Alma Bwogger and soon-to-be model Rachel Deal, has had enough of the facilities that hide in her wall and her nightmares. Please send help.
The pipes in my walls bang. Loudly. I wake up in the middle of the night, multiple times a night, to the wall next to my head vibrating as the pipes clang. It started happening in late October, I think, when the heat first came on in our building.
If you live in a building heated by steam (which most of the dorms are, I believe), you may be experiencing this issue as well. According to Digg, the cause of this incessant banging is sagging pipes (or pipes that weren’t put in properly in the first place). Steam condenses, leaving water that can’t drain because of said drooping pipes. Water droplets are then picked up by steam passing through the pipes, and they somehow ricochet off the pipe walls, creating that sound.
The only way to fix it, apparently, is to replace or adjust the pipes…and we know that’s not going to happen. I tried to convince Facilities, but they said there was nothing they could do.
There are a few things that I’ve tried to block out the noise: ear plugs (they always pop out of my ears? What am I doing wrong?), smothering myself with pillows (pretty effective but you can still feel the wall vibrating), and screaming over the sound (my roommate loves me). Have any other suggestions? Leave a comment below.
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6 Comments
@Amanda HI! I had the same problem with ear plugs, but there’s a very specific way to put them in. It’s kind of a pain, but makes all the difference. Here’s one tutorial for the traditional foam kind: http://blog.pksafety.com/ear-plugs-what-you-need-to-know-so-they-fit-right/
I’ve also tried the moldable earplugs which are available in most drugstores. They are made from wax or some other silicone-like material. They tend to fit better with my ears. I’ve lived in 6 different apartments in NYC – in all but 1 I’ve had the clanking radiator problem. Just one of those things if you live in NYC…
@but how can you hear the pipes in claremont from EC?
@Rachel Deal True
@Anonymous they’re also keeping you warm idiot
@Nope Actually even if the heat is turned off in your room you will still hear the noise because the same pipe heats other rooms where the heat is turned on. So whether your heat is on or off doesn’t change anything as long as other people’s heat is on.
@Vikram Oh god! I lived in that room 3 years ago… the noise is unbearable and facilities didn’t do anything :(