Plumbing Advice : How to Fix Whining Water Pipes

Whining water pipes can be caused by air or poor pressure. Fix your whining water pipes with the help of this free video presented by a professional and experienced plumber.

Expert: Terry Matsamas
Bio: Terry Matsamas has worked for Towers Murray Plumbing since 1991.
Filmmaker: Michael Burton

Series Description: Knowing how to perform basic pluming chores can save you hundreds of dollars in home maintenance fees. Learn basic plumbing skills from a professional plumber in this free video series.

[denaimbergamo]

We have gone through singing pipes every summer for years. We live in a townhouse and felt bad for our neighbors. THANK YOU!!

[estherhebert]

Yours is the best of the plumbing help videos I've seen.  Others have poor light or the "fixer"'s body gets in the way, also the sound is not clear.  Yours has none of the faults.Thanks

[MurrayEstes]

Thanks! My mother side of the family is from Kamas, Utah since 1840 or
Murray
Honolulu Hawaii

[bobh.]

I live in an area of Bountiful Utah that has a high mineral content in the water. My pipes are "whining" (a very loud high frequency screaming) every time I use any faucet or toilet or shower. I removed my pressure reducing valve (this Watts N35B DUS valve is simple to remove and replace; it just screws off.) I soaked it in a bowl of 100% CLR-Cleaner (I purchased a couple bottles at Dollar Tree). The valve openings were completely submerged. I soaked it for 30 minutes. I reinstalled the valve and thankfully no more noise. Unfortunately after an hour the whining began again at times (intermittent occurrences only). The good news: I positively isolated the problem to the valve; so after I install a new valve, the problem will be totally solved. I called Watts: they do not advise soaking valve in CLR, because the acidic solution may destroy the internal rubber components; my only option is to replace the valve. (Note: At Dollar Tree CLR-Cleaner is called "LA's Totally Awesome Calcium/Lime/Rust All-Purpose Cleaner, 32 oz.") BH June-2017

[dekerdoo]

Simple explaination. Short and to the point. Thank You

[danverville]

Terry.... thank you for breaking down in a super easy way how to accomplish this task that to me was intimidating, but with your directions cross this baby of my to do list! I will pass this onto anyone I know that needs this easy solution to a loud problem. Thank You

[oreoobro]

My plumbing was making a sound kinda like a whining/siren sound.  It seemed to be coming from our utility room which is where water comes into the house.  The sound would occur whenever water was turned on, be it from a toilet flush or a sink turned on or the clothes washer.  I took a butter knife and butted it up against the pipes near the pressure regulator valve and the regulator itself.  The vibrations seemed to be strongest when the knife was butted up against the regulator itself.  The regulator we have is a Watts LF25AUBZ3.  It looks a lot like the regulator in the vid clip.  I have a pressure gauge that I hooked up to the clothes washer cold water supply and found that the pressure was over 80 psi which seemed high.  That led me to try adjusting the pressure regulator to see if I could affect the whining sound.  I found that even after turning the adjusting screw 6 full turns I could not affect the pressure or the whining.  I decided to buy a new pressure regulator valve.  The install went well.  There was a union on one side and a simple threaded fitting on the other.  After installing, I adjusted the pressure to 55 psi.  The whining/siren sound was gone.  I was curious about what went wrong with the original valve so I disassembled it.  The screen was clean.  However, I did find a chunk of something that came out of the regulator.  Not sure what it was, but maybe something had come apart inside.  Oh well, who knows.  It cost about $100 for the new regulator.  Home Depot  had it cheaper online, but McGuckin (in Boulder, CO) had it on the shelf.

[johnsolodovesky]

I get hammering noise when I flush any of the toilets in my house, I increased the water pressure on the pressure regulator and the noise disappeared, however, the water pipes in my house started to leak, two of the leaks near the water heater in the garage and a third one in the kitchen sealing, be careful with the pressure regulator adjustment.

[livelifefullyday]

In warmer climates you can find the "pressure regulator" usually right where the water enters your house (not at the main on the street, ) It's usually buried in an easy access "box" with a shut off valve before it.

In colder climates it's usually inside near your water heater. Also, don't confuse a "pressure regulator" with a "pressure relief valve" which is actually attached to your water heater (the two are have completely different functions.)

One last thing, be careful how (high) you make the pressure, you can actual cause pipes to burst with too much pressure. Cheers!

[Mantha]

Thanks for this. I just fixed my squeaky water regulator and saved myself some $$$. Thanks!!!!

[sokkaleo]

This is fantastic. Well-done video. Thank you

[hibanramirez]

Thank you very much Terry, my valve is making that noise but now with your video I know what to do, Thank you once again

[thescurry]

My wife thinks I'm a genius!! Thanks for the advice, worked like a charm!

[rosewood]

Thank you!!!! Mine groans. But I can fix it now! 😊

[m.ejimenez]

Thanks a lot it really worked. You’ve resolved my problem.

[martea]

Where is this pressure regulator usually located?

[khuynh]

Thank you very much, Terry! I have this problem and will fix it soon.

[courseofvirtue]

Is it usually due to high pressure or low pressure?

[sergiogonzalez]

This helped so much. Thank you for making this video.

[annecraig]

Could someone please tell me where to find this valve?