like water is running constantly through a pipe rather than a leaking or dripping sound.
It seems to have just started today so might be linked to thawing snow although I can't figure what the link might be.
Anyone?

spirit

That happened to me last winter. the sound woke me up in the night. I couldn't figure out what it was. In the end I opened the back door and sound was even louder.

There was water gushing out on the patio from the outside tap. It had frozen up and sprung a leak. I got someone in to replace the burst pipe and has been fine since. I always have turned the outside taps (back and front of house) off at the stopcock and turned the tap on to prevent this but it was last year and is at the moment flippin freezing!

roger196

Use a rolled up newspaper or cardboard tube as a stethoscope to try to locate the noise.

chris_n_tj

We had this problem last year. Hubby said i was losing the plot as he couldnt hear anything. It was louder at night due to it being quiet. Anyway I phoned the water board and it seemed we had an under ground leak which they repaired for us free of charge. So phone your water supplier, (Yorkshire water give you one free repair every 2 yerars) I cant say what the other water suppliers do.
Chris n TJ

Mankysteve

Could be a leak under the floor boards. Have you noticed a drop in pressure at any of the taps.

pramsay13

Mankysteve wrote: »

Could be a leak under the floor boards. Have you noticed a drop in pressure at any of the taps.

A little bit with the cold water taps, but nothing exciting.

Jeannine

Hate to say it, but when this happened to me it turned out to be a leak in the underground pipe outside the house. It was really puzzling when I first heard it as it sounded like water rushing through the pipe, but obviously there was no visible leak. A plumber will be able to identify the source...

pramsay13

It's sounds as though there is a lot of rushing water, but far away. Is there any reason why water might be flowing if it is not being used in the house for plumbing or heating requirements?
If it is a burst pipe outside which I guess is possible given the recent weather, is that an insurance issue, or something we'll have to sort?

keith969

Do you have any outside taps? Or a tap in an outbuilding e.g. garage etc.? Is there any sign of a stopcock under the sink with a pipe that might lead to something outside?

macman

Turn the stopcock off to try and establish where the source of the leak/noise is.
If you have a water meter, is it still moving when nothing else is running?

pramsay13

Thanks for all your help so far...

keith969 wrote: »

Do you have any outside taps? Or a tap in an outbuilding e.g. garage etc.? Is there any sign of a stopcock under the sink with a pipe that might lead to something outside?

There is an outside tap which is working fine, stopcock works as normal for it.

macman wrote: »

If you have a water meter, is it still moving when nothing else is running?

No water meter so we can't check that.

Could all the thawing snow be rushing through underground pipes (or am I clutching at straws)?