Hello!

I’ve got a problem with my toilet. Every time we flash it we get a very loud noise and the pipe underneath the floor starts rattling. I had a plumber in who said that the air has been introduced onto the system and now we’ve got an air lock in our loo. He replaced the siphon as he thought that our old siphon is the reason we’re getting the problem. However, after replacing it the problem persisted the next day and the toilet is still incredibly noisy when you flash it (inside the actual toilet or in the pipes).
Then I had a friend help me out who knows a bit about plumbing. He connected a hose pipe to the water pipe that is connected to the dish washer and the other end to the toilet. He opened the water to push the air out but it seems that the air just travelled down the pipe a bit and the noise is coming from a different place in the pipe now. But it’s still there.

Also, if I open all cold taps in the bathroom the noise is not there when we flash the toilet. Please please help

Yulia

speedball1

Hi Yulia,
"I had a plumber in who said that the air has been introduced onto the system and now we’ve got an air lock in our loo."
Send that plumber back to plumbing school. Since air raises and the drainage stem's vented you won't find any air there. As for the water pipes all you have to do is open a faucet at the top end of the water system and the line vents itself. "He replaced the siphon as he thought that our old siphon is the reason we’re getting the problem."
Is "siphon" a english name for ball cock?
What you have sounds more like "water hammer" and can be corrected by air chambers aka water hammer arresters. If a plumbing system's designed correctly air does not get trapped in the pipes.
What's the water pressure in your home? if it's too high that would give you the symptoms you describe. How old is your house and where do you live?
Do you hear the noise when you close or open other faucets? Waiting for your answer. Tom

yulia

Hello Speedball1,

Thank you so much for your response.

Yes, a siphon is English for a ball cock.

I don’t know how to find out about the water pressure in our home. Do I ring the water supplier? But we live in a house that was built sometime in 1900, it might even be more that 100 years old. It’s a house that’s been converted into flats maybe 50 years ago. We live in London, UK.

There’s no horrible noise when you open faucets, but you do hear something when you close the tap.

Is there anything I can try doing myself?

Thank you so much for your help

Yulia

speedball1

Hey Yulia,
"There’s no horrible noise when you open faucets, but you do hear something when you close the tap."

With those words you've told me that what you have is water hammer. This problem is not in any one fixture but rather the entire water system. To take care of this you'll need toinstall air chambers, (shock arresters) The4se will have to installed by a plumber. I'll show you what they look like and where they'e installed, (see image) The vertical pipes sticking up are the air chambers. We install them on all bathroom lavatory and kitchen sink hot and cold supplies. Regards, tom

yulia

Hi Tom,

Thanks very much for your help.

I was just wondering how come we've never had this problem before. (We've lived in this property for 3 years now). It's only since we've had the water supplier dig up the road and do some works that we had this noise in our toilet.? Basically we've had it for the past 3 months or so.

Thanks a lot

Yulia

speedball1

I would call the water company and find out if , after digging up the road and working on the pipes, they increased the pressure in the main? If you would be interested in installing air chambers to repair this complaint I will need to know what kind of pipes you have in your flat. Do your neighbors have this problem also? Tom

yulia

Hi Tom,

Neither my neighbours in the building nor neighbours from the street have this problem. I rung the water supplier and told them that it's their fault and that their liable for fixing it but they said that I'm the only one with the problem (no one else called in) and so it's my responsibility.

And when I had the plumber in he said that that sound (when you turn the tap off) was normal. He didn’t think it sounded suspicious.

Thanks

Yulia

speedball1

Unless you have water hammer you aren't supposed to hear any noise. Since the plumber couldn't repair the problem he just told you it was normal. It is not! The oinly thing I can think of would be to call ina plumber, (not the same one) and have him install air chambers on your lavatory stubouts. Regards, Tom

yulia

Thanks Tom, appreciate your help.

Yulia