If you have frequent water hammer on your property then sooner or later you are going to need to invest in an water hammer arrestor. It might interest you to know that once upon a time, air chambers were the only ones in combat against severe water hammer. Not only were they difficult to install and cumbersome for the average handyman but their effectiveness was somewhat questionable, especially after long periods of time.

There was however a solution at hand. Heavy industry were already using their own water hammer arrestor technology for large scale water piping systems and eventually the once industrial water hammer arrestor made its way into the domestic residence, albeit on a much smaller scale thus are easier to install. Just in case you aren’t actually sure if you have this problem or not, water hammer in pipes can best be described below:

• A loud banging or knocking noise that occurs when taps are turned on or off with the corresponding increase or decrease in water pressure.
• The extremely noisy hammering sound is thought to be caused by a pressure wave which travels up through the pipes and causes severe vibrations in your taps once the valve closes.
• Not all residences will need to worry about a water hammer arrestor. It is only caused in places that have existing high water pressure.
• Sometimes a faulty water membrane can also cause the same sort of effects as water hammer and this is generally an easy thing to replace.

If you have definitely diagnosed the problem as water hammer then you need to think about a water hammer arrestor installation. If you continue to ignore the water hammering problem then you are shortening the workable life of your plumbing system, not to mention the fact that you’d still have to put up with that irritating noise. One such water hammer arrestor which is readily available online and in department stores is the Mini-rester water hammer arrestor manufactured by Sioux Chief. They come in a range of thread sizes and can be bought with both male and female connections.

They aren’t that expensive either, with prices ranging from around $10 to $30 depending on the specific dimensions that you require. Although some of the most common water hammer problems can be found in the garden, a lot of people also have problems indoors too. Washing machines and dishwashers can suffer from terrible water hammer, particularly after new units have been installed.

Washing machines in particular require the services of a water hammer arrestor because of the violent shock that is created by quick close valves and the high water pressure needed for their efficient operation. The good news is that there are specific arrestors designed for this job and can be found easily by asking your local hardware store assistant for help or searching online yourself.