Strange toilet noise

17 years ago

My husband has cancer and long story short, he can only sleep if he sits up and the powder room toilet is on overdrive. I am very handy but I am lost on this one.

The house and plumbing is only 3 years old. The powder room is ground level. If it matters we have a basement with overhead sewer. The only time the ejector pit pump turns on is when it gets water from the humdifier on the furnace or the AC. The sump is seperate and it goes into the storm sewer.

Anyway, Powder room. The drain pipe has started banging really hard when you flush, but only sometimes. I was upstairs getting some sleep at 5am today and hubby flushed the toliet in the powder room. It banged so loud it woke me up and our bedroom isn't even above the powder room. (The powder room is the only 1st floor toilet. The two upstairs toliets don't have this problem.)

I went downstairs and faked needing to blow my nose then flushed, it didn't bang. It was garbage day, Hubby asked me if I heard how loud the garbage man was. He was sleeping again by the time the garbage man really came. (He can only sleep sitting up so the recliner is his bed.)

What is the cause and how can I fix it? I can see the toilet drain from the basement and it looks fine with no leaks.

My best guess is that air is getting in somehow? Would it help if for a quick fix I caulked the joints of the PVC I can see? Hubby can't worry about this, he has enough worries.

If caulk won't help then it has to be taken care of. I need help there then with explaining to a plumber that it only happens sometimes when you flush and it sounds pretty much like a jackhammer on PVC. LOL

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Comments (4)

pinocchio
17 years ago
Not everyone in this forum will understand this message. It took some doing for me. And, after re-reading, I am certain there is more than one issue involved Â not all necessarily germane.

Assume, first, that I and we are sympathetic about hubbyÂs health issue. "BFTGOG, there go I."

Speaking to the issue of noise, it must be understood that a waste ejector system will not always operate in tandem with the toilets. The system depends on measuring the volume of stored waters. It will operate on its own demand timeline. And while this will often coincide with usage, it does not do so by design.

It could be that the noises heard are those that once never mattered. In the new environment of diverse usage times, the sounds are occurring unexpectedly. But that doesnÂt indicate a problem or need for repair.

I am concerned about this: "The only time the ejector pit pump turns on is when it gets water from the humidifier on the furnace or the AC." This is not a sewage system. Such a system is about carrying gray water only from the humidifier over-flow or AC condensate discharge. It has absolutely nothing to do with sewage and the handling of black water.

If there is a misunderstanding here, please clarify it.

Pinoke
GammyT
Original Author
17 years ago
Ok, I guess I shouldn't have mentioned the ejector pit, sewage leaves the house before it gets in the basement, its just that the banging was in the basement. The ejector pit is to pump sewage out of the basement bathroom if we finish it more than just rough in. The ejector pit has everything to do with the Humidifier and the AC because they drain into the floor drain which in turn is connected to the ejector pit. See, it makes perfect sense. LOL

Back to the toilet problem. Hubby heard it this morning, he said it sounds more like the water pipes banging than the sewer lines. I thought he was wrong but when he left for treatment I sat on the toilet flushing and watching, flushing and watching. When the bang happened there were a lot of air bubbles coming from the base of the water control valve and I know that is wrong. I bought a new one and installed it, so far so good, no banging. It is amazing that it never leaked, who ever put the original one in had the gasket at the base bent and twisted in ways it wasn't suppose to go.

Thanks for trying to help, I should have flushed and watched before posting but if the bang comes back I will be back again.

What is "BFTGOG, there go I."?
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pjb999
17 years ago
Just in case it's driving you crazy, I assume BFTGOG is "but for the grace of God go I" LOL.

In my experience, banging is always in the water supply pipes, ie when the toilet flushes, the pipes literally rattle as the water comes on (or goes off) sharply. Dishwashers, washing machines and watering systems, anything with a solenoid (an electrically operated valve) are prone to cause it, as the water doesn't ease on and off like it does when you turn a tap on and off (which is much more gradual)

Bad tap washers can also cause hammering (the machine gun type) or what you're experiencing, so if it's not happening now, I suspect you've fixed it. The old washer might have moved over time if it didn't used to make the noise, unless it's just gotten worse or stiffer over time...and more frequent use.

You may also want to consider installing anti-hammer devices on your washer and dishwasher, you can get ones that screw in between the tap and the hot and cold water hoses.....some people fit (or the rules dictate) a "whole house" anti-hammer device which can be as simple as a tube that extends vertically from a T in the cold water, with a cap on the end. I've heard of them as short as six inches, but an old plumber told me at least two feet if not more.

Air gets trapped in the vertical column and acts as a shock absorber, so when there's a "hammer" action, it cushions it. Over time, the column loses air so now and then you just turn off the water and run some water out of the system below this column, til air enters the system and replaces the air in the column. Mind you, these treatments are no substitute for keeping tap and toilet flush washers in good order.
GammyT
Original Author
17 years ago
Ah, It was driving me crazy, that makes sense and thank you both.

The house is only 3 years old and this just started last week, and only on that one toliet, so it was a very new noise. And it only happened sometimes which made it harder. Hours later it seems like replacing the water control valve fixed it.