Cause/fix for Howling Drain Pipes?

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Joecoolaug

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Hi,

My kitchen sink drain pipes have been (seemingly) randomly giving off high-pitched howling sounds for several months now.

It's not related to water draining and has never happened with water running. The only correlation I can find is that it has only happened when my central air handler is running. But it doesn't happen every time the air is running. I think twice in one day is the most I've heard it.

As the summer has turned to early winter in MN, the howling has suddenly gotten much worse. It would only last a second or so earlier this year, but now the sound is more like a loud shriek and lasts 5-10 seconds.

My best guess is it has something to do with air pressures in the house, but I don't know what it could possibly mean or how to test or fix.

Any ideas?
 
Your picking up a vibration somewhere, that is then running down the water line. It may be hard to isolate. Adding a few hammer arrestors may kill the noise, but the base problem would still be there.

If you have a pressure reducing valve, it could be vibrating, as the pressure in the house increases with the water heater gaining heat and be bleeding back.
 
Not saying this is the same problem but this used to be a common occurrence with the old ballcock toilet fill valve.
The ones that actually had a ball float on an extended brass rod.
The ball would float at a sweet spot and start to vibrate causing the vibration to resonate into the copper pipe water system.
The pipe would act like a guitar string and start singing. SOME EVER SO SLIGHTLY and no where near the toilet.

This is a video I made several years ago. This one is exceptionally loud.

 
Joecoolaug said:
Hi,

My kitchen sink drain pipes have been (seemingly) randomly giving off high-pitched howling sounds for several months now.

It's not related to water draining and has never happened with water running. The only correlation I can find is that it has only happened when my central air handler is running. But it doesn't happen every time the air is running. I think twice in one day is the most I've heard it.

As the summer has turned to early winter in MN, the howling has suddenly gotten much worse. It would only last a second or so earlier this year, but now the sound is more like a loud shriek and lasts 5-10 seconds.

My best guess is it has something to do with air pressures in the house, but I don't know what it could possibly mean or how to test or fix.

Any ideas?
Click to expand...
So initially you associated it with the central air handler running. But now you hear it without the AC running? Do you have a heat pump option on the AC system?
Or are you now saying you're getting the noise without the air handler running?

Do you have warm air heat that you are using?
 
One time in 20 years I have visited a utility with a vacuum sewer. It gave off the wildest howl I had ever heard. The problem ended up being a big wasp nest built in sewer vent trap on roof. That caused the noise. Just a thought. Take a picture of drain under kitchen. Your trap could be getting pulled on and allowing noise to pass thru. An open pipe facing the perfect direction can whistle. I have heard drain lines howl on a super windy day.
 
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