Help all the pipes are banging in the house, its driving me mad

toejumper

the main pipe that feeds the house is banging all the time they even bang when we aren't running any water. dh has bled all the pipes to see if there's an air lock it works for a few days then there banging again, its driving me up the wall, can anyone suggest anything else to stop this from happening.
Thanks steph

googler

Consult a plumber about fitting a Surge Arrester as close to the mains water supply as possible. If you're getting it when not using water, it might be pressure waves from your neighbours turning water on and off.....

xtra_time

my pipes bang too - i worry its doing harm also selling my house its not good if they bang when viewers come round. We got a plumber round who said nothing to worry about his pipes bang too!!

julianashcroft

Mine used to do that, I found if I turned the stop !!!! down a bit the problem went away.

toejumper

We have tried all sorts turned the water pressure up then turned it down, bled the pipes. the noise is so loud putting the washing machine on is a nightmare.

keystone

What you have is water hammer. Its caused by a number of things; pipes incorrectly clipped (if at all), fast acting appliance valves, 1/4 turn ceramic disk taps shutting off the supply too quickly, worn washers and diaphragms in ball and float valves. All these should be checked first. A quick fix is to close your mains stopcock ½ a turn but that is treating the symptom not the cause and the items I mentioned should be checked out in any event.

Fitting a shock arrestor is one approach but, again, I regard it as treating the symptom not the cause and would only suggest this as a last resort.

What you must not do is ignore it (as if you could ). Water hammer will in due time cause joints to fail and then you'll have more water than you bargain for.

Cheers

keystone

toejumper wrote: »

We have tried all sorts turned the water pressure up then turned it down, bled the pipes. the noise is so loud putting the washing machine on is a nightmare.

There you go then. Its prolly the W/M fill valve thats causing it. Are the pipes securely clipped in the vicinity of the W/M?

Cheers

toejumper

this is what we cant under stand dh has cliped all the pipes under the floor boards, the water was turned off on the street a while ago and we think they might have turned the presurre on to much.

toejumper

keystone wrote: »

There you go then. Its prolly the W/M fill valve thats causing it. Are the pipes securely clipped in the vicinity of the W/M?

Cheers

what is a W/M valve, thanks

keystone

You can't change the pressure by opening and closing a valve. What you do by closing a valve is reduce the flow rate - the pressure won't change. The only way that the pressure in the street can be higher is if your water utitility is pumping it at higher pressure than previously. Ring 'em up and ask them if thats what they are doing. Tell them that this only started after they've been working in the street and see if that gives you a free visit.

You definitely need to check your valves. Water Co working in the street almost inevitably leads to carp in the supply pipes. If said carp gets into your valves and stops them working properly that can be a contributory factor.

Cheers

keystone

toejumper wrote: »

what is a W/M valve, thanks

Washing Machine.