What could the dripping sound be?

melco · #1 02/15/10, 11:05 AM

Hi
I am wondering if anyone here might have some idea as to what a sound could be. We have one area in our house where our pipes run through the attic. Lately we have been hearing a dripping sound only after turning off water in the bathroom they run to. I know the obvious is a leak, but no water to be found. Still, each time we hear a dripping sound for about 10 seconds or so. So what else could make the sound.
Thanks.
Melissa

Also wanted to ask if it were a leak wouldn't it make a dripping sound constantly?

Harry Chickpea · #2 02/15/10, 11:15 AM

Dripping in a drain pipe. A partial clog may be pooling water in the pipe and then it drips at a corner.

melco · #3 02/15/10, 11:31 AM

Harry Chickpea
Thanks for your response. I need to clarify, this is the water source not a drainline.

texican · #4 02/15/10, 11:41 AM

Obviously, some one's going to need to get up where you hear the dripping, and repeat the scenario that precedes the dripping noise. Do it over and over till you sonically locate it. Might need a stethoscope. If you can find a pipe, put the stethoscope or your ear on it, repeat the scenario and see if you can hear the noise louder in the pipe... If you can't find a leak, it 'could' be dripping inside a pipe, but doubtful.

Of course, your house might be haunted! Did you build it? Or did you buy? There might be a haunted ghost upstairs, tormenting you!!! I'd want to find out...

suitcase_sally · #5 02/15/10, 12:54 PM

If it's a hot water line, it could be just the heat expansion noise.

oneokie · #6 02/15/10, 01:18 PM

Where in the house do you hear the noise? Bathroom or another room?

Do you hear the drip after running water in the vanity sink? tub? shower?
Have you noticed drips from the spout of the vanity faucet? bathtub faucet? from the shower head? after turning the water off?

Does it matter if you run hot or cold? Or do you hear the noise after running a combination of hot and cold.

ETA, Do you have shutoff valves on the lines that run to this bathroom so that it can be isolated? If you do have the shutoff valves, do you hear the dripping noise close to where they are located?

T-Bone 369 · #7 02/15/10, 01:25 PM

Could be condensation inside a vent pipe dripping back down.

ronbre · #8 02/15/10, 01:49 PM

our pump/pipes have a wierd sound when the pump is going..it took a little getting used to but it isn't a problem..

also..are the eaves dripping?

springvalley · #9 02/15/10, 01:56 PM

Being your pipes run into the attic could they have condinsation frozen on them and when you turn on the water it warms them up enough that they may drip? Very hard to have someone try and figure that one out from long distance. Thanks marc.

Alice In TX/MO · #10 02/15/10, 02:54 PM

Don't have an answer, but do have a funny story.

I taught in the high school at Louise, Texas, for 15 years. We built a new high school to replace the old WPA project that was the school when I started working there.

The new school was a design fiasco, all the way from being a perfect bat habitat to having a heaving slab.

There were water lines that ran in the attic above my room. The condensation formed along the lines, and there was one particular place above my classroom where the water collected and dripped onto the white ceiling tiles. First a damp spot, then an black moldy spot.

Asking for the maintenance department to address the area was an ongoing frustration, so finally I used my pocket knife to cut out the moldy spot. I put a bucket with a rag in it on the table below the hole and changed the rag daily.

It took the administration and maintenance people MONTHS to address the issue.

melco · #11 02/15/10, 03:49 PM

Thanks for the replies.
For more info these lines come from under the house go up through an interior wall to the attic across our mudroom and over to our master bath. The master use to be a carport that someone enclosed and added a bath. I can hear what seems to be a water dripping sound in the mudroom area near the pipe area that comes up from under the house and also in the bathroom itself above the vanity. It seems to be the cold water. No moisture spots in the ceiling and my dh has checked in the attic itself for leak/moisture.
Just wondering if it could be something else. Can pipes drip inside themselves?

We do have shutoff valves to isolate these lines, they are in the wall they comeup through to access the attic. If the valves are off no dripping sound. This sound only occurs after running the water in the vanity and only for about 5-10 seconds. If I have not run the water no drip sound. Will a line that is broke/cracked/leaking drip water when the water is not on? Why dont I hear dripping when the water has not been run? I dont understand the "physics" of a waterline.

Thanks again.

mylala · #12 02/15/10, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by melco

Hi
I am wondering if anyone here might have some idea as to what a sound could be. We have one area in our house where our pipes run through the attic. Lately we have been hearing a dripping sound only after turning off water in the bathroom they run to. I know the obvious is a leak, but no water to be found. Still, each time we hear a dripping sound for about 10 seconds or so. So what else could make the sound.
Thanks.
Melissa

Also wanted to ask if it were a leak wouldn't it make a dripping sound constantly?

Melissa, my pipes go to the attic then come down to bathroom and I hear the same thing. It's not continous, just after the water turns off I hear the dripping sound for 10-20 seconds and then no more...have never found any water leaks. I freaked out after we moved in and heard it. Have never found a problem so I chalked it up to having an old house. Glad to see someone else experiences the same so maybe it is okay after all.

oneokie · #13 02/15/10, 04:09 PM

The obvious question is now: have you checked under the vanity sink to see if the drain is leaking at any of the connections?

geo in mi · #14 02/15/10, 04:13 PM

Check the P trap under your vanity sink. Maybe the nut has come loose or the P-pipe(if it is made of brass) has gotten thin and cracked. If the dripping occurs after the faucet is turned on, then off, then it may be in that drain. Once the P-trap leaks down, there's no more moisture until you fill it back up again. The leak goes underneath your vanity cabinet, then evaporates--or stays there and causes mold?

tamsam · #15 02/15/10, 04:13 PM

Possible for the pipe to be expanding or contracting when water is run? We have one pipe that will do this and that is all I can contribute it to. Ours only does it after flushing the toilet. We even took part of the ceiling out to check and we have hard plastic pipe. Good luck finding your drip. Sam

tom j · #16 02/15/10, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by geo in mi

Check the P trap under your vanity sink. Maybe the nut has come loose or the P-pipe(if it is made of brass) has gotten thin and cracked. If the dripping occurs after the faucet is turned on, then off, then it may be in that drain. Once the P-trap leaks down, there's no more moisture until you fill it back up again. The leak goes underneath your vanity cabinet, then evaporates--or stays there and causes mold?

fill a pan with water , wait ten min , pour water in sink , HEAR drip , its in the sink drain , solved ,,
DON'T hear drip its NOT in the sink drain , keep looking

Toads tool · #17 02/15/10, 06:48 PM

I'm with suitcase sally, your pipes are expanding and contracting.
THis just happened in my house as I was reading this.
Mine comes from where one of the copper lines goes through a copper hanger, it took a week to narrow it down but that's where it was.
Not that uncommon.