All homes make sounds. Some different than others. We get used to them and they become part of our everyday life. But sometimes you start to hear a new or different noise. Learn about the one’s to really pay attention to.
Here are some of the more worrisome pops, hisses, groans, creaks and knocks, and what they mean and how they can be remedied.
1. Clanking sound when you turn on the heat
When first turning on the heating system in the fall, you may hear a little moaning and groaning as the heating system expands. With a baseboard hot-water system, you can expect ‘normal clinking and knocking’. The circulator pump to the system, however, should be silent when it runs. If you hear knocking or clanking, typically located at the boiler itself, it might be a sign of impending failure of the circulator pump.
The solution: Get a repairman out to check on it, pronto.
2. Scratching Sound in the Walls
If you hear strange noises like scratching and possibly chittering coming from places where no one lives in the house, you could have mice, squirrels, raccoons or even bats sharing your home. Any kind of animal could be up in the attic. Some animals will tear up insulation to nest or chew through siding and even electrical wires, causing fires.
The solution: As soon as you suspect an intruder, get on it: Set traps. (Call in a pro if the animal is stubborn or large.) Finally, prevent the problem from reoccurring by sealing up the entrances to your house with steel wool, metal sheeting, caulk and/or hardware cloth.
Put garbage in sealed, secure metal cans that can’t be tipped. Bring pet food inside. After pests have been removed, make sure vents and chimneys are securely covered with mesh or a grille, so those spaces can still breathe.
3. Water is Running & No One Else is Home
You definitely don’t want to hear water running if nobody’s using anything. The sound could indicate many things; a busted pipe in a wall, under the floor or even in the irrigation system.
The solution: If you hear running water when you shouldn’t, shut the main off and see if the noise goes away. If it does, you’ve got a leak somewhere — and a problem in need of fixing. Unless you’re really handy and ready to do surgery on your home, call in a plumber.
4. Bubbling (or cracking) sound coming from the water heater
A gas-fired hot-water heater works pretty much like boiling a pot of water: A fire is lit and the water inside is heated until it’s ready for use. A lot of sediment builds up at the bottom of a hot water tank, and that sediment works like an insulator, forcing the burner to work harder. The strange noise you hear is the bubbling sediment and a sign that the tank is probably experiencing fatigue and may be facing premature failure.
The solution: Ideally, you should flush out your hot water tank every few months, using the drain valve near the bottom of the floor. However, nobody does it, because it can be a pain to do. If your water heater is already making these noises, draining it might help. It could work a little bit longer, or it could go a lot longer, but the damage is probably done.
5. Furnace is making a whistling (sucking) sound that it’s never made before
What this can mean is that your filter hasn’t been changed. And your furnace is trying to pull in air from around it. That’s not good, because it means the furnace is working too hard. What it will do is start sucking exhaust gasses from the furnace into the house.
The solution: Install clean filters regularly — Anywhere from three months to monthly, depending on atmospheric conditions.
6. What’s that hissing sound?
If your home has gas, a strange noise that sounds like hissing could indicate a gas leak. Sometimes you can hear a hissing outside at the gas meter, or at a home’s outdoor gas light post; places where the line could have corroded. You should be able to smell it, but you never know.
The solution: If you you smell gas around the gas main, don’t mess with the gas shutoff unless you absolutely know what you’re doing because any mishandling or spark could make things much worse. If you hear the noise and smell the gas, immediately evacuate the house and call the gas company.
