Do you hear clanging and banging inside your walls? No, it’s probably not ghosts, but it can be just as troublesome. You likely have loose mounting straps, which can lead to noisy pipes. Pipes rattle every time a faucet is turned on, and it can feel as if your home is falling apart.
Thankfully, fixing the issue is fairly straightforward and can end your nightmares.
What Are Mounting Straps?
Mounting straps are what holds your plumbing system together. You probably don’t even think about mounting straps on a regular day. But when they’re loose, you’ll hear about them.
Mounting straps are hooks that secure the pipes to the house’s frame. They can be vinyl, metal, or even plumbers tape. If one (or more) loosens, that pipe will vibrate.
Mounting straps can become loose for several reasons. One reason is water hammers. If your home has high water pressure, water hammers will shake the pipes. The water hammer is caused by water slamming into closed pipes. The result is a really, really loud noise inside your walls.
Over time, the water hammers cause vibrating pipes. These, in turn, lead to loose mounting straps. And that means more noisy pipes. If the pipes are close to the home’s frame, they will bang against it, creating those loud vibrations you hear every time you turn on and off your water.
How to Fix Loose Mounting Straps Yourself
Mounting straps that have been shaken loose will have to either be repaired or replaced. If they’re easily accessible, you might be able to take this on yourself.
Steps to fix loose mounting straps:
Check all of your pipes – Look under sinks, in the attic, and in the garage for exposed pipes. Then inspect each mounting strap’s integrity.
Prep your tools – You’ll need a piece of wood, a screwdriver, and plumbers tape.
Tighten the straps – First, wedge a piece of wood securely between the frame and loose pipe. This will prevent vibrations when faucets are on or off. Then tighten any loose screws securely. Finally, tape up the mounting straps as needed.
Call a professional – If the mounting straps are more than just a little loose, then you might have a bigger issue.
The Problem Behind the Problem
Once you’ve secured the mounting straps and eliminated your noisy pipes, you’re likely not quite done. You should consider this a temporary fix to a potentially bigger issue: high water pressure. You won’t have loose straps for no reason. The behind-the-scenes reason is probably too high water pressure.
Most buildings should have water running at a PSI of no higher than 80. For most homes getting city water, however, the water could be coming from the main at 100 PSI or higher. So your fragile pipes have to deal with water that’s flowing through too fast. And the problem that then occurs is damage to the pipes. And one of the first signs is, of course, loose mounting straps.
Call a Professional
Whether or not you can fix the loose mounting straps yourself, you should still make a call to the Phoenix plumbing professionals at Forrest Anderson.
If it’s true that high water pressure is the problem, then you’ll need to address that issue first. That may require a regulator to reduce the pressure. And it also might mean more damage has happened to the pipes that you can’t see.
If you hear loud noises coming from inside your wall, then don’t call Ghostbusters. Call Forrest Anderson! We’ll be there to fix the problem and make things quiet again.
Contact Forrest Anderson Today!