Water hammer is that loud thudding sound whenever the water stops entering your dishwasher or washing machine or turning off a tap. Apart from the noise sounding disturbing, it also indicates the presence of a significant plumbing problem.
Why The Thudding Sound?
Ordinarily, plumbing pipes are designed to pressure the water passing through them. Hence, they rush through the tap when you open it. Turning the tap off suddenly makes the water collide with the closed valve, producing a hydraulic shock. This shock can be highly imparting, causing issues like loose fittings, broken or burst pipes, or damaged water-connected appliances.
Your pipes can be displaced from the jolt by the shockwaves emanating from the water hammer, and in cases where strong pipe straps are used to hold the joists, these pipes may bang against your walls. This means more noise and higher chances of damage.
How To Stop Water Hammer?
Installing air chambers is the best fix, except in cases where the plumbing system is very old. The air chamber is a short vertical pipe, usually installed right behind a valve but slightly higher than it. Instead of being filled with water, the air chambers contain air, which serves as a shock absorber whenever there is an abrupt stop in the water flow.
Even at that, a water hammer may occur at valves with air chambers installed. This is usually caused by the entry of water into the air chamber, thus making the air chamber ineffective at protecting the valve. To fix this, shut off your home’s main water valve and open the taps at the lowest and highest points of the structure. This will drain out all the remaining water in your plumbing system, allowing the air chambers to be refilled. Reopen your main water valve and see if the affected appliance or tap no longer makes the thudding sound.
Installing plumbing systems without air chambers may be the best fix for a water hammer situation. Alternatively, you can install water hammer arrestors in such places. The arrestor is a sealed system. Thus the chances of water entering are slim. However, arrestors are only effective for a short time, unlike air chambers that could last for decades.
What Is Your Water Pressure?
Your home’s water pressure should not be too high; you will continue to experience water hammers whether or not you have arrestors or air chambers in place. You can quickly check your water pressure using a water pressure gauge. Once the gauge is screwed onto the hose bib, open the tap fully while closing all the other fixtures and taps in your home.
Your water pressure is safe if you have a pressure range of 50 and 80 psi. However, anything higher or lower means you need to take action.
The best action is to report to your local water utility so that they can bring in someone to regularise it for you at the water meter. Alternatively, you can contact a licensed plumber to install a water pressure regulator in your home.
Discovering a water hammer and fixing the issue is a fairly simple DIY exercise. However, it is possible to face problems along the way, perhaps while installing pressure regulators, water hammer arrestors, and other more complicated steps. In such cases, feel free to seek some professional assistance by bringing in a qualified local plumber.
While water hammer may appear as a simple issue, it must be attended to immediately.
