What It Means When the Toilet Keeps Making Noise

It can be disconcerting when your toilet is making loud noises, especially if it’s one you haven’t heard before. Not knowing when a toilet noise warrants a call to the plumber can be frustrating and stressful. Here, we break down some common toilet noises to help you diagnose any plumbing issues you may have. If you need immediate help, please give us a call.

From a running toilet (most often cured by a simple valve replacement) to a toilet overflow or more complex problems like water leaks, there are many things that can go wrong with your toilet. When the toilet keeps making noise, this is the first sign that something is wrong. If your toilet keeps making noise when it’s being flushed or when it’s not in use, there are a variety of possible causes.

Our plumbing professionals diagnose common toilet noises, and the plumbing problems each sound can indicate.

Toilet Keeps Making Noise

A noisy toilet can have several causes, but the most common culprits are:

  • Leaking toilet valve
  • Malfunctioning fill valve
  • Calcium buildup inside the pipes

Checking the condition and position of the toilet valves should be your first step. If the valves are worn or brittle, replacing them should resolve your toilet noise problem. If it doesn’t, call a plumbing professional.

Common Toilet Noises

Water Hammer

Cause

Water hammer, also known as knocking or water knock, is the result of water coming to a sudden stop and slamming into the inside of your pipes and fittings. This issue can result from water flow being too high for the task at hand, i.e., flushing a toilet.

Solution

Adjust the shut-off valve of your toilet to attempt to reduce the water flow. You might also need a regulated fill valve to control the pressure of water filling your toilet tank.

Toilet Makes High-Pitched Squealing or Whistling Sounds

Cause

If you hear squealing or whistling while your toilet refills, don’t panic. It’s typically a problem caused by an issue with your ballcock valve (also known as a float valve).

Solution

While repairing your float valve is often possible, they’re inexpensive enough that complete replacement is a common solution. You can probably handle it as a DIY project, but a qualified plumber could take care of it quickly. You could also upgrade to a fill valve and avoid the situation entirely.

Toilet Whistles When Flushed

Cause

A toilet making an air noise or a whistling or hissing sound is a sign that the fill valve isn’t closing and sealing properly, allowing air or water to leak from it.

Solution

In most cases, you’ll want to replace your fill valve, which is a fairly straightforward project if you’re confident in your DIY skills. If that doesn’t work, or you want to avoid any delays or risk of an improper solution, call a plumbing professional like those at Donley A/C & Plumbing.

Ghost Flushing

Cause

Toilets flushing on their own usually happens because water is working its way past the flapper until, eventually, it pries it up and flushes on its own. Of course, you could also have a cat or toddler who thinks playing with the toilet handle is fun.

Solution

Replacing a toilet flapper is another inexpensive and straightforward fix, whether you tackle it yourself or leave it to a plumber.

Toilet Hissing

Cause

Hissing usually results from the same issues with your flapper that can cause ghost flushing or water getting into your overflow valve.

Solution

Check your flapper and ensure that your fill valve or toilet ballcock is set below the level of the overflow valve.

Gurgling

Cause

A gurgling toilet could have many different causes, and none are good. It could be caused by blocked sewer drains, vent issues, backflow, or a blockage in the toilet itself.

Solution

If possible, leave the toilet alone and call a professional to take a look soon. In some cases, a gurgling toilet can become a toilet working in reverse.

Toilet Noises After Flushing

Cause

Weird noises can result after flushing from any of the issues mentioned here, as well as more complicated problems like scale inside your pipes or toilet, leaks, or damage to your toilet.

Solution

If the solution to your toilet noise problem isn’t listed here, call Donley A/C & Plumbing for help.

Toilet Makes Loud Noises Randomly

Cause

This situation is often due to a problem with older toilets with metal ballcock-style fill valves, as loose washers in the ballcock assembly can result in quite a racket.

Solution

If that’s the cause, tighten or replace the washer and fill valve assembly. Call Donley A/C & Plumbing for service if you hear any other strange, loud noises.

Toilet Makes Noises When Not in Use

Cause

Leaks are the most common cause of toilet noise when you’re not using it, whether from a flapper that isn’t working correctly or damage to your toilet.

Solution

Check the handle and make sure the flapper is set properly, replacing both if necessary. If this doesn’t resolve the noise problem, it may be time to replace your toilet because the leak may be elsewhere.

Schedule Toilet Service Today

Is your toilet making loud noises that we didn’t outline in this article? Or did you find the problem and are ready to have one of our plumbers come out and fix it for you?

Either way, call us or use our online form to schedule a same-day service to tackle your plumbing needs.