Appliance noise troubleshooting: causes & cures.

These articles discuss home or building appliance noise diagnosis & control: how to inspect, diagnose & cure noise or sound problems traced to electrical appliances in homes or commercial buildings.

Appliance Noises in buildings, Sources of

Appliance noises in buildings are a bit easier to track down. If you are uncertain just which appliance is a noise source, or if it is a noise source, just try turning off individual appliances to check for cessation of noise.

Appliance noises cover a wide range, from humming refrigerator compressors to rattling loose metal parts.

Appliances most often run intermittently

 on their own, especially refrigerators, freezers, well pumps, heating systems, air conditioner systems, all produce noises that will start and stop as the appliance is off or on, and may involve humming, whining, whistles, rattles, or other mechanical or electrical sounds.

For examples seeHEATING SYSTEM NOISE DIAGNOSIS

or seeOIL BURNER NOISE SMOKE ODORS.

• Air Conditioning or Heat Pump System Noises & Sounds 
  
  include a very wide range of noises depending on the type of equipment, operating loads, duct systems, even loose or mechanical sounds as well as horrible shrieks and moans of failing parts. Sound recordings and links to diagnostic descriptions of various HVAC system noises are at
  • NOISES, HVAC SOUND RECORDINGS
  • NOISES, HVAC SYSTEM DIAGNOSIS -home

• Bread maker sounds:
  
  here is a recording of normal rhythmic thumping sounds heard near a Jojirushi BBC x 20 bread machine
  • BREAD MAKER NOISE
• Coffee grinder noise:
  
  here is a recording of normal sounds from a Cuisinart coffee grinder macerating coffee beans
  • COFFEE GRINDER NOISE
• Clothes dryer noise:
  
  besides the normal noise of the drive motor that spins the dryer and possible gas burner noise if your dryer is a gas unit, watch out for rattles from a very wet, out of balance load, - that's the most common clothes dryer noise, or a horrible crashing and bashing sound that signals that the dryer drum drive belt has broken.
  
  A recurrent thump or clank when the dryer is running is often heard when you're drying a hard object such as tennis shoes wet from the washer.
  
  Other noises might be traced to loose dryer exhaust venting or a rattling dryer exhaust vent cover.
  
  Also see safety warnings
  
  atDRYER VENTING
  
  

  Loud Humming noise when clothes dryer runs

  An InspectApedia reader asked:

  l have a 2005 built 3 story condo. Recently whenever the dryer (on the 2nd floor) turned on, making a loud noise and vibration in the next room's ceiling even few minutes after dryer stopped. we can hear a loud humming noise and rattling bewteen 2nd floor and 3rd.

  Repairman confirms there is no any issue from the dryer and no noise from dryer but when dryer operates.

  Can someone tell me what's the issue might be and who l should hire to fix the issue? Thanks. -On 2017-06-06 by GC

  Reply by (mod) - If the noise occurs only when the clothes dryer is running,

  CG
  
  If the noise occurs only when the clothes dryer is running, I'm hard pressed to buy a claim that the dryer has nothing to do with the sound. Perhaps it's a vibrating duct or vent hood for the dryer vent system?
  
  You had a repair person on site. Did she not hear the sound, did it not occur, was it ignored? I'm confused.

  At this point it sounds as if we need an experienced handyman(woman) or repair person to look into the ceiling where you hear the noise.

  You could try our page top EXPERTS DIRECTORY to see if you can find a home inspector with a borescope who will do a least-invasive look and diagnosis for you. OR you could see if the noise occurs only when the bath fan is ON - which would of course be diagnostic.
  
  Another possibility might be a shared exhaust duct with the bath exhaust and drier exhaust (improper, illegal, unsafe) or a shared space in which two ducts run, one causing vibration in the other.

  Followup by CG

  Thank you for your suggestion. l hired the repair man. He came and operated the dryer and the dryer itself ran normally and very quietly but the loud noise plus vibrating starting occurred in the bathroom ceiling where is one room away from the dryer (not next to the dryer).

  After stopping the dryer, the noise continued for over 5 minutes. The repair guy is specializing in Maytag dryer repair.

  He spent around 20 minutes checking everything regarding dryer motor, dryer vent, and anything might be related to dryer issue but nothing is found. At the end, he didn't even charge me the $90 originally need to pay for his visit.

  Since he is not the HVAC nor house venting exhaust motor expert so he suggested the problem might be from the house exhaust fan/motor base on the noise came from between 2nd and 3rd-floor ceiling.

  l need your help to identify who l should hire? An electrician? Handyman? or? Thank you very much!

  Reply by (mod):

  An experienced contractor who has installed bathroom fans might take a look at your vent fan to see if it is sharing ductwork with the clothes dryer exhaust.



• Dishwasher noises
  
  dishwashers are a subject of enough annoying noise (for some models) that most units include a noise rating in their promotional literature. Besides the normal motor noise and splashing sounds during the dishwasher cycle, if your dishwasher sounds have changed, look for a worn or damaged motor bearing. Here are some recordings of various dishwasher noises & sounds, both normal and abnormal
  • DISWHWASHER NORMAL NOISE - normal, quiet Sears® dishwasher (replacement for the unit recorded just below)
  • DISHWASHER NOISE RECORDING - grinding whirring Whirlpool® dishwasher about to be replaced
• ELECTRIC MOTOR NOISE DIAGNOSIS - for motors driving some appliances
• Refrigerator ice makers 
  
  can produce an unexpected whirring or clanking sounds that you may never notice during daytime but that might be surprising during quite night hours.
• Don't rule out tiny appliances
  
   that can be surprisingly irritating to people with sensitive hearing, such as electric clocks, clocks on appliances, free-standing electric clocks (a high-pitched mechanical grinding, whirring, or gear noise is common) and non-electric clocks and timers
• Also seeAPPLIANCE EFFICIENCY RATINGS.
• JETTED TUB & SPA NOISE ISSUES incude whirs and bubbling from the pump and air injection system. If these noises have increased in volume look for a blockage in the water or air system or a loose pump or motor. Shut down the system.

Washing Machine Noises: Causes, Importance, Repairs

See details of normal and abnormal washing machine noises

atWASHING MACHINE NOISE CAUSE & CURE

...

Continue reading atAPPLIANCE DIAGNOSIS & REPAIR or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the completeARTICLE INDEX.

Or see these

Recommended Articles

• APPLIANCE DIAGNOSIS & REPAIR
• ELECTRIC MOTOR DIAGNOSTIC GUIDE
• NOISE / SOUND DIAGNOSIS & CURE - identify a noise by sound type, source, or other observations
• NOISES, HVAC SOUND RECORDINGS

Suggested citation for this web page

APPLIANCE NOISE DIAGNOSIS atpedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.

Or see this

INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES:ARTICLE INDEX to BUILDING NOISE DIAGNOSIS

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Citations & References

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