How do I get rid of a “water hammer” in my plumbing?
Every time we flush the toilet, and just about at the point when the tank is refilled, there is a terrible thumping and rattling from the pipes. If I quickly turn the water on in the tub it goes away, so I’ve been flushing and then turning on the water in the tub as a pre-emptive strike, and that seems to work, but the rest of the family isn’t as diligent and it gets so loud I’m afraid something is going to happen to the plumbing. Any advice, suggestions, insights?
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What you want to do is make a water hammer not get rid of one. Since the toilet would be cold water just cut into the line and put in a tee, what I do is it is is 1/2 inch I get a tee that is 1/2 inch on two end and branches to 3/4 on the side. I then solder in a one foot long piece of copper tubing with a cap on the end. That will get rid of the water banging your pipes. It all depends if you have PVC or galvanized, then instead of copper you need to make your hammer of that material.
Water hammer is usually caused by air in the pipes, but this sounds like the valve in your toilet is bad. I would change the valve in the toilet first and see if this cures the problem. It will harm your plumbing eventually if you allow it to continue.
your toilet tank valve is shot. the rubber gasket that closes the water when the tank is full is not shutting all the way making that load sound. when you turn on another faucet, it relieves the pressure, allowing the water to shut off in the tank. the only thing you can do is replace the whole valve as there is no replacement rubber gasket you can get to solve your problem.