Noisy water flow in bathroom basin taps/loo flush - any idea of what's the reason?

[likeatonneofbricks]

Never came acroos this before, so possibly a funny question. WHen the tap is fully open it gets get loud, and the same applies to flushing the loo. It's more hissing noise/air flow rather than full on pipe sound. Any ideas why is that and how to remedy? when tap is lightly open it seems to be ok, but mid- to strong flow gets noisy. Previous owners installed this bathroom and it looks like hte economised a lot on detail! Strangely, the bath taps and the shower are ok.

Yes it happens when the plumber doesn't fit flow control valves for the cold water tap and as you say loads of air and high pressure water is forced through. I am presuming it isn't a mixer tap as if it where it would be mostly cold as the cold water pressure is being allowed to pass through unchecked. I told my parent's to make sure there plummber fitted them but they didn't and the cold water taps practically scream in both new bathrooms. Not sure if it is something that can be done retrospectivly.

thanks sherbet, it IS a mixer, just changed separate taps to one! when turned on 'hot it's still noisy - not sure whether it's because it's always mixed with cold water - makes sense really! but the temperature is ok, I mean hot water does come through. Wher are these valves supposed to be? in the leads to the tap? I even asked the guy whether people fit some 'filter' or something to make it quiet he said 'no' - he's not a plumber but a capable DIY guy. BUT if the valves are somewhere else in the system than this was a mistake of plumbers who installed the bathroom originally, as also the loo flush is very loud. There was always a mixer over the bath whichseems a bit more quiet.
I thought mayne it's pressure in the boiler as it's combined CH/HW and the radiayors always hiss a little (even though the air in them has been checked and it's not that).
Would be great to know how easy/difficult to remedy?!

have you got a combi boiler?

is the new tap a flashy italian design, or a british make?

fill a bucket from the bath tap, time it, and calculate how many litres per minute you get (1) from the cold (2) from the hot (3) with both running.

have you recently had a plumbing work done, apart from changing that one tap?

how long has the noise been happening?

how old is the WC and the cistern fittings?

Yes, combi boiler. Not sure where the tap was manufactured (nothing on the box), but it's from Bathstore. It's a mixer with one lever on top, not flashy really! not a tall design.
No other plumbing work but when the guy changed the taps he did connect new thin leads/part pipes (don't know what they are) that are visible. The batroom was installed 2yrs ago by prev owners, so was the boiler and central heating radiators. I'm fed up with hissing radiators as well even though it's not loud, but constant quiet hissing when valves on/open. WC same age.
Is it anything to do with pressure setting in boiler? prob not.
2L pot fills in 10sec with hot water, and in about 7sec with cold but cold is visibly gushing more/wider stream and faster. Haven't got a bigger bucket with measures right now.

you are getting about 12 litres per minute flow, which is quite good. The hot and cold are both at mains pressure, and the noise will be because it is rushing through a contstriction in the tap. It sounds like you have a ceramic joystick mixer tap. More traditional British taps designed to give good flow at low pressure have larger internal waterways so are quieter.

You can buy pressure-reducing valves, you will need one each for the hot and the cold basin supply pipes. I would not put one on the WC cistern since you can buy a modern silent filling valve by Torbeck or Fluidmaster; or on the bath taps as it will fill the bath slower.

If you think it is really worthwhile, you will need a competent plumber. Or you could change the basin tap.

thanks PJ, always great advice from you!
Is it a complicated job to fit pressure reducing valves - how much do they cost and what wd a plumber charge approx? This tap wasn't cheap already so would rather not change.
Also the cost for silent filling valve and is that easy to fit?

..what about the hissing radiators by the way?

I have one similar to this made by Caleffi. It sticks occasionally. The Honeywell is twice the price. You'll need two. If it was me I'd change the tap.

For the cistern, one of these or the Fluidmaster equivalent replaces the old ballcock/float valve. The side-entry ones are much easier to change than the bottom-entry ones. If you have a bottom entry I'd change the old syphon to a modern quiet flusher or flapper at the same time.

hissing radiators are completely unrelated. It might be the rad valves are nearly closed but if I were you I wouldn't try to change them as you will upset the balancing. Next time the boiler is serviced ask the engineer if the pump can be turned down a notch (but combis can be fussy about that).

Have you got Thermostatic Radiator valves in all rooms except the one with the room thermostat?

I've just had a new mixer tap fixed in my bathroom and I can't lift the tap to its highest as the water is so fast it over spills onto the floor.
I've two small children so it's not as though I can put up with it.
Is there anything I can do?

Are there isolator valves on the pipes to the taps under the sink? They have a slotted screw head on them normally. Try turning them a bit to reduce the flow. That might work. Also worth seeing is the manufacturer does a champagne filter/aerator you can replace the end of the tap with - they just screw off if the tap ends are round where the water comes out.