ON THE WEBTo listen to some of these sounds, go to:• Gurgling drain• Humming refrigerator• Thumping washer• Creaking floor• Animals in the attic
When you lay in bed at night listening to pops and squeaks, is it really the “house settling” or a forewarning of a deeper problem?
There’s usually a practical cause for those bumps, bangs and whooshes you might hear at night (or any time of day, actually, it’s just that everything sounds louder in the quiet of the night). We asked local professionals what might be behind 10 unusual home noises as well as whether a home handyman can fix these problems. Some are DIY projects, some will require calling a professional.
1) Gurgling toilet.
“This usually means the drain line is starting to stop up and it’s reducing air flow in the system to the vent, so water going into drain lines is displacing air, which is coming back up to the trap. If your home is on a septic tank, it may need to be pumped. Either way, call a professional.”