Why does our shower make a screaming noise?
Our shower has a problem...It's very loud! When water hits the correct temperature and flow the shower immediately starts shrieking like a banshee.
It seems to be related to the flow because we can turn down the flow rate but keep the same temperature. This causes the shrieking to stop but it also gives us a wimpy little shower. If we turn on the shower but make it fast and cold then there is no shrieking either.
Another piece of data is that the shower has two separate physical heads on opposite sides of the shower and 1. only one of the heads makes this sound, and 2. the shrieking doesn't depend on whether both heads are running or only one head is running. The heads seem to be fed by separate pipes.
Has anyone had a problem with an old shower making noise like this? We're not sure whether the problem is the pipes or the shower head.
Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated...
Part of the cause of this may be turbulent vs. laminar flow. A high temperature will have a lower viscosity, leading to a higher Reynolds number, which contributes to turbulent flow. Add in surface defects from mineral build up, and you've got enough turbulence to vibrate your pipes to 'banshee levels.'
The screaming one is probably limed up. You might try cleaning it with vinegar or lime away.
If it's not mineral deposits on the pipe walls, tiny bubbles from pinhole leaks, or siphon-effect upon shut-off, can cause a screaming noise. One tiny group of bubbles at the top of a shower head can create more turbulence than anything coating the wall of a pipe
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