Here at the Garvin’s blog we’ve answered all sorts of questions over the years. And in over 200 blogs about drain cleaning, sewer cleaning, plumbing services, and water heater repair, we’ve answered a lot of questions. But one we’ve never tackled is this: what is your toilet saying to you when it starts talking?
Now we’re not talking about the lid bouncing up and down like it might in a Super Bowl commercial, the voice of Steve Buscemi suggesting that it doesn’t want the plunger again (though we just had a really great idea for a Super Bowl ad). We’re talking about the strange sounds that can come from your toilet. Those sounds can take on a number of different “voices,” and strangely none of them are from a respected Hollywood actor.
Here are the most common “weird noises” that you can hear coming from your toilet.
Why is My Toilet Hissing Like a Snake?
A hissing toilet is one of the most common toilet problems, and it doesn’t mean that anything has crawled up your pipes (though, you know, open the lid slowly just to make sure). A hissing toilet almost always means that water is leaking from your tank and into the bowl. This hissing is often accompanied by the occasional whoosh of the toilet tank refilling for a second or two as the float (or similar piece of hardware) has registered that that tank is missing some of its water. This whoosh may occur once every hour or every ten seconds, depending on how bored the snake is how bad the leak is. If you’re not comfortable fixing this problem, or if you have and the hissing keeps coming back, get it fixed right by your local plumber so that you’re no longer wasting money or water.
Why Is My Toilet Gurgling?
You probably know from experience why your toilet is gurgling. If you’ve ever filled the toilet with too much toilet paper and it just barely goes down, you’ll get the gurgle (or “the gurg” as we call it in the business) (that’s a lie, we don’t call it that. We’re cooler than that.) But that example tells you what’s happening if you do a clean flush, it goes down slow, and starts to gurgle: there’s a clog somewhere in your line. It might be that you need drain cleaning, or perhaps you simply need a full sewer cleaning of your main line. Give Garvin’s a call and we can take care of your problems with a sewer snake.
Why Is My Toilet Making A Loud Banging Noise?
In a word? Hammertime! What you’re experiencing is called a water hammer. This occurs when your toilet’s valve opens to fill the tank and then shuts suddenly. It’s not the valve that’s causing the bang; instead it’s the water inside the pipes in the walls that stops suddenly and causes the sound. If it happens every so often you shouldn’t have to worry. If it’s happening all the time, joints in your freshwater pipes could loosen and cause leaks inside your walls. When you hear the the water hammer frequently, call your local plumber so that there’s no leaking in your future.
Why Is My Toilet Humming?
Because it doesn’t know the words. (We’re not proud of ourselves right now…)
If your toilet starts talking like Steve Buscemi, call a psychiatrist. But if it starts making any of the sounds above, simply contact your local plumbers at Garvin’s. We’ll make sure that it stops making those noises so that you stop worrying about it.
