Why does my shower emit a noise?

June 26, 2011 10:53 AM

Why does my shower make a humming noise?

For some reason or another, my shower emits a very audible (and annoying) humming noise. The only thing that I can remotely compare it to is the sound of a tea kettle going off, though it is not as loud nor as "harsh" on the ears.

What's weird is that I only get this noise when using warm/hot water; in fact, I can pin point the "place" on shower knob where the noise will kick in when I turn the knob far enough. Due to this, I'm expecting it might be something to do with my hot water heater, as the same problem has occurred with different shower heads (what I originally thought to be the source of the problem).

Has anyone else had this problem before? Can it be fixed? Thanks!

posted by lobbyist to health & fitness (4 answers total)

Calcification in a pipe can sometimes cause this, which would make sense if you're talking about the hot water. Essentially, this turns your pipes into a whistle. How old is your hot water heater?
posted by Gilbert at 11:09 AM on June 26, 2011

Bad washer in your shower head?
posted by anaelith at 11:17 AM on June 26, 2011

Because it doesn't know the words? No, when I had this problem once it turned out to be calcification in the shower head: I unscrewed it and soaked it in a lime remover and all was well the next day.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 1:30 PM on June 26, 2011

Thank you! All answers were extremely helpful. have a feeling it's probably calcification; I'll check it out.
posted by lobbyist at 5:52 PM on June 26, 2011