Ask Me Help Desk - Drip in wall after running sink faucet and toilet

Drip in wall after running sink faucet and toilet

I have a drip in the wall next to and behind the sink (other side of wall is utility room) a couple of minutes after running sink and/or flushing toilet. I have run water into the drain of the sink and listened but there is no leak after running water into the drain... it seems to have to do with turning the faucet on and calling for water..
It drips for a few minutes and then I don't hear it anymore..
Once I had this happen and there was some water under the wall that divides the bathroom from the utility room... I have not seen water since and that was quite a while ago... the dripping went away for a while but not it is back and much stronger... the house is on a slab and this bathroom was an addition in about 1960... do not hear drip when running water from any other faucet or the shower which has its pipes on the other side of the room next to the wall of the original bathroom.

Any help

Could it be a supply pipe that is between the wall that supplys the sink in other room, try turning on each cold and the hot water mabe it will helpnarrow down which line has a leak if this id it? Just a suggestion.

I am going to give you a couple of ideas, one is do you have a reverse osmosis water system, as you may not know you will have water dripping into your sink drain all the time that it is making reverse osmosis water that you have used.

Next is since you have not seen any water this may not be a water leak but a pipe moving slightly in the wall, as the pipe expands or contracts and as it moves it may jump and you are hearing the results resonating from the wall.

If this helps you please let me know.

Try running just hot water, listen for drip. Now try just cold listen for a drip. If my hunch is correct the hot will produce the drip and not the cold, thermal expansion of the hot water pipe inside the wall causes it to move againist a stud and it makes a ticking noisr just like a drp.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jack dandy

could it be a supply pipe that is between the wall that supplys the sink in other room, try turning on each cold and the hot water mabe it will helpnarrow down which line has a leak if this id it? just a suggestion.

Hi drips after hot & cold water... absolutely a drip sound not a pipe moving

Quote:

Originally Posted by ballengerb1

Try running just hot water, listen for drip. Now try just cold listen for a drip. If my hunch is correct the hot will produce the drip and not the cold, thermal expansion of the hot water pipe inside the wall causes it to move againist a stud and it makes a ticking noisr just like a drp.

Hot and cold produces "drip" I know a drip when I hear it..

Quote:

Originally Posted by letmetellu

I am going to give you a couple of ideas, one is do you have a reverse osmosis water system, as you may not know you will have water dripping into your sink drain all the time that it is making reverse osmosis water that you have used.

Next is since you have not seen any water this may not be a water leak but a pipe moving slightly in the wall, as the pipe expands or contracts and as it moves it may jump and you are hearing the results resonating from the wall.

If this helps you please let me know.

Hi no osmosis...

Tks to all of you

You said you have a utility room on the other side of the bathroom? You said you are sure it drips on both hot and cold. This is a little perplexing, because hot and cold supply lines are on their own lines.

Here's why:
There is a main water supply that goes into your house. It branches off someplace after it comes in so that one is cold and another one should run to your hot water heater for your water to be heated, now from the water heater it runs your hot water supply line, then you have two water supplies feeding each sink, etc.

Does the utility room have your hot water heater? Check to see if any other sink runs that drip occurs. First turn on your cold water and wait and go to that area and listen. Then try the hot. In order to have a leak on while using both hot and cold (and it's not condensation) it would have to be on the supply line coming into the house before it branches off to the water heater.

See if you can locate the runs of your water supply, and make sure it doesn't drip when you use another sink or tub, etc.

You can hear the drip strongly, but no signs of water? This is a tough one. Going to have to try to locate where drip sounds is loudest and possibly cut into the wall to find leak. Im guessing its on a drain line. If it were on a supply line, it would drip constantly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mygirlsdad77

you can hear the drip strongly, but no signs of water? This is a tough one. Gonna have to try to locate where drip sounds is loudest and possibly cut into the wall to find leak. Im guessing its on a drain line. If it were on a supply line, it would drip constantly.

(tks for your reply). That is what I was thinking but wouldn't it drip after I pour water into sink..? I was also wondering I have an outside faucet on the same line outside the wall of the bathroom... it has been weird lately... could this faucet have anything to do with this...
Oh one time several months ago, I did find water underneath the wall between the bathroom and utility room but that was only once and I thought it was coming from the faucet on the outside wall...

Quote:

Originally Posted by cyberheater

You said you have a utility room on the other side of the bathroom? You said you are sure it drips on both hot and cold. This is a little perplexing, because hot and cold supply lines are on their own lines.

Here's why:
There is a main water supply that goes into your house. It branches off someplace after it comes in so that one is cold and another one should run to your hot water heater for your water to be heated, now from the water heater it runs your hot water supply line, then you have two water supplies feeding each sink, etc.

Does the utility room have your hot water heater? Check to see if any other sink runs that drip occurs. First turn on your cold water and wait and go to that area and listen. Then try the hot. In order to have a leak on while using both hot and cold (and it's not condensation) it would have to be on the supply line coming into the house before it branches off to the water heater.

See if you can locate the runs of your water supply, and make sure it doesn't drip when you use another sink or tub, etc.

Hi

Will do... and let you know... tks for explanation of water supply

Quote:

Originally Posted by cyberheater

You said you have a utility room on the other side of the bathroom? You said you are sure it drips on both hot and cold. This is a little perplexing, because hot and cold supply lines are on their own lines.

Here's why:
There is a main water supply that goes into your house. It branches off someplace after it comes in so that one is cold and another one should run to your hot water heater for your water to be heated, now from the water heater it runs your hot water supply line, then you have two water supplies feeding each sink, etc.

Does the utility room have your hot water heater? Check to see if any other sink runs that drip occurs. First turn on your cold water and wait and go to that area and listen. Then try the hot. In order to have a leak on while using both hot and cold (and it's not condensation) it would have to be on the supply line coming into the house before it branches off to the water heater.

See if you can locate the runs of your water supply, and make sure it doesn't drip when you use another sink or tub, etc.

Hi again, I just flushed the toilet a few minutes ago and I now hear the drip in the wall again...

Okay - did you try another sink or other tub outside this bathroom? See if it still drips then. Try cold first.

Ever think of opening up the wall where the drip sounds the loudest to check? Tom

Quote:

Originally Posted by cyberheater

Okay - did you try another sink or other tub outside this bathroom? See if it still drips then. Try cold first.

Tried no leak

Quote:

Originally Posted by speedball1

Ever think of opening up the wall where the drip sounds the loudest to check? Tom

Plumbr is coming Monday... was hoping to avoid this

Without knowing how your water comes in and where it branches off, etc. It would be hard to tell you where the leak was coming from.
You said both hot and cold and you said you were sure.

No matter what, someone is going to have to open a wall up to repair it who has the tools and know how. I was trying to help you locate the exact area. If your water comes into the place where your utility room is (water heater, etc.) then it could be your main line.

The wall will still have to be opened and that leaking pipe will have to be fixed regardless.

You also don't want mold in your walls.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cyberheater

without knowing how your water comes in and where it branches off, etc. It would be hard to tell you where the leak was coming from.
You said both hot and cold and you said you were sure.

No matter what, someone is going to have to open a wall up to repair it who has the tools and know how. I was trying to help you locate the exact area. If your water comes into the place where your utility room is (water heater, etc.) then it could be your main line.

The wall will still have to be opened and that leaking pipe will have to be fixed regardless.

You also don't want mold in your walls.

Tks will let you know what it is

Elemay, my advice was not meant to offend you "hot and cold produces "drip" i know a drip when i hear it..

" I have run into this poblem many times and thermal expansion sounds just like a drip. The movement of the pipe is not a tap or thunck or anything you may picture, it sounds just a like a drip. Follow Tom's advice. If there really is a drip you have wet wood that must be cleaned and dried or removed. If I am right you can install a pipe isolation hanger.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ballengerb1

Elemay, my advice was not meant to offend you "hot and cold produces "drip" i know a drip when i hear it..

" I hav run into this poblem many times and thermal expansion sounds just like a drip. The movement of the pipe is not a tap or thunck or anything you may picture, it sounds just a like a drip. Follow Tom's advice. If there really is a drip you have wet wood that must be cleaned and dried or removed. If I am right you can install a pipe isolation hanger.

Sorry you didn't offend me... I have been running around the house looking for drips and these "drips" are produced from running the bathroom sink in br 2, flushing the toilet in bathroom 2 and I discovered that the washing machine on the other side of the wall also produces drip (cold water only). Nothing else cold or hot in house produces this sound and I am wondering why after 25 yrs if it were pipe expansion why the sound now.. I hear the pipe stuff when the heat turns on...
My concern is if it is in the wall I will not see the wood or any wet stuff... and I have noticed that this "drip" has increased over the past week... so I don't know.. plumber coming Monday...

Tks for you help

We would love for you to tell us what he finds. Since there is no water mark, I am still thinking pipe expansion. I still have this sound in one of my bath rooms but have not fixed it yet. Too much ceramic tile so I'm waiting to see if I can just live with the sound.
Thanks,
Bob

Elemey, good for you for figuring what produces the "drip" sound. It sounds like a cold water line.
Ballenger may be right, but if it is a cold water supply line, you know know it isn't the main line coming in. You then can give your plumber a more defined description. Cold water was my thought, but until you confirmed it, I couldn't be sure.

You had water on the floor already once, right?

Quote:

Originally Posted by cyberheater

Elemey, good for you for figuring what produces the "drip" sound. It sounds like a cold water line.
Ballenger may be right, but if it is a cold water supply line, you know know it isn't the main line coming in. You then can give your plumber a more defined description. Cold water was my thought, but until you confirmed it, I couldn't be sure.

You had water on the floor already once, right?

Yes I had water once... but it is also the hot water in the sink... but if the drip is behind the wall which is behind the kitchen.. it would be hidden for a long time because the water would be coming out under the tub in the other bathroom or the kitchen cabinets... so I had better open the wall and see...
Will let everyone know
Tk you for your help

I got the similar case here, quite curious about what the plumber found behind Elemay's wall.