1. You hear a singular banging, knocking, clunking or clanging noise when you turn off the water in your sink. This is called:

A.  water lock.

B.  water bump.

C.  water hammer.

D.  water horse.

E.  time to get your ears checked.

2.  You flush the toilet and you hear what sounds like a chattering or rattling sound. A common reason for this is:

A.  a leaky tank.

B.  a faulty toilet ballcock.

C.  air in the plumbing lines.

D.  a loose tank lid.

E.  a ghost in your bathroom.

3.  A loose or damaged faucet washer can sound like:

A.  popping popcorn.

B.  fluttering or humming.

C.  bells or chimes.

D.  burping.

E.  a buzzer.

4.  When a dishwasher or washing machine is filling with water, you hear a hammering or machine-gun-like sound. This can be caused by:

A.  too low water pressure.

B.  loose bolts and/or screws.

C.  a kink in a hose

D.  a worn out solenoid fill valve.

E.  an actual hammer or machine gun.

5.  You hear what sounds like like on-again-off-again running water coming from a toilet. This is most likely caused by:

A.  a leaking flush valve

B.  a leaking pressure gauge

C.  a loose handle

D.  clogged pipes

E.  global warming

CLICK HERE FOR THE ANSWERS.

THE ANSWERS

Question #1: You hear a singular banging, knocking, clunking or clanging noise when you turn off the water in your sink. This is called:

C. water hammer

Water hammer occurs when you turn OFF a water flow suddenly (like a hand faucet, a dishwasher, a clothes washer, or even a toilet), which abruptly sends a pressure or shock wave down the water line through the water shocking the pipes and creating the ‘hammer’ noise.  These shock waves can exert great instantaneous pressure, which over time, can damage pipes, valves and eventually weaken pipe joints.

Most modern homes have devices called water hammer arresters (sometimes also called air chambers, air cushions, water capacitors, etc.), which are air filled chambers connected to the plumbing that let the pressure wave dissipate harmlessly into a cushion of air. If your banging has been going on for as long as you can remember, you may not have a water hammer arrester. If the noise is new or has developed over time, your arrester may have become waterlogged.

Water hammer doesn’t accompany flowing water, so if your sound occurs while water is running, it isn’t water hammer.

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Question #2.  You flush the toilet and you hear what sounds like a chattering or rattling sound. A common reason for this is:

B.  a faulty toilet ballcock.

A faulty toilet ballcock, or fill valve, can cause reverb sounds like these. High pressure can sometimes cause strange noises and can damage toilet valves and other devices connected to the plumbing. That’s why it is best to get strange toilet sounds checked out before you end up with a major repair on your hands.

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Question #3.  A loose or damaged faucet washer can sound like:

B.  fluttering or humming.

If you only hear this sound when using a certain faucet, the faucet washer might be loose or damaged. This can cause it to vibrate in the water stream, resulting in a fluttering or humming sound, or even rattling, bleating, whistling or moaning. If you have had this problem serviced in the not-too-distant past and it has come back (or didn’t go away), it may be the result of using a third party replacement part instead of the manufacturers recommended parts. A good plumber will be sure to use the proper replacement parts for your faucet. We at Curtis Total Service always make repairs using the proper parts, and we can find the parts for just about any make or model out there.

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Question #4.  When a dishwasher or washing machine is filling with water, you hear a hammering or machine-gun-like sound. This can be caused by:

D.  a worn out solenoid fill valve.

If you turn on your dishwasher or clothes washer and, while it is filling with water, a repetitive hammering or machine-gun-like sound comes out, it might well be due to a worn out solenoid fill valve. Sometimes high water pressure can be the cause too.

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Question #5.  You hear what sounds like like on-again-off-again running water coming from a toilet. This is most likely caused by:

A.  a leaking flush valve

The repeated and intermittent sounds of water running for a few seconds then stopping usually means you have a leaking flush valve in your toilet. Depending upon the condition of the valve, you may hear this occur from every few minutes to just once every several hours or so.

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Tell us how you scored in the comments below!

Whether you scored high or low marks on this quiz, we hope you choose Curtis Total Service for your plumbing service. We are proud of our professional, courteous and knowledgeable staff. Check out our website for more details about our complete plumbing services. Or call us toll-free at 1-855-SEND-CURTIS.

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Academy Award winning actor Michael Caine (born Maurice Mickelwhite) once held a job as a plumber’s assistant, long before he began starring in such movies as “Zulu”, “Alfie” “The Italian Job”, “Hannah and Her Sisters” “Cider House Rules”and “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels”.

(Source: The Midnight Plumber)

Although we have yet to bring the world the next plumber-turned-international-film-star, Curtis Total Service is proud of its professional, courteous and knowledgeable staff. Check out our website for more details about our complete plumbing services.

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Don’t take a gamble with your plumbing! A leaky faucet or clogged drain are simple problems that come to mind, but plumbing involves a lot more than what meets the eye. As a licensed plumbing service provider, Curtis Total Service has a team of trained technicians who can perform all phases of plumbing for your property, which can save you a lot of trouble, frustration and costly repairs down the line. Licensed plumbers are trained to provide you the utmost in safety, reliability and quality. We also understand how to make your plumbing more efficient and stay on top of the latest trends in energy and water efficiency, as well as style. Plus, local licensed plumbers know and work with local building codes, which are an important factor to consider whenever you are renovating, replacing or installing water or sewerage appliances or features to your home.

Plumbing is how we got our start over 23 years ago, so we’ve got the experience and reputation you can rely on. It’s not that a handyman or helpful spouse can’t handle that leaky faucet or clogged drain we mentioned above, but are they able to diagnose if these problems are a sign of troubled plumbing within the piping of your home? Are you certain their repair job is a permanent fix and not something that will only result in reoccuring problems later on? Are they missing potential warning signs of impending trouble around that simple repair?

Whether you choose to call Curtis Total Service for you plumbing needs or not, be sure to ask to see a plumbing license number before you let any service provider begin working on your home. Ours is Allentown Master Plumbers License # PM-602, and we are proud to share that information with you.

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Curtis Total Service has been serving of the greater Lehigh Valley community since 1988, and now we’re joining the blogging community too. Much like our popular e-newsletter, CTS News & Savings, we hope this forum will help us better serve and inform our customers.

When it comes to topics to discuss with you, we have a lot of great areas to cover. Our wide range of services include:

• PLUMBING
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