Hot Water Whistles

[ImaDufus]

My shower hot water whistles.

I start my shower, check the water temperature and then step into the tub. After a period of time, I increase the hot water and decrease the cold. I have back trouble and hot water on my lower back seems to help.

At a certain point, when I adjust the hot water, it starts to whistle. What causes this? How is it corrected?

Thanks

Tim

[Archie]

About the only idea I can think of (and I am no plumber) is that it might not be the hot but rather the cold faucet.

By turning it down in order to get more of the hot water you may possibly be closing the valve close to its shutoff point thus causing the whistle.

Try turning off the cold water all the way once the whistle begins to see if it stops. If it does you may need to adjust the temp on your water heater to make it hotter. This will require more cold water at the tap causing you to open the valve more, hence no whistle.

Hope it helps.

[ImaDufus]

I have turned up the hot water from 120 to 130 degrees to see what happens.

Good idea about turning off the cold to see if it still makes the noise. I will try that next

Thanks for the input.

Tim

About the only idea I can think of (and I am no plumber) is that it might not be the hot but rather the cold faucet.

By turning it down in order to get more of the hot water you may possibly be closing the valve close to its shutoff point thus causing the whistle.

Try turning off the cold water all the way once the whistle begins to see if it stops. If it does you may need to adjust the temp on your water heater to make it hotter. This will require more cold water at the tap causing you to open the valve more, hence no whistle.

Hope it helps.

[Sylvia]

The best I can tell you is that it's the water presssure.

When my middle child, the boy wonder, was little, we had a kitchen faucet that whistled. It was very noisy.

Boy wonder came up to me and simply said, "Mommy it's the pressure". At age 4 I didn't put much thought into his statement. He came back and said to turn on the water and then turn it back on. No more whistle. I don't know what causes it but it worked.

Until you can figure out what is causing it, normally if you turn either one temp on and then the other and off again it should work without it making all the noise.

BTW boy wonder, mostly grown up, with an IQ in the 160 range has gone on to make pizza. :~{

[StillKavey]

They sell these little plumbing devices that look like a CO2 cartridge that are designed for this. But if you dont have copper plumbing I doubt they have them. But it is like a silencer that goes above the water source and "silences" this. I cant think of what they are called but they put them in all stickbuilts these days.

My info is useless because i know of no comparable device for pex or any MH plumbing.

[ImaDufus]

Thanks for the response.

I have yet to determine where the sound is coming from: cold water side, hot water side, or shower head. I am going to scrounge a piece of garden hose someplace and cut it to a three foot length then use it as a stethoscope. The problem isnt high on my list. I just wondered why it made that noise.

Thanks

Tim

They sell these little plumbing devices that look like a CO2 cartridge that are designed for this. But if you dont have copper plumbing I doubt they have them. But it is like a silencer that goes above the water source and "silences" this. I cant think of what they are called but they put them in all stickbuilts these days.

My info is useless because i know of no comparable device for pex or any MH plumbing.

[skunkman]

Here are some things from yahoo answers you might try to help eliminate the noise.

How to Silence a Noisy Faucet
Faucets can scream, whistle, or chatter when you turn them on or off. There are several possible causes for these ear-shattering phenomena. If your house is newly built, you may have pipes that are too small to allow the water to pass through them properly. Similarly, pipes in older homes can become restricted by the formation of scale, indicated by a noisy faucet. In either case, you must replace the pipes to get rid of the noise, which is not really a quick fix.

Most likely, however, your noisy faucet is caused by a washer that is either the wrong size or is not held securely to the stem. Turn off the water supply before starting on this or any other faucet repair job. Replacing the washer or tightening it should eliminate the noise. If the faucet still makes noise, check the washer seat. The seat can become partially closed with residue, and the restricted water flow can cause whistling or chattering. If this is the case, clean the seat.

A squealing noise heard when you turn the faucet handle means the metal threads of the stem are binding against the faucet's threads. Remove the stem, and coat both sets of threads with petroleum jelly. The lubrication should stop the noise and make the handle easier to turn. Of course, if the stem threads or faucet body threads have become worn, the resulting play between them causes vibration and noise in the faucet. In this case, you'll need more than just lubrication to quiet the faucet.

Install a new stem, and see if the noise stops. If not, the faucet body threads are worn, and the only solution is a completely new faucet. Fortunately, the stem usually wears first