Singing pipes

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diy-mark

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This is a strange one.

We went on vacation a couple of years ago and stayed in a cabin in the NC mountains. The cabin was named "Singing Waters" because it sat above a gurgling stream.

We had turned our water off before we left.

When we got back home and turned our water back on, we noticed that every time we turned on any faucet in the house, we had "singing pipes".

It's kind of a mid-range humming sound that seems to be coming from under the house. It never did this before. It started when we got back from "Singing Waters" and we make jokes about how we must have brought back some kind of virus or something.

I started another thread in this forum about changing all my pipes and I want to be sure that whatever is causing our "singing pipes" will go away when I replace all my pipes.

Does anybody have any idea of why the pipes are singing like this?
 

Herk

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DIY-Mark said:
Does anybody have any idea of why the pipes are singing like this?

They're glad you came home?

If that's not the case, it's likely to be a loose part somewhere - perhaps inside the valve you turned off while you were gone. Maybe a fill valve in a toilet.
 

diy-mark

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Hi Herk

The humming happens no matter where the water is being drawn from in the house.

We turned the water off where it meets the house from the street.

And maybe they were glad we came home but if so, they're over doing the enthusiasm at this point. The music is getting kinda old. :cool:
 

Jadnashua

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The washer in the main shutoff valve may be old and brittle. It may now be vibrating in the waterflow.
 

diy-mark

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The washer in the main shutoff valve may be old and brittle. It may now be vibrating in the waterflow.

I suppose that's possible even though it's probably the newest (about 12 years old) valve in the whole house.

But at this point, your explanation seems to make the most sense.
 

Cass

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If you have a pressure reducing valve I have seen on rare occasions where they will hum.

You should be able to find the point where the sound seems to be the loudest although sound can telescope and seem to be coming from somewhere else.
 

diy-mark

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If you have a pressure reducing valve I have seen on rare occasions where they will hum.

I don't think I have one. Where would it be located if I did?

I went outside a little while ago and put my wife's knitting needle up to the valve that comes into my house and put my ear to it and it sounds like that's where the sound is coming from.
 
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