Find the Cause of Your Noisy Boiler

If your boiler has started to make strange noises, don’t panic! Here’s our guide to finding out what is causing it and what to do about it.

Of course, every boiler makes a certain amount of noise in normal day-to-day operations, but when you start hearing additional odd sounds, there is more than likely a fault which needs investigating. Some of these problems can only be fixed by a Gas Safe-registered engineer, whereas others you can do yourself. Our guide will explain which is which.

The clue to diagnosis lies in the type of extraneous sounds your boiler is making. Find your noise below which will help identify the cause:

WHISTLING, LIKE A KETTLE BOILING:

Funnily enough, the issue that causes your boiler to sound like a kettle is called “kettling” which means there is a build-up of limescale or sludge on the heat exchanger. This will require an engineer to come round and perform a “powerflush”. Kettling is actually the commonest cause of a noisy boiler.

(As a side note, you can prevent this from happening in the future by fitting a magnetic filter to your heating system which will then collect all the debris before it builds up.)

TAPPING OR BANGING:

Again, these sounds could be caused by a build-up of sludge in the system which would require a powerflush. Or a tapping sound could be caused by a component that’s come loose which will need to be tightened by an engineer.

GURGLING:

This is a simple one, it probably means that air is trapped in the system, and you will, therefore, have noticed that your radiators are not heating up properly. You can resolve this by bleeding your radiators.

HUMMING:

Humming can, of course, be made by the normal workings of your boiler, however, if the humming has got louder then there is possibly a fault with the heating element of your system, and for this, you need to call an engineer.

VIBRATING:

There are a few possible causes of this, but none of them are serious. If it is due to loose brackets or compartments that are open that need closing, you can do this yourself with the help of a screwdriver. However, if the whole boiler is shaking then you will need to call out an engineer to secure it. Also, another possible cause of the vibration could be an issue with the circulating pump which may be set too fast for your home.

DRIPPING:

This means that there is a leak in the system, which is often caused by the pressure being too high or the wear and tear on old boiler parts. You will need to call an engineer to resolve either of these issues. If your boiler is old then you might need to consider a new one.

If you suspect your noisy boiler requires the assistance of a Gas Safe registered engineer and you are in the South of England, get in touch with Aura Heating today and we’ll have someone sent over in no time at all.