Hear Water Dripping, but Can’t Find Any Water Damage?

I had this issue, and I called a guy to check it out. He came by and as he walked into the house, he told me that it could be thermal expansion. It sounds just like water dripping. I hear the water dripping but couldn't find any water damage. I bought a endoscope to see inside the wall for water damage, but couldn't find anything. It just drove me crazy for a while. It still sounds like water dripping......

Thanks for sharing this information! I have a dripping noice I hear in my basement. If I put my ear close to the floor it almost sounds like it's coming from the floor. I'll admint, my ears aren't the best at locating things. It's spring, and things are pretty dry outside. Everything is dry, can't see any signs, nothing after following your recommended steps. Any ideas? I only hear it from the basement. I haven't noticed it before. Do you have any thougts or suggestions? When I bought the home 20 years ago I do remember them saying there was a high water table or they would have made the basement larger, but I don't see any water anywhere!

Do u have a email where I can send the video of the noise!??

Can the same thimg happen in the opposite situation. Where instead of a heater the AC kicks on and then theres a ticking noise in the bathroom?

So I've had my house for 5 years, and never noticed this until about the past year. Went behind the escutcheons and couldn't find any evidence. FF to a couple weeks ago, and I had water stains on my living room ceiling. Coming from shower arm; doped it up and threads are sealed. Still hear this dripping sound...Put holes on both sides of my stud in my bath...no signs. Came across this video, and I can finally feel better. Thanks for this (esp the hot water) video! Now to patch some drywall...

Thank you, I thought I was crazy too

Whoa, I think you just helped me get sleep. I though I had a leaking pipe.

thank you sir. I was underneath of my house three times with a borescope and a moisture sensor - no leaks found. It's constant but annoying. Now I know what it is.

hearing the exact same sound in our brand new apartment. i hope its just a normal thing. thankful for this video!

OOOkkaaay..... But what can you do about it to make it stop??? Driving us crazy - its a brand new house.

Thank you so much for including "the sound" at the 6 minute mark. Im gonna have a plumber check everything to be sure but this helps a great deal.

I have that sound but when it rains. I haven't found any water damage anywhere and I had a new roof installed a year and a half ago. It doesn't happen every single time it rains, just randomly so it's extremely perplexing.

My house exactly the same 😢

Thanks for the excellent video! Just a quick question - so this thermal expansion phenomena is nothing to worry about? I mean a thermal expansion this loud (not exactly loud, but making audible dripping like sound) is not going to cause any problem down the line, like causing pipe joints to loosen and potentially creating a leak in the future?

What if you hear running water in the walls? Turned off the main and sound stopped so it has to be a leak right?

Now i can take off my straight jacket. 😊

life saving . thank you!

Is there something I could do to minimize the thermal expansion noise that’s coming from time hitting system?

Thank you so much for posting this video! I was thinking I had water leak in my attic but I do not! This is so educational, Thank you!

We are experiencing this thermal expansion in a pipes running through the duct work in our basement. We built a new home and it started within 6 months of the build. It only happens when we run hit water from our kitchen faucet.

My plumber is suggesting we open up the dry wall where the noise is coming from an see if we can slightly reposition the pvc pipe so it has room to expand without rubbing up against the duct work. I guess this is our only option? Your thoughts would be much appreciated because the noise is terrible especially when we run the dishwasher. Thank you

have this in my house too and was scared it was a leak. no water damage anywhere so was completely clueless. thank you for this.

How long after you turn off the water, should you still hear that sound? I still hear it for a good 15-30 min after but then goes away. Only hear it when water is turned on there after

Thank you so much for such a detailed video. I wish you were in Connecticut or the New England area. Thank you thank you

I have this same sound with cold water as well .. had inspected by plumber and water restoration company.. no leaks found .. any suggestions ????

You saved me from this video! I had the same exact problem and my own contractor couldn't find the issue _ _
I almost broke my kitchen sink wall and still could not use a new dishwasher bc of this issue!
Thank you again!!!!

how long would these sounds last? (from a shower and sink - not furnace) Edit: as far as duration? Would 1 hour after the use be irregular?

So should we attempt to have it fixed or let be since they are benign sounds?

thanks for the explanation- big help

thank you so much for doing this video! it helps so much!

This is what I hear all of a sudden at my vanity.. why did it start after I got a new faucet installed?? How can I stop it? Thanks!

i know this is an old video, but that explains so much. been looking in walls and under house. hands on pipes. no signs of water, but drip drip drip. now i get it. thanks

In my new home, whenever I flush the toilet on the second floor, I consistently hear a dripping sound coming from somewhere inside the wall on the ground floor. Despite the fact that the toilet flush doesn't involve hot water, this sound persists. I haven't observed any visible signs of water leakage. What could be causing this issue? It's concerning that the builder seems to be disregarding it completely.

We just moved into new home which is 20 year old house and whenever I run the water I hear this drip drip drip sound and then sound slowly stops when I turn the tap off. It is two story house and the ceiling doesn’t look like have any damage but this dripping sound really bothers me because whenever I use the tap water upstairs and downstairs all the ceiling makes dripping sound. Plumber is going to come tomorrow just to check every pipe hopefully there is no leak.

Thank you so much! I’m a new homeowner and this is my first winter in my house. The “drip” noise is so loud and you can feel it if you press your ear to the wall. I was panicking I’d have to open up my walls to find this mystery leak.

Hi BJ. My name is Miroslaw. My problem started with this... After flushing the toilet, suddenly the water filling the reservoir stops flowing. I checked all the tops in my apartment-there is no water. After some time everything return back to normal. Recently the shower has became a problem. The water from bathtub flows normally. After switching to the shower it stopped flowing.The situation returns to normal after some time and problem returns again. My problem started after replacing the boiler. After that there was very little pressure in hot water in kitchen sink. There was no water in my bathtube. We called the company which replaced broken boiler. They sent another plumber. He told us that we have to pay extra money to fix the problem. I suspect that, the first plumber did something on purpose to create new problems. I don't believe in black magic or bad luck. Powiedziec co z tym zrobic. Mamy bardzo maly income i nie stac nas na kolejne wizyty hydraulikow. Zalaczam pozdrowienia dla malzonki-Miroslaw

I've had something similar, but my water bill. Also went from two thousand gallons of water to over eight thousand gallons of water. I have a plumber coming tomorrow for an apartment unit that I rent because they refuse to do anything. I wastimg 200$ having a plumber come?

can thermal expansion happen with COLD WATER? i hear the dripping noise behind the upstairs toilet. man i searched high and low, in the basement and the entire house is bone dry. the upstairs and downstairs bathroom sit on top of one another. i don't hear it in the downstairs bathroom though. i assume its after i flush. i heard it last night and it stopped. weird

Hi @Bj Poznecki. Which dog breed is that ??

Is there any way to fix this sound? It’s in my room and goes all night, I can’t sleep because of how loud and constant it is.

How do I send you video of my sounds?

This is the best explanation of this phenomenon I’ve ever heard. Thank you. My house makes this noise and I’ve been tempted to tear out the drywall to find out what’s going on. Now I’ll settle in with another cup of coffee and the newspaper.

Very helpful, thanks

dude you need a hot water recirculating pump lol. you can get the retro fit kind that goes under a sink

Thanks for the video. Been getting paranoid recently with dripping noise but not seeing any signs of water damage… but this makes sense as to what’s happening

Hi Rocky!!

My sister and I just removed a sheet of drywall behind her sink to find the “leak”. There was no sign of water damage. Most of the pipes had an isolator where they ran thru the 2x4s. Where there wasn’t an isolator, the hot water supply line was squeaking against the wood and making that dripping sound. I padded it with excess insulation and the sound is gone now. This video confirms our conclusion. Thanks!

Mine is on a wall. there is no pipes. it only happens when it rains.
I'm so confused lmao

If i'm already remodelling the room, should I replace the 40 years old metal pipes with Pex? Will plastic make less expansion noise?

Ok but could you actually provide a solution to stop the noise.