9 Strange Sounds Your Home Makes and What They Mean
Most of us like our homes to be quiet, peaceful places, but we also recognize that no home is completely quiet. While a creaky floor or a noisy radiator can be part of the charm of an old house, sometimes a noisy house is trying to tell you something that can be costly and dangerous to ignore. If you hear the following sounds coming from your home, it’s time to pay attention to them and maybe worry.
ringing heat
Whether or not you have a gas stove or boiler, if your home’s heater makes an excessive clang, thump, or rumble when turned on, it’s often a sign of wear and tear that can lead to huge problems if left unchecked. If you have an oven, it could be an unbalanced, rusted, or worn fan belt that is on its way to a catastrophic failure. If you hear the clang and clatter of your heating pipes every time your boiler is running, then it’s probably nothing to worry about as expansion noises as the pipes heat up are not uncommon, but if the noise is excessive in duration or volume, you should contact a plumber and / or an HVAC specialist to investigate in any case.
whistling oven
If you hear a wheezing, whistling noise every time your oven is on, it probably means your filters are old and clogged and your oven is struggling to draw in fresh air for its cycle. This can result in the stove sucking up its own exhaust gases and distributing them throughout the house – a dangerous and frustrating situation. The fix is easy – change the filters. To prevent this from happening again, get a filter whistle that will alert you when the filter is about half clogged.
Scratches and cracking walls
If you’re sitting in a quiet corner of your house and you start to hear something in the walls, don’t ignore it. Scratching sounds can indicate an infestation by squirrels or other rodents, and a crackling or crackling sound can indicate termites, carpenter ants , bees, or other insects bent on destroying your home one tasty wood fiber at a time. If you hear anything within your walls, call an exterminator immediately.
Appliance hum
Modern appliances are designed for silent operation. If you’re hearing a constant hum from your refrigerator, dryer, or dishwasher, it’s time to call a repairman. While a buzzing sound can be caused by any number of problems, including minor ones, it almost always indicates a problem that will get worse. For example, a humming refrigerator indicates a faulty compressor, while a dishwasher that makes a steady hum may have something stuck inside that will eventually prevent it from working properly.
Burping drains and toilets
If your drains or toilets are gurgling, bubbling, or burping, you most likely have a clogged or broken sewer or vent pipe (the pipe that allows sewer gases to escape your home). A clog can be cleared relatively easily and will solve the problem, but a broken sewer line is a nightmare of expenses and problems and you will need to address it as soon as possible. If you are unable to fix the problem yourself, call a plumber immediately.
whistling windows
If you notice that your windows begin to sing to you every time the wind blows, then either they were not installed correctly, or the seal has collapsed over time. Air enters inside, which means that heat leaves in winter and cold air comes out in summer. If you don’t repair it, water will probably get in during heavy rain as well. The fix could be as simple as caulking your windows , or it could mean it’s time for new ones.
bubble water heater
If your water heater is starting to make noise like a pot of boiling water , you may be buying a new one soon. As water heaters age, they accumulate sediment on the bottom. Eventually, this layer of sediment begins to act as an insulator – meaning that the heater must heat up the sediment before it can heat the water. This hot sediment will bubble up like something cooking on a hot stove, making your water heater work very hard and shorten its lifespan. You can slow this process down by regularly draining and flushing the water heater, but if you can already hear this bubbling, it’s probably too late.
ghost water
It doesn’t need to be said, but if you hear running water in your house when you don’t turn on the water, you either have ghosts or a serious problem. The sounds of dripping, dripping, or flowing water almost certainly mean a leak, and if you hear one, that leak is actively destroying your home, even if you don’t see any damage yet. Determine the location of the leak and turn off the water in this part of the house as soon as possible.
Moans or pops from below
If you lie down on the couch to watch TV one night and hear a loud bang or crack from downstairs, or if your basement or basement groans regularly, schedule an inspection right away. Generally speaking, your foundation shouldn’t make any noise at all . Houses settle and extreme temperatures can cause expansion, which may explain some of the strange noises coming from your foundation, but if it was loud enough to scare you, get someone to look at it.