We are full-service plumbing and gas specialists. Enjoy complete confidence when you call Zambezi.
We are full-service plumbing and gas specialists. Enjoy complete confidence when you call Zambezi.
How to Fix Water Hammer
While water hammer sounds like a complex or foreign term, it’s common and something you’ve probably experienced. If you have ever been in a home and heard thumping or pounding when you turned off a tap, you have witnessed the water hammering effect.
Here is some valuable information on how to fix water hammer.
It is a fairly common occurrence in residential properties. What a lot of homeowners don’t realise is that banging or thumping water lines in your walls is a potentially serious issue, not just a simple annoyance.
At the very least excessive water pressure will eventually lead to leaks, but double up pressure spikes with a water heater featuring a failed pressure relief valve.
A hammer occurs when water suddenly changes direction for example when you turn off the tap. The change causes pressure waves in the pipes and can be a plumbing nuisance to the point that when pressure is high, it can cause serious pipe damage.
Plumbing that’s properly installed has air chambers, or cushions, which compress when the shock wave hits. This softens the blow and preventing this hammering noise. The chambers can fail though because water under pressure gradually absorbs the air, and the hammer begins to occur.
5 Common Causes of Noisy Pipes
- Poor pipe installation
- ‘Flick mixer’ taps
- Faulty tap washers
- Solenoid valves on appliances such as dishwashers and washing machines
- High water pressure
Call Us to Fix Your Banging Water Pipes
We ensure pipework is securely fastened during construction; it can be very difficult to do this later on. Other options include the use of water hammer suppression devices.
Instead of ‘flick mixer’ taps that shut the water off suddenly, fitting ‘soft close’ mixer taps with a built-in shock absorber system.
If a water hammer does occur in a particular area, it may help to replace plastic or ceramic tap washers with brass tap washers. Ceramic washers can break easily, and water will have to shut off at the mains to change.
We can install hammer arresters on washing machine taps. Often the solenoid valve in washing machines causes the pipes to rattle and clunk. Reducing your water pressure can also reduce the water hammering, so we can also fit a ‘pressure limiting valve.’
Book a Plumber Today
We are more than happy to give advice on which solution is most suitable for your needs, depending on your Plumbing requirements. Why not ask us to view your property and discuss the various options with you now!