Hello, I hope you folks can help me.

Recently, we have been hearing a loud, low frequency "hum" throughout our house. I have turned the main power off to determine whether it's electrical.

It doesn't appear to be. Checked HVAC for vibrations and couldn't pinpoint any obvious problem.

The noise does sound like a "fog horn" going off several blasts at a time and the noise level is constant in every level/room.

I think this is a water pipe humming problem like other people have described. Before I call a plumber however, is there anything else (electrical) I should try?

Any suggestion would be appreciated. This noise is very annoying.

Cheers.

What makes you think it could be something electrical. Where is your furnace located. Do you hear the noise any louder when you are close to the furnace. Do you have a hot water circulating pump? Do you happen to have attic exhaust fans.. . Just some thoughts.
Hope you find it.

The problem is caused by the ballcock trying to fill while water is seeping out of the tank. The sound you hear is the washer vibrating against the seat of the ballcock. First check there linkage between the flapper and the flush lever. It should have 1/4" of play when your tank is filled. Next feel the flat side of your flapper. Does it have wavey edges? Do your hands come away black? Replace it if it does. And last check the seat itself. Any nicks or rough spots? If so click on back. There are replacement seats that glue right over the old one and are easy to replace. One of the above should take care of your howling. This happened in a new house some years ago. Only at night and in the early morning. They thought the house was haunted and werthank you for rating my reply.e about to move out. I caught it in the powder room toilet. It would vibrate and the pipes in the wall would pick it up and carry it all over the house. Hope this helps Tom

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Originally Posted by speedball1

The problem is caused by the ballcock trying to fill while water is seeping out of the tank. The sound you hear is the washer vibrating against the seat of the ballcock. First check ther linkage between the flapper and the flush lever. It should have 1/4" of play when your tank is filled. Next feel the flat side of your flapper. Does it have wavey edges? Do your hands come away black? Replace it if it does. And last check the seat itself. Any nicks or rough spots? If so click on back. There are replacement seats that glue right over the old one and are easy to replace. One of the above should take care of your howling. This happened in a new house some years ago. Only at night and in the early morning. They thought the house was haunted and werthank you for rating my reply.e about to move out. I caught it in the powder room toilet. It would vibrate and the pipes in the wall would pick it up and carry it all over the house. Hope this helps Tom

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Thank you for posting a reply to someone's else's question. I have read it with interest. I have a low humming sound in my house which is driving me crazy. My husband cannot hear it. We have a problem with a hot water cylinder that has a steady overflow - rapid dripping. Could this be linked to the humming sound? Before my husband replaced the valve on the cylinder, there would be a loud "rattling/humming" sound in the water pipes. (We live in South Africa so I hope the terminology I have used makes sense.) I would appreciate any answers. Thanks.

I too have experienced a low frequency hum throughout my house. It was driving me nuts. My wife couldn't hear it, only me. I traced it down to my vent stack pipes on my roof. I put a couple of 90 degree elbows on each vent to turn the outlet toward the roof. The low droning hum went away. I'm not saying that this will fix the problem that you are having but, you might give it a try.