Loud pipes after flushing toilets
February 15, 2013 4:40 PM   Subscribe

I have a three bathroom house (one on the first floor, two on the second). Recently in the past two weeks I've noticed a very loud rushing of water sound in the bathroom on the first floor after flushing any toilet in the house. The sound is centered in the ceiling above the bathroom and I'm assuming our pipes filling up. Why the change from minimal noise I didn't notice to loud, rushing sounds of water now? What could be the problem and the fix?
posted by rainygrl716 to Home & Garden (2 answers total)
 
It's possible that your vent pipe has become plugged/obstructed (hint: few practical plumbing installations are as simple as the linked Wikipedia diagram. Many have multiple vent pipes, all of which should protrude through the roof of your house, be unobstructed by snow, internal ice, dirt, bugs, birds, leaves, or other seasonal debris, and should be passing gas from your plumbing to the outside atmosphere, or vice versa, as necessary, to keep waste water flow noise to a minimum.).
posted by paulsc at 5:13 PM on February 15, 2013


I think paulsc is right.

Specifically, the rushing sound could be air and water being sucked through a drain or a toilet in one of the upstairs bathrooms.

When you flush a toilet, water completely fills the pipe and generates suction as it goes down. If it can't suck air easily enough from the roof vent because that's blocked, it will pull some through one or more of the U-joints under the sinks, bath/showers, or toilets, and that makes a rushing noise.

Here's another diagram to look at.
posted by jamjam at 5:49 PM on February 15, 2013


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