Dear Allegra,
My home is 8 years old. I am the original owner. My pipes have started to rattle when I turn off the water. It doesn’t matter on which faucet. What could be the problem? – Donna
Dear Donna,
The source of the rattle could be a number of things and not necessarily that easy to fix. That’s not to say that in your case, the problem doesn’t have a simple solution. You need to check things and narrow the problem down through the process of elimination. This will help you determine whether the fix is something you can do yourself or if experienced help is needed. I hope to give you some places to start looking.
Among some of the possible causes for the rattle are clogged aerators on the faucets, damaged washers or a loose pipe.
The easiest thing to check first is clogged aerators. Aerators are the little strainers that screw onto the mouth of the faucets in the kitchen and bathroom. These strainers catch sediment, which can build up in the strainer and cause irregularities with water flow. The most common problem is water coming through the faucet slowly or not at all. The sediment could be backing up in the line interfering with the cutoff valve.
Loose straps
Another thing to check is the security of the pipes. Typically, the freshwater pipes are anchored in place by straps, and sometimes these steadying devices can come loose or break, leaving the pipes untethered so they rattle when the water runs through under its normal pressure. Tracking down the loose pipe will take at least two people.
One of you would stand by at the sink to turn the faucet on and off on command. The other person, the rover, will roam through the house and try to pin down the area where the pipe is the noisiest each time the faucet is turned off. If the noisy pipe is in the wall, you will have to decide whether you want to carefully cut through to reach it yourself, and replace the strap or band or hire a plumber or a handy person to do so, assuming they have the tools and the know-how. Take nothing for granted. Check them out.
Other things to think about
Have you had any work done in the house recently? Perhaps refinishing the basement, installing a bathroom or installing or replacing a washing machine. The pipes could have been disturbed.
‘Old wives’ Tales’
Today, I rise in defense of “old wives” tales. This is about wallpaper. Lately, there are salespeople with products to sell denouncing the white vinegar and water solution for removing wallpaper as an “old wives’ tale.” Well, let’s just say it is. That’s not a bad thing. Many an old wife knew what she was talking about, having gathered through experience the information she generously shared. Who else in the house would be experienced with removing wall paper?
So to answer a question I was asked about a solution for removing wallpaper, I stand by vinegar and water. First, see what kind of wall covering you have. Check if it can be slowly peeled away from the wall. If the top layer is vinyl you quite possibly could lift whole panels off without much trouble, leaving an adhesive layer to remove. If the paper is heavily glued or the top layer is thin paper then the job will not be as smooth.
Begin by liberally scoring or piercing the wall covering then generously sponge or spray on a solution of equal parts vinegar and hot water. The key here is to get moisture to the adhesive or glued backing. Let the application sit about five minutes, or long enough to penetrate and scrape using a putty knife. Start to scrape at the bottom edge of a panel by nudging a corner of the covering free. You may be able to lift the whole piece away coaxing it along by pushing the underside of it with the putty knife.
The precaution is the sheetrock wall itself has a paper covering. So go slowly and deliberately to assure you don’t dig too deeply and damage the wall.
Allegra Bennett has covered cops, courts and politics as a journalist for national newspapers for 21 years. She is also the author of three books, publisher of Renovating Woman — “The Do-It-Herself magazine” — and is a home repair expert on “Home Made Easy” on the DIY cable network. Got questions? E-mail your question to [email protected]
