# Turbulent sound in toilet pipe? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 20, 2013, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turbulent-sound-in-toilet-pipe/656177 "2013-04-20T00:20:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turbulent-sound-in-toilet-pipe/656177/1 "2013-04-20T00:20:22Z")
Master bedroom bathroom toilet. There is a sound of water running that seems to be coming from the pipe going _into_ the toilet. The toilet itself is not running. In fact, this pipe also contains the valve that shuts off water to the toilet, and when I shut it off, the sound remains. It’s annoying, and I also worry that water is running somehow/somewhere in a way that could be costing me money. It makes no sense. The water in that pipe can’t be going _anywhere_ (I think), and so I can’t understand why it would suddenly be making noise. Since the day before yesterday, it has been making the same noise at the same volume no matter what. Thanks for your ideas! ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turbulent-sound-in-toilet-pipe/656177/2 "2013-04-20T00:39:19Z")
I’m going to guess that water is running from the tank into the toilet. That’s why you still hear the sound when you shut off the water. Try shutting off the water then flushing the toilet to drain the tank and see if it stops (or stops soon after). ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turbulent-sound-in-toilet-pipe/656177/3 "2013-04-20T01:00:55Z")
No, that doesn’t fix it. In fact, the sound seems concentrated down near the wall, where the pipe goes into the wall. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turbulent-sound-in-toilet-pipe/656177/4 "2013-04-20T01:02:07Z")
Is it raining or really windy? ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turbulent-sound-in-toilet-pipe/656177/5 "2013-04-20T01:23:21Z")
It has been raining, but it isn’t now. It’s been fairly windy. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turbulent-sound-in-toilet-pipe/656177/6 "2013-04-20T01:50:07Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > It has been raining, but it isn’t now. It’s been fairly windy. If it’s really windy you’ll get a bit of a vacuum created in your vent which can draw water out of the bowl. That could cause the sound, but I see it’s been ongoing for a few days. Also, you’ll usually notice the water swishing around when that happens. You might check to see if any of the other toilets in your house are running/leaking or anything else in your house that’s tricking into the drain (say a furnace drain or sump pump) and the sound is echoing up through the vent system. There’s also the possibility that you have a clog in your drain pipe somewhere and what you’re hearing is the water that’s built up behind it slowly trickling past it. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turbulent-sound-in-toilet-pipe/656177/7 "2013-04-20T01:52:24Z")
It’s a really rushing sound, as though a lot of water were going _right_ through that pipe, yet that’s impossible. That water has to be going into the toilet, yet it’s not going anywhere. It’s quite a mystery to me. I could see other sound being carried by the metal of the pipe, but I don’t hear it anywhere else in the house. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turbulent-sound-in-toilet-pipe/656177/8 "2013-04-20T02:04:54Z")
When you say that you shut it off, you mean you shut it off at the shutoff under the toilet, right? (Just need to be sure). Is the pipe under the toilet cold? As if water’s been coming into it for the last 24 hours? Is the water in the bowl moving, like water is flowing into it? Have you checked every other source of water and drain in the house to make sure nothing is going on there? There’s a drain behind the toilet that goes down to your basement, but it also goes up to the roof and nose can echo up through it. You don’t want to start replacing the internal tank parts in one toilet only to find out that someone left the sink in the basement on and that’s what you’re hearing. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turbulent-sound-in-toilet-pipe/656177/9 "2013-04-20T02:17:18Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > When you say that you shut it off, you mean you shut it off at the shutoff under the toilet, right? (Just need to be sure). Yes, right. > [@](#): > > Is the pipe under the toilet cold? As if water’s been coming into it for the last 24 hours? Cool, not frigid, and it’s been in the high 30s here yesterday and today. > [@](#): > > Is the water in the bowl moving, like water is flowing into it? Nope, no movement. I’m sure the toilet isn’t “running.” When I shut off the water to it, drain the tank, same sound. > [@](#): > > Have you checked every other source of water and drain in the house to make sure nothing is going on there? There’s a drain behind the toilet that goes down to your basement, but it also goes up to the roof and nose can echo up through it. > You don’t want to start replacing the internal tank parts in one toilet only to find out that someone left the sink in the basement on and that’s what you’re hearing. The house is a pretty simple ranch. There’s one other bathroom with no similar sound going on. I looked at the water heater, reverse osmosis system in the kitchen, etc. No water shenanigans, it would appear. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turbulent-sound-in-toilet-pipe/656177/10 "2013-04-20T02:24:36Z")
Is there any possibility that it might sound like an animal in the vent system as opposed to water? Think claws trying to climb PVC or a birds nesting up at the top. ---
**Author:** ![shadowofneo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/54ee81/32.png) [@shadowofneo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shadowofneo)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turbulent-sound-in-toilet-pipe/656177/11 "2013-04-20T03:11:15Z")
there is a sinkhole in your area, get your local officials to have seismic and density checks in and around your property…otherwise, hope you can fly ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turbulent-sound-in-toilet-pipe/656177/12 "2013-04-20T03:24:54Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Is there any possibility that it might sound like an animal in the vent system as opposed to water? Think claws trying to climb PVC or a birds nesting up at the top. No, it is a constant sound. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turbulent-sound-in-toilet-pipe/656177/13 "2013-04-20T03:26:01Z")
> [@shadowofneo](#): > > there is a sinkhole in your area, get your local officials to have seismic and density checks in and around your property…otherwise, hope you can fly Ya think? ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turbulent-sound-in-toilet-pipe/656177/14 "2013-04-20T03:27:15Z")
I have the same sound in my bathroom when the house in front of me runs water. We are on the same water main which is 1" pipe. I have a 3/4 pipe comming off of it which feeds the back house. We are maybe 40 ft apart but I still get the sound like water is running in my bathroom. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turbulent-sound-in-toilet-pipe/656177/15 "2013-04-20T03:33:04Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > I have the same sound in my bathroom when the house in front of me runs water. We are on the same water main which is 1" pipe. I have a 3/4 pipe comming off of it which feeds the back house. We are maybe 40 ft apart but I still get the sound like water is running in my bathroom. Interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turbulent-sound-in-toilet-pipe/656177/16 "2013-04-20T03:33:31Z")
I suppose the next thing I would try is shutting off the water to the house. Then, no water can come in. Then see if you still hear the noise. If you do, then we know it’s not water being ‘pushed’ in from the mains. It’s water that’s either sitting a toilet tank, a sump pump or french drain system or maybe even a neighbor emptying their pool into the sewer and you’re hearing that echo back up through the drain system (unlikely, but I’m grasping at straws here). Either way, I’d shut off the water to the house and check again. At least to give us something to work with. For the record, without hearing it with my own ears, I’m still leaning towards the toilet being the culprit. Have you taken the lid of the toilet and physically looked in there yet? You might be able to see the water running right down the overflow tube. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turbulent-sound-in-toilet-pipe/656177/17 "2013-04-20T03:35:50Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > I have the same sound in my bathroom when the house in front of me runs water. We are on the same water main which is 1" pipe. I have a 3/4 pipe comming off of it which feeds the back house. We are maybe 40 ft apart but I still get the sound like water is running in my bathroom. Maybe someone is filling a pool then. Filling a backyard pool (the big 3-4000 gallon ones you buy at KMart) take 2 or 3 days to do with a garden hose. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turbulent-sound-in-toilet-pipe/656177/18 "2013-04-20T03:53:46Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > For the record, without hearing it with my own ears, I’m still leaning towards the toilet being the culprit. > Have you taken the lid of the toilet and physically looked in there yet? You might be able to see the water running right down the overflow tube. It can’t be. I turned off the water to the toilet and flushed all the water out of it with the top tank being empty. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turbulent-sound-in-toilet-pipe/656177/19 "2013-04-20T04:03:26Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > It can’t be. I turned off the water to the toilet and flushed all the water out of it with the top tank being empty. Are you certain that the shut off is in good working order and closes fully? OTOH, if you shut it off and then flushed the toilet, I’d guess the bowl would have to refill before you’d hear the sound again if it had anything to do with water coming from the tank, into the bowl and then going to the drain, and you’d have seen that. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turbulent-sound-in-toilet-pipe/656177/20 "2013-04-20T04:53:35Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Are you certain that the shut off is in good working order and closes fully? OTOH, if you shut it off and then flushed the toilet, I’d guess the bowl would have to refill before you’d hear the sound again if it had anything to do with water coming from the tank, into the bowl and then going to the drain, and you’d have seen that. Right. Water gone from the tank, no more water coming in. And the sound is not coming from there anyway. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turbulent-sound-in-toilet-pipe/656177.md?page=2)