Hi,
I did not see a category for plumbing, but hope someone knows what to do about this. Often, after using the plumbing (flushing the commode or even running water in the kitchen sink), I hear a noise in my basement bathroom that sounds like a horn. I followed the sound and discovered that it got a lot lounder and sounded like it was coming from the commode downstairs. What usually causes this noise, and how complicated do you think it is? Is this noise caused by a clog? Could my DH fix this (he does some of the basic handy chores)? I hope it does not indicate something serious. I live in a rancher built in the early seventies and I have a septic system.
Thanks for helping.
Eroomgardener, Zone 6 or 7 depending.
edited for spelling
Edited 3/20/2007 3:45 pm ET by Eroomgardener
Replies
The seals in the fillvalve get hard and will do this.
If it is standard 2 piece toilet replace it with a fluidmaster. Easy to do.
While he is at it replace the flush valve. Most likely it is also leaking and causing the toilet the need to refill.
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
Not much to go on! Stand near the basement commode & have someone flush upstairs. Narrow down the source of the noise.
In general I'd say that horn-like noises can only be created by air under pressure. A properly vented system should not be able to create pressurized air.
Consider obstructed vents, or drain additions (like the basement commode!) that aren't properly vented.
Finally, if you have a basement commode, you may have a macerator/pump to move its "stuff" up to the house's drain-level. Maybe something here is acting up.
I'm voting for 1) venting problems, or 2) a macerator-pump problem.
More details, please!
Brooks
And what Bill said! I hadn't even thought about the pressure-side possibilities!
Yeah, probably the fill valve is being forced open by the pressure surge. One way to test this theory is to close the shutoff valve for the noisy toilet. (Don't flush that toilet, though.) If the noise goes away then replace the fill valve with the Fluidmaster unit -- it's reasonably foolproof.
Another possibility is some sort of pressure regulator, backflow, or even tempering valve in the system (likely in the utility room, though a tempering valve could be near the noisy toilet). It could be that the vibration just "telegraphs" to the noisy toilet through the pipes, without it being actually at fault.
Probably a few ways it could be due to drain-side problems, but I can't think of an obvious scenario.
Hello,
Thank you for all your suggestions. I remember having that same horn noise in my upstairs toilet last year and the fluidmaster solved the problem. Hopefully, it will be that simple.
I am not sure what information Brooks needs, but here is some more info. While using, or sometimes after using the water upstairs, from three different sides of the house (sometimes) I hear that horn noise. One commode is in the middle of the house, another on the west side; the kitchen is on the east side of the house (again all upstairs). Once or twice I followed the sound and ended up searching downstairs. I found that the noise was loudest not in the utility room, or laundry room, but inside the full bathroom downstairs, and sounded as if it came from the toilet. I did not think of opening the lid to see if it was the tank innerds.
Just now, a couple of times, I ran the water and flushed the toilet. Of course, now that I am telling you all about the problem, the sound did not happen, but it will again, as it happens a lot.
Here is more information. Our downstairs is underground in the front of the house and at ground level in the back (a walk out rear entrance). The downstairs bathroom is located closer to the front of the house (on the other side of a small laundry room). The sewage from the downstairs noisy commode has a 21 foot run to the rear wall of the house. The septic system is located beyond and at the same line. I do not know specifics to how, or where, or how deep the sewage plumbing is. For now, I will ask DH to pick up a new fluidmaster just in case, as that, I hope, will be the solution to the noise problem. Meanwhile, how would I know if the problem is the pressure regulator, backflow, or even the tempering valve? I am on a well and I have a pump, a water softener and backwash tank.
Eroomgardener, Zone 6 or 7 depending.
Edited 3/20/2007 5:22 pm ET by Eroomgardener
If you're on a well you probably don't have a pressure regulator or backflow valve. A tempering valve may have been installed in the wall behind the toilet (should be an access panel if so), or perhaps in the vanity, to mix hot water with the cold to keep the toilet from sweating.
So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
Dan,
The toilet sweats, and there is no panel. I guess there is no backflow valve. It sounds like something the bathroom needs.
I think I know the solution to the problem:Tell the folks at Breaktime about the problem, and ask for help. I have not heard the horn sound since I posted the question. Thanks for helping.Eroomgardener, Zone 6 or 7 depending.
Problem is, to keep the sound away you have to keep coming back here.
So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
"Problem is, to keep the sound away you have to keep coming back here."Or maybe Rez can bump this post on a weekly basis. :)BruceT
I don't mind, as this seems to be working. Also, sometimes I need to find excuses to get out of working in the garden.
I noticed that the upstairs drain was partially closed the other day. Maybe that could have caused poor airflow to the plumbing?
Who's Rez?
Eroomgardener, Zone 6 or 7 depending.
Edited 3/24/2007 4:59 pm ET by Eroomgardener