So I have this situation. If I flush the toilet in my ground-floor bathroom, and then turn the shower on while the toilet tank is still filling, then my copper supply pipes begin buzzing like a hive of angry bees. You can feel the vibration in the floor even. Recently, the problem has gotten worse – now if I turn the water on at the sink while the toilet is filling, the same thing happens.
So what’s going on, and how do I stop it?
I’m interested in this as well; it’s been happening in my house since the water heater was replaced recently. When I’m in the basement near the pipes it sounds like they’re being drummed on or something.
air trapped in water supply line might cause it.
has the water pressure changed? do you have hard water? toilet shut off valve open fully?
Probably not cavitation. Likely it is a loose pipe that is vibrating that needs a pipe strap. The hard part is that it is concealed, so tracking it down is going to be fun. Start by placing your ear against the wall, or use a mechanic’s stethoscope to see if you can find it.
Note that if it is copper pipe, you’ll need a copper strap, or wrap the pipe with tape if you use a steel strap. You don’t want dissimilar metals in contact with each other.
Check your shut off valve on the supply line to the toilet. There may be a loose or corroded washer in the valve that is vibrating when the right flow rate hits.
If you aren’t up for taking it apart, try turning it down a little. The washer will contact the seat and may stop vibrating. It will take longer for the tank to fill, but you’ve already finished your business so do you care that it takes 60 secs instead of 30?
If you are confident of your plumbing skills, (turn off the main water supply) and take apart the shut off valve to see if you can repair it. Personally I would just replace it with something like this. It only takes a quarter turn to shut it off instead of cranking the valve shut, and it is a ball valve that doesn’t have a washer inside to corrode.
Could be a water hammer. If the plumbing system has air risers at each outlet, a water hammer is indicative that the air risers are filled with water and their designed damping effect no longer works. You can fix that by shutting off the water at the main value and open the line at the lowest point to allow water to drain. That will allow the air risers to empty. Then close the value and slowly re-pressurize the system.
New construction probably doesn’t have air risers. So you will probably have to locate the loose pipe(s) in the wall, open the wall and secure them to the studs. If you don’t do that the worst case scenario is the regular vibration with eventually cause a joint to fail and you then have to deal with a damaging leak. Copper piping remains the best but it’s expensive and gave way to cheaper CPVC(?) water pipes in the last decade or so. The problem with these pipes is they will eventually fail (not to mention possible ongoing water contamination). New water pipes use a newer material and are about as good as copper.
I’m not a plumber. I helped build several homes in my time. Recently we endured a water leak and the plumber who came out was more than helpful in bringing us up to speed with the newer technologies (yeah it was the crappy CPVC pipe where the leak occurred).
There’s also the possibility that you have a hive of angry bees in the pipes. Close the lid before flushing.