thumping or knocking pipes?
We have some noisy pipes in our house. We hear it/them when we turn off the water to one of the two showers or flush one of the two toilets. I think we sometimes hear them when we turn off the fausets at one of the bathroom sinks but now that I think about it, that could be my imagination. It sounds like a ‘whomp-whomp-whomp-whomp-whomp…then it stops. Anyone understand my discription and have any idea what it might be? Is it a problem? We have been hearing it for a long time, years (?), but I think I am hearing it a lot more often now.
If the house was constructed prior to the early 80’s it most likely has field manufactured water hammer arrestors. One of the drawbacks of field manufactured hammer arrestors is that they can become waterlogged over time.
The immediate solution is to turn the main water supply valve off and drain the house water system, then refill the water system. This will trap a new supply of air in the hammer arrestors and alleviate the problem.
Typically this needs to be done about once every two years.
or
Sounds like “water hammer” which is quite common. Also easy to remedy via adding an expansion tank (air cushion device) in the line. Where to place it depends on your plumbing scheme and ease of access but closer to main supply is usually best.
