water flow noise at night

[TangoBunny]

At night when the house is quiet I can hear water running through the pipes when I'm in the bathroom....it's quite loud but not noticeable in the day as radio is on normal house noises etc......if I put my ear to the washing machine I can also hear it there.....for curiosity I turned off the stopcock and the noise stops.......I want to contact the water board but my husband is against the idea as if they stump us with the bill we have no money to meet the charge
Any ideas what it could be and should we contact the water board.....also do you think we would have to pay and if so how much is it likely to be

 

[Agile]

It does sound as if you have a leak.

You need a general plumber who is experienced at dealing with leaks.

If there is no meter the water supplier is unlikely to charge you for lost water but even so best to keep away from them.

You are responsible for ALL water used on your property regardless of if its by a leak or bathing etc.

Tony

 

[Terry lambert]

If you have tanks in the loft, I would be checking the ball valves and overflows.

If the heating f & E is filling continuously but not overflowing, must be leak on heat circuit

Main tank, could be leak on hot down service to kitchen if on ground floor.
Check your toilets overflow isn't running or overflowing back into pan.

If no tanks, or they are not overflowing/ running, then I would suspect a leak under the ground floor on water main if no signs of staining or water on ceilings.

Post back what you find

 

[planenut]

Have you shown your husband the evidence of stop cock operation?

Water loss within your property, as suggested here, is your responsibility. It may seem unimportant if you are not paying by meter, but the damage it may be doing somewhere unseen can be horrendous and costly.

 

[Bosswhite]

Do you have a Tank in the roof space, is it overflowing ??

Are there any other Overflow pipes around the property, that are leaking
Have you got an outside tap (Garden Hose) that is running.
Are your Taps/Kitchen/Bathroom/ Toilet letting by at night??

Or could it be the Central Heating pump is running all night,

If its none of these then you probably have a leak
Have you got a water meter this will show if water is still running if everything is turned off.

 

[TangoBunny]

No tank in the loft only hot water cylinder in airing cupboard.....no noise coming from there.....no problem with toilet overflow and we only have the one toilet..... noise appears to be coming from outside as I can also hear it in the pipe leading to the outside tap....no leaks anywhere above ground as far as I can see....central heating pump not on...we have coal central heating which is gravity feed so no need for the pump to be on.....and no we do not have a water meter

 

[TangoBunny]

was thinking of asking neighbour if they can hear it too....

 

[Bosswhite]

Has your water pressure dropped at all,

Check outside tap, that should have an isolating valve inside the property, turn it off and listen if water is still running.

 

[Terry lambert]

If you turn your stop cock off and the noise stops, it can only be your supply pipe or something on your system.

Unless your stop cock turns off another property as well

 

[TangoBunny]

your taliking to a woman here....what the heck is an isolating valve.....there is a valve under the sink so I'm assuming it might be that and when I turn that to off the noise is quieter but I can still hear it..............and no my outside stopcock is only for our house.....just turned it off again and noise is diminished but I can still hear the water flow outside....less so in the house

 

[planenut]

You first said you can hear the sound when in the bathroom, then through the washing machine, now only on the pipe to the outside.

Sound can travel throughout the system, you are using water in your property, whether you realize or not.

 

[Bosswhite]

When you turn off the outside stopcock ( or the stop cock under the sink) does the water stop flowing from the cold tap on the kitchen sink

have you noticed if the water pressure from the cold tap (Kitchen sink) has decreased.

 

[TangoBunny]

we have really poor water pressure anyway so difficult to say if pressure is less......turning sink tap on after stop tap is off water runs for a few seconds then stops

 

[TangoBunny]

Hubs just told me we are not on our own water supply....we are the end of a line of 7 houses....neighbour...3 doors away hadn't noticed any noise but I can hear it in their house as well but not as loud.....so I'm thinking problem is either outside our house or maybe next door to me

 

[Bosswhite]

Sounds like an underground burst, report it to the water Company for them to investigate.

As it is possibly affecting other properties you should not be charged,

after its been repaired, it is worthwhile to take out an Insurance against burst pipework from the Companies Stop Cock (In road) to your internal Stop Cock as Water Companies are tending to charge for repairs for underground repairs on Private property.