Houses make noise. They may creak and groan as they settle. Appliances turn themselves on and off. Perhaps mice scuttle in the walls. But if you’re hearing a sudden hammering sound, it can be very startling! Don’t worry, your house isn’t haunted. But if a ghost isn’t knocking around, banging into your plumbing, what could that terrible sound be?
This sound is caused by a serious plumbing problem. It’s called water hammer, and if you’re hearing it, you need a plumber. What’s going on in your pipes to make that sound? We’ll tell you all about it.
How Water Can Hammer
You might wonder if something is hitting your pipes from the outside. But water hammer is actually occurring inside the pipes. It has to do with pressure. Another term for it is hydraulic shock. When the temperature, and thus the pressure, changes suddenly inside your plumbing, it can be very loud.
Expansion and contraction of the pipes, and sudden bursts of steam or water hitting the inside of the pipes, will make hammering sounds. Now, your pipes are made to handle normal amounts of pressure and intensity, which is already quite a bit. But they’re not actually made to handle this.
How Water Hammer Causes Damage
This shuddering, slamming pressure can cause the pipes to hit each other or other things. It puts a lot of strain on the plumbing system as well as everything that surrounds it. But it also degrades the very pipes themselves. Excessive, sudden changes in temperature and pressure will gradually make the metal more brittle. This increases the chances of a major plumbing emergency like a burst pipe occurring.
Why Water Hammer Happens
Now that we’re clear on what’s going on, and why we don’t want it to happen, how did it occur in the first place? There are two main causes of water hammer. Either one requires the help of a qualified plumber to remedy.
First, it could have to do with your water heater. If it’s producing inconsistent hot water temperatures, creating sudden bursts of excessively heated water, you can end up with steam inside your pipes. This means there’s far too much pressure, and steam can move much faster than water, carrying that pressure throughout your home very abruptly.
The other possibility is that it has to do with condensation. There are chambers within your plumbing that are not meant to contain water—they have air, which acts as a sort of cushion. As condensation occurs, it should naturally drip back down through the system. But if there’s too much condensation, or your pipes are too narrow (perhaps from layers of mineral scaling), the air chambers can become filled with water.
Regardless of the cause, if you’re hearing water hammer in Skokie, IL, you need the help of a plumber before it does any serious damage.
For expert plumbing service, installations, or maintenance, contact Reliance Plumbing Sewer & Drainage, Inc. Our knowledgeable plumbers serve the North Shore and Northwest Chicago suburbs. Rely on Reliance!