When I turn the hot water on in the downstairs bathroom, the pipes roar. Sometimes the hot water cuts out for no obvious reason. Sometimes they vibrate very loudly, sometimes they whistle. What the heck? Some time ago I figured out what was causing this phenomenon. The kitchen mixer tap is two years old and the ceramic washers inside it, or the cheap rubber washer that seals them, have perished. This also explains why the hot tap is constantly leaking. When those pipes are roaring, it is because air is getting sucked in through the dripping tap. What a pain. To get a plumber in would cost some 150 pounds to replace them. They can’t be fixed, the local plumber’s …
