Does Your Toilet Whistle After Flushing

Dec 4 2022

Do you hear a soft whistling noise or an ear-piercing sound coming from your toilet every time it gets refilled? This could be annoying to hear a whistling sound coming out of the toilet while or after you flush.

Well, this noise after flushing the toilet can certainly provoke an alarm. If your toilet makes whining noise after flushing, this means that there is indeed a serious problem, which needs immediate repair.
In this article, we will unfold the reasons why your toilet might be making soft or violent whistling noise after every flush. Also, learn the possible solutions to correct it. So, let’s begin!

Why Does the Toilet Make Hissing Noise After Flushing?

There are many times when you would hear a light whistling sound or a loud whistle coming out of the toilet. Whether you can barely hear the noise or cannot miss the loud enough whistling sound, both of them start directly while you flush or after flushing. The noise usually persists throughout the flushing process.The hissing toilet might alert you to an upcoming issue with your toilet. The toilet hissing noise can be caused by the refill valve not working properly, resulting in excess or insufficient water flow to the toilet bowl. Check the overflow pipe first to see if water is flowing down it.

In many cases, the reason behind the noisy toilet after flushing can be because of the metal ballcock valve present in the toilet system. The ballcock valves have a ball and armature that starts vibration while the toilet tank refills after your flush. Following the valve’s vibration during tank refill, you can hear the whistling sound coming out of your toilet. The vibration of the metal can even increase the pitch of the whistling sound. Now the question is, why does the valve vibrate?

The valves generally vibrate when the fill valve gasket gets damaged. However, sometimes the vibration can also occur due to minor wear and tear of the valve. Some damage to the flap valve also causes the toilet to make a hissing sound. Below are some of the common causes of toilet noise after flush and when not in use.

• The toilet makes a noise after flush

The toilet making loud noise when flushed has a close association with the fill valve present in the toilet. The fill valve consists of a float that normally rises and falls depending on the water level. Its function is to regulate the water when entering the toilet tank after every flush. When the float falls down, the valve opens up to allow the tank to refill water. Once the water touches a certain level, the valve shuts the passage tightly to prevent the overflowing of water from the tank.

Just like any other objects, the fill valves of the tank also wear and tear over time, and the bits holding it all together begin to deteriorate. As a result, the toilet makes hissing noise. This whistling or hissing noise is an alarm for the beginning of the issue. The louder and violent the noise gets, the more close the toilet fill valve is getting damaged. Hence, when it gets completely damaged, there could be a flood to defend.

• Toilet Hissing When Not In Use

Sometimes, a whistling sound from the toilet can be heard even when it is not in use. If you are also hearing this irritating noise, then there is much possibility that the condition of your toilet is not good. However, a good quality, well-functioning toilet will always behave well without making any sound as soon as the toilet tank refills water after flushing.

However, if it continues to vibrate when you are not using the toilet, the cause of the whistling sound can be either leaking or malfunctioning. Apart from these two, the other possible causes that could trigger the noise when no one is around the toilet involve:

• Accumulation of calcium deposits in the pipelines
• Leaking valve
• Broken fill valves

To overcome these issues, you should not forget to check the inside of the piles and toilet properly and fix it before you get an increased water bill. Although a small adjustment can easily stop the whistling noise, the fill valve can entirely fail if it reaches the screech level. In such a situation, you can fix this plumbing problem quickly by doing it yourself with some basic plumbing skills. Otherwise, it is better to hire a skilled professional to fix this.

Is Toilet Whistling A Major Problem?

Is your toilet making a whistling noise? Are you confused about whether it is really a big issue? Here is your answer!
Most homeowners might initially ignore the soft whistling noise coming out of the toilet. As a result, this gradual increase in the irritating and ear-piercing noises produced in the toilets. The broken fill valves giving rise to this problem are likely to worsen with time.

If you hear a whistling noise while flushing, after flushing, or even when it is not in use, then it is better not to ignore this issue. Otherwise, it can lead to water wastage, overflowing your toilet, and ultimately raising the water bills.
So, as a homeowner, it becomes your responsibility to ensure to avoid any further damage by repairing or replacing your fill valves.

How to Fix the Toilet Whistling Issue?

Your hunt for finding the right ways or methods for fixing toilet hissing noise stops here. In this section, we have got the best possible ways covered.

Tip #1. Assess the Water Supply Valve

Sometimes, the whistling sound from the toilet starts coming when there is some kind of obstacle in water flowing to the toilet. Therefore, it is important not to miss out on checking the water supply valve of the toilet. This valve is positioned behind the toilet close to the wall.
You can simply turn it counterclockwise to make sure it is open. If the whistling sound continues, then the cover of the toilet tank needs to be removed to conduct a thorough investigation.

Tip #2. Check out the Fill Valve

If, after investigation, you see that the water supply valve is not making the whistling sound, the main culprit could be the fill valve.
It usually happens to the old toilets that still have a metal ballcock valve.
To start your investigation, flush the toilet to understand where the hissing sound is coming. If you recognize the noise is produced by the fill valve placed in the rear left side of your toilet, do a visual inquiry further. This will help you learn if it is happening due to debris and residuals and further hampering the flow of water. You can take a damp rag to wipe off all the deposits accumulated on the fill valve.

Tip #3. Replace the Toilet Fill Valve

After removing all the residuals from the toilet fill valve, try to flush the toilet again. Listen carefully if you still hear a soft whistling sound from the toilet. If you do, then the time has come to replace your toilet’s fill valve.
Replace your old toilet metal ballcock valve with a gasket to stop your toilet from producing a whistling noise. It is to note that when you choose a plastic valve, the chances of whistling sound production are much less than the metal ballcock valves. So, it is better to replace the metal ballcock fill valve with a plastic one.

What Happens When Whistling Toilet Problem Gets Ignored?

A faulty, broken fill valve not only produces annoying whistling noise but also can be subjected to increased water wastage if you ignore the issue.

Increased water use or waste directly means a rise in utility bills. Indeed, a shrieking, failing, or broken fill valve can run continuously. Consequently, it wastes hundreds of gallons of water every year. Even though the replacement of a fill valve seems very simple, it needs a proper installation. Otherwise, an inappropriate fixture of the fill valve could lead to additional costs of hundreds of dollars in repairing your home. Water damage due to leaking or overflowing toilets can destroy your home.

Some people make the mistake of putting off the whistling toilet repair, but it shouldn’t. Besides the fact that the whistling noise is irritating enough, if the toilet fill valve is left as it is, you will end up using more water than required. In short, you will suffer from an increased water bill while damaging your home.

Now that you know the problem of noise coming from the toilet needs your attention, try to fix it. Like all the issues of plumbing, you should hire a trustworthy plumber who can help you repair or replace the toilet valve and gasket.

Take Away

Toilets usually produce an orchestra of sounds while draining, flushing, or refilling. However, whistling or hissing sounds are something out of the typical ones. So, if you hear a soft, ear-piercing, or high-pitched whistling noise coming from the toilet while or after you flush, then your toilet needs some investigation.

If you have basic skills in plumbing, you can do it yourself. However, if you cannot troubleshoot the toilet issue all by yourself, call an experienced plumber to make sure that the toilet returns to its functioning. A skilled and experienced plumber can only answer all your toilet-related questions and how to fix them.