When the sink, tub, toilet is used in the upstairs bath, I hear a dripping sound, but no sign of leaking.?

Question

I told a realator friend of mine and she said that she has the same problem at her house. She said one of the builders in her developement carried her to a house at her developement that was still being built and demonstrated the same problem with no visable sign of leaking. He said that it was due to pipes being clean, and probly needed insulation. Does this sound plausable?

Answer 1

Perfectly plausible. Not all water will go through the drain in a big swoosh. There will be a few droplets left that take their time getting out. In an effort to save money and maximize profits, and because of new plumbing materials, they don't insulate and use as thick a material on pipes as they used to. Because of this, you hear the drip. The drip isn't new, the hearing it is.

Answer 2

After the sink, toilet, shower has been used, as well as during the water that is coating the outlet pipes, along with water being forced into the outlet pipe by the air pressure in the house is probably the reason.

When you open a window or outside door you can hear air make a whooshing sound, air is always flowing inside the house, and a preasure wave caused by opening a door, can push against water in the toilet bowl or in the sink flow-away causing a small amount of water to be forced through the U-bend, this then is caused by gravity to drip down the inside of the waste pipe, as the pipe is filled mainly with air, the minuscule amount of water free-falls down the inside of the pipe, what you here is the sound of the water making contact with residue water at the bottom of the pipe, hence the dripping sound.

Answer 3

The drainlines are probably PVC. While this is a great product, it is not noise inhibiting like cast iron.

Answer 4

Ear buds can be a workaround.