Why Is My Reverse Osmosis System Making Noise?

UPDATED: July 5, 2022

Like any device in your home, a reverse osmosis drinking water system can make some noises due to the water going through it or internal changes in pressure. If your reverse osmosis system is making unusual noises, here are some things to check for.

Noises that come from a reverse osmosis system are usually caused by a change in pressure within the system, trapped air bubbles, the vibration of a tube going to or coming out of the system, irregular water flow going into the system, or a miss-aligned drain line.

There can be several reasons why a reverse osmosis system will make noise, fortunately, most of the time it is one of these simple reasons that you can often figure out yourself.

There can be several reasons that a reverse osmosis system might make some noise.

Most of the noises that the system will make are not an indication that there is anything wrong with the product water coming out of the faucet.

A new reverse osmosis drinking water system may have air pockets in it at first. When the system is first installed, there will likely be some air pockets within the system that will have to work their way out.

These air pockets can cause a sputtering effect in the water as it comes out of the faucet. These pockets of air will likely disappear in a relatively short amount of time.

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Bubbles accumulating inside the system can cause a sputtering Noise.

Sometimes air bubbles can accumulate within the system over time, well after the system has been installed, especially after the filters have been changed.

This problem can be minimized by filling the filters with water, if they are an enclosed cartridge type, or be sure to fill the filter housings with water before replacing them if your system uses cartridges inserted into a housing.

These bubbles will create the same sputtering type of symptom as the bubbles in a new system. Fortunately, this problem is quite easy to remedy.

How can you get air bubbles out of your reverse osmosis system?

  • On top of your system’s storage tank, there should be a shut-off valve, turn it one quarter turn to shut off the water coming out of it. If you don’t see a shut-off on your tank, it may be an inline shut-off that is right on the tube going to the storage tank.
  • Now lift one side of the system up about three inches and support it with something to keep it at an angle. Next, turn on the RO faucet and let it run for a minute or so, then shut it off again.
  • Tap the side of the system as if you were knocking on a door and then turn the water on again for a minute or so. Repeat this a few times and the air bubbles that were trapped inside the system should be gone.
  • Turn your storage tank back on and run the water one more time to make sure the flow is normal, and the problem should be corrected. Carefully put the system back into its original position and continue to use it as normal.

If the bubbles persist after doing this, tilt the system the other way and repeat the process.

Be sure to test your water going into the reverse osmosis system, it should be soft. Any hardness in the water can cling to the inside walls of the system and create a starting point for bubbles to collect.

A change in pressure when the system is making water can make a whining Noise.

Most reverse osmosis systems will make a slight whining sound after water is used from the storage tank.

This is perfectly normal and is caused by a pressure change inside the unit, this sound will stop as soon as the pressure inside the unit stabilizes.

If you are new to owning a reverse osmosis system, you might have noticed a gurgling or dripping type sound coming from your drain when you use your reverse osmosis water, and for some time afterward.

Your water pressure going into the reverse osmosis system may be too high.

This tends to happen when you have a public water supply that stretches for a long distance.

Because the water has to travel a long way, it has to have plenty of pressure, but sometimes it is too much pressure.

Not only can this extra pressure cause your reverse osmosis to discharge extra water down the drain which can cause noise, but it is not good for the home’s plumbing and can encourage leaks from water softeners and filters.

If this is the case in your home, have a pressure-reducing valve installed where your water enters the home. This will regulate the water pressure and help to protect your plumbing.

If you don’t want to add a pressure-reducing valve to your entire home, you can use a simple to install pressure-reducing valve specifically designed for reverse osmosis drinking water systems.

Your drain line might be off-center Causing a Noise In Your Sink Drain.

This sound is the discharge of the water carrying the contaminants that have been removed from the water. There is a small tube that feeds this un-usable water to your sink drain for disposal.

This sound is usually relatively quiet, and most people get used to it very quickly. But sometimes this sound can get louder than normal and become a hissing type sound that sounds more like a high-pressure leak than a simple gurgling.

This is often the result of the drain line becoming misaligned with the discharge hole.

A drain saddle holds the drain line in place so that it is aligned with the drain hole, the drain saddle looks like a white or black plastic belt that is wrapped around the sink’s drain and has a tube running out of it.

How does a reverse osmosis drain line get out of alignment?

The drain saddle that clamps over the sink’s drainpipe can sometimes get moved when removing things from under the sink and putting things back.

If this saddle gets out of alignment, the hole that the water drains out of becomes restricted (much like putting your thumb over a garden hose), and then sprays the water to the backside of the drainpipe rather than just dribbling straight down the pipe causing this louder noise.

Sometimes a little piece of food or other debris can get lodged in this drain hole, causing the same type of noise to occur, so be sure to check that the drain is clear before touching the drain saddle.

Is your reverse osmosis continuously running to drain?

If the noise that you hear is water dribbling down the drain and it never seems to stop, It may be that your system’s auto shut-off is not telling the system to stop producing reverse osmosis water which also will stop the wastewater from going down the drain.

The auto shut-off valve detects when the systems storage tank is at full capacity and there is no longer water needed to fill it up.

If the auto shut-off valve ceases to function correctly, the system will not know to stop producing reverse osmosis water.

When this happens, the system will continue to produce reverse osmosis water until the valve starts to function or the water going to the system is shut off.

When the auto shut-off valve fails, the system will continue to discharge water to the waste line, wasting a large amount of water and often making a loud continuous noise.

How to check if your auto shut-off valve is working correctly?

To determine if the auto shut-off valve is correctly shutting the system down when the storage tank is at full capacity, follow these simple steps.

Step One: Turn on the reverse osmosis faucet until you have used about 2 pints of water, this will trigger the system to start to make more reverse osmosis water.

Step Two: Turn off the shut-off valve on your reverse osmosis storage tank by giving a one-quarter turn. This will stop any flow in or out of the tank and make the system think that it has a full tank.

Step Three: Let the system sit for at least 5 minutes. This will be enough time for the system to make enough water to fill the system up as much as possible so it should stop making water.

At this point, the system should no longer be producing reverse osmosis water and there should no longer be any water going down the drain pipe.

If the system is still running water down the drain after the 5 minutes are up, the auto shut-off did not function and will need to be replaced. See your owner’s manual for your specific model for instructions on how to replace the auto shut-off valve.

A second reason that your system may be continuously running water down the drain is that the drain check valve is not shutting off correctly.

This will allow the water in the tank to flow down the drain instead of being held in the tank to use out the reverse osmosis water faucet only.

How to check if your reverse osmosis systems check valve is working.

We can check to see if the check valve is working correctly in just a few steps.

  • Turn on the reverse osmosis water faucet and make sure the flow is good, this will tell us that the storage tank has water in it. Give the tank a little nudge just to make sure that there is water in it.
  • Leaving the valve on the storage tank open, shut off the water feed to the system from the cold water line. This will ensure that there is no external pressure being introduced into the system.

Listen closely to your drain.

If you hear a continuous trickling of water going down the drain, it is probably the reverse osmosis systems check valve malfunctioning.

When this happens, water from the storage tank that is supposed to be coming out of the system’s faucet for you to drink is being discharged down the drain.

If you are not sure if the water is draining just by the sound coming from the drain, you can easily remove the drain line connected to the drain pipe and see if there is water dripping from it.

How can you check if your reverse osmosis system is draining constantly?

The drain line should be connected to a drain saddle. This is a belt-shaped ring that goes around the drain pipe and has a hole in it that is aligned with a hole in the drain pipe.

Usually, the tube is held in place by a quick disconnect fitting. Simply push the tube in a little bit and hold the small ring around the tube down on the fitting, and then pull the tubing out.

Hold the tubing over a cup or bucket and see if water continues to drip out of it if so, the check valve is not holding and needs to be replaced.

To replace the tubing, simply push the tubing into the quick disconnect fitting firmly and it will be held in place. This constant flow of water will create a gurgling type of noise that can change with the pressure of the water in the system.

It may be just a tube on the system moving around.

Since the water in a reverse osmosis system is regularly turning on and off, you may hear an occasional tapping or rattling sound coming from near the unit.

Most of the time this sound will only occur when the water is first turned on, or when it is shut off. This may be one of the lines that go in and out of the unit.

When you turn on the reverse osmosis faucet, the initial pressure of the water can make the tubing “Jump”.

This may be making the tubing tap against a part of the system or even the side of the cabinet that the system is sitting in. This same type of sound can also occur when the reverse is done.

Shutting off the faucet causes a sharp drop in the water pressure which can also make the tubing jump, creating the same sound.

Usually, by simply cutting down the length of the tubing, the part of the tubing that has been striking another surface will be held closer and the extra slack that allowed the jumping will be gone.

If you don’t feel comfortable cutting down the tubing, you can simply tape the tubing down or to each other for additional support, and this will often solve the problem.

If you are hearing any loud noises that do not appear to be one of these problems, I highly recommend calling your water treatment professional to properly diagnose the problem.

Any loud rattle or shaking noises may be caused by un-secure plumbing that may need replacing.

If you are going to do any work on your reverse osmosis drinking water system, check out my article on What I Use When I Work On A Reverse Osmosis System!

If you find that you are unable to get your reverse osmosis system working properly, check out my Recommended Reverse Osmosis Systems for a possible replacement.

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Why does my reverse osmosis water taste funny? Reverse osmosis water can sometimes have an odd taste to it, but this is often not the fault of the reverse osmosis process.

If the reverse osmosis water coming out of the system is very pure, some people experience a bitter taste from it if they are on certain types of medication.

Also, high levels of carbon dioxide in very pure water can give a bitter taste similar to the taste of tonic water. Some reverse osmosis systems use copper tubing inside of them, very high TDS along with acidic water coming from the system can cause corrosion of the copper which will give the water a metallic taste.

If your reverse osmosis membrane is not filtering out the salts in your water, the reverse osmosis water may taste more like regular tap water. Use a TDS meter to test the difference between your tap water and your reverse osmosis water.

If the TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) coming from your reverse osmosis drinking water system is not 10% or less of the TDS of your tap water, you should change your reverse osmosis membrane.

Is reverse osmosis drinking water acidic? The process of reverse osmosis removes minerals that are in the water, and this includes minerals that normally neutralize the acid in the water. Since these minerals are no longer in the water, the water will become acidic.

Paul Burkhardt

As a water treatment specialist since 2006, I have helped people with all kinds of water issues. I decided to create this website so I could share some of my experiences and solutions to some of the problems that you may have with the water in your home. And I decided to give it away FOR FREE!

40 thoughts on “Why Is My Reverse Osmosis System Making Noise?

  1. Thank you so much for this excellent advice and info. Fixed my gurgling immediately by tilting and running water for just a bit. Excellent.

    1. You are very welcome Frank, it always feels good to know that I am able to help people. Let me know if I can be of further assistance.

  2. My RO system has loud rattle or shaking noises; The 1/4″ pipes shake when water is turned on or off anywhere in the house. What causes this?

    1. Hello Erling, and thank you for the question.
      Tubes shaking on a reverse osmosis system is caused by a rapid change in water pressure. Since the reverse osmosis system is fed directly from a water line that is connected to the rest of the house, any water used will cause a quick drop in pressure.

      When the tubing is under full pressure from the water supply, they tend to become straighter and more ridged, then when water is used, they will relax and move to a different position.
      Often this will cause a rattling effect rather than just a slight movement when the automatic water shut-off valve inside the reverse osmosis attempts to turn the water feed on but then it shuts off again quickly because the lost pressure quickly balances out and creates back pressure.

      Then, when the automatic shut-off shuts off, the running water can again make the automatic shut-off turn on again. This can go back and forth as long as the water is being used.

      This does not necessarily mean that there is anything wrong with the system. I usually will use a wire tie or a simple piece of tape to hold the tubes together and support them on a pipe or the reverse osmosis system itself. Also, shortening the tubing can help if you need to.

      Hope I was able to help, and thanks again.
      Paul

    1. Hello Ron, and thank you for the question.

      There could be many reasons why your water softener could be making noise when it is regenerating.

      Air trapped in your plumbing is a common cause for water softeners making a howling type noise, or in some cases, banging noise from the pipes vibrating due to air bubbles going through the pipes.

      An older system can sometimes make a squealing noise from the moving parts inside of the control valve.

      If the water softener is not getting enough water pressure or water flow, it may make a whistling type sound.

      In many cases, these noises may be due to a clogged pre-filter that needs to be changed, or a water pressure tank that is not delivering enough water.

      If you have a water pre-filter, put in a new filter. And check your pressure tank to make sure that it is properly pressurized.

      If the sound continues, let me know, maybe I can narrow it down a little better.

      Thank you for the question.

      Paul

    2. To add to this post. I had a thumping noise on my system. The system hangs on my garage wall. I did the release bubbles routine with no relief from the noise. Then I noticed this round black disk that connects all three filters. It makes a ticking noise when the system is running….well it was pushed against the wall so the ticking noise became a thumping noise.

      Hope this helps someone.
      Ralph

  3. My RO system makes hissing noises. It stops if I turn off the lever at the tank. Why does it do that?
    Thanks!

    1. Hello Cheryl, and thank you for the question.
      It sounds to me like the auto shut off is not working correctly. What that means is that the system is constantly making reverse osmosis water even after the tank is full.

      You may be able to replace the auto shut off, but you may have to contact the manufacturer to be sure.

      If your system is over 10 years old, there may a chance that the system will need other parts replaced. If so, the cost of repair may not be worth it. You may be better off taking a look at my Recommended Reverse Osmosis Systems for a replacement.

      Thanks, Paul

  4. Hi Paul,
    We recently purchased a home with a reverse osmosis system installed at the laundry sink. We’ve never had one before and quite frankly rarely turn it on since it is located in the laundry instead of the kitchen. We have been in the home approximately two months and yesterday the water line on the washing machine starting vibrating causing it to hit the wall and also the green line of the filter where it takes water into the system. (Note no laundry was being done at this time) This noise was loud enough I heard it from the other end of the house. I turned on the regular sink faucet and had low water pressure which is not normal. I then turned the water off under the sink and the noise stopped. I assume it was filling up the tank?? But it has never made any noise other than a small draining noise which is probably waster water. A few minutes later I turned the water back on and the noise and tapping of lines were louder and faster. A little scary! Ha! Anyway, then it stopped, and once again I had normal pressure at the sink. Should I be concerned? Does this need servicing, new filters, etc? Where can I find info on how to operate and maintain this system? Thanks for your help!

    1. Hello Linda, and thank you for the question.

      When a flexible water feed line (any hose or tube that supplies a water appliance) shakes or vibrates, it is usually due to a drop in water pressure, and it may continue to shake until the water pressure has stabilized again.

      The water in the line is normally under pressure, and therefore the tubing is held in one position. If there is a sudden significant drop in pressure, the tubing will relax and move to a different position.

      Then as the water pressure starts to stabilize, it will move the tubing a little bit towards the pressurized position. If the pressure is not maintained right away, the tubing can start to relax again. This is what gives that shaking effect.

      I have a feeling that water was being used somewhere else in the home causing a drop in water pressure. If you would like to investigate this, have one person watch the hoses while someone else goes around the house and turn on sinks and showers, flush toilets, and any other water fixtures. I think that you will find that you can duplicate the shaking by doing this.

      There should be nothing to worry about! I suggest using some wire ties, or just some twine or rope to anchor the tubing. Anchor it to the wall or the washing machine itself, but make sure you can slide out the machine for when you need to access it behind it. Do the same with the reverse osmosis tubing, and you should be fine.

      Shortening the tubing also helps in the tubing is very long and not secured well.

      Since you are new to your reverse osmosis system, I suggest changing the filters and sanitizing the unit to make sure that the water you are drinking is safe. See my article on How To Sanitize A Reverse Osmosis System.

      Also, consider getting a Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) meter so you can compare your reverse osmosis quality to your regular tap water.

      Hope this was helpful!
      Paul

      HM Digital (TDS-3) Handheld Digital TDS & Temperature Meter/Monitor – $22.20

      from: IsoPure Water

  5. Bought a park model home last fall with a RO system installed. Not having had any experience with ROs before, I replaced all filters and turned water on. The water seems fine and tastes good. However, after drawing water, there is a sound of running/dribbling water for a considerable time (ofter hours). The manufacturer’s tech support suggested switching the saddle valve from the horizontal connector pipe under the sink to the vertical one above the P-trap. I did that and if anything, the sound is now louder. The filters and tank are under the building & not accessible without removing some of the skirting. As the sound eventually stops, can the auto shut-off be a problem? I should also mention that when the RO faucet is turned on, the pressure seems good, but after filling a coffee pot half-way, the pressure goes down significantly. Drawing enough water to fill a gallon bottle in one go is virtually impossible

    1. Hello Mike, and thank you for the question.
      The drain saddle should work fine either way. The sound that you are hearing is normal when you use reverse osmosis water, the system will start to make more and in doing so, there will be water going down the drain.

      And it can take a few hours to fill a standard-sized storage tank. Up to 4 hours in some cases.

      The auto shut off may not be working perfectly, but if the system is shutting off eventually, I suggest checking that the storage tank is pressurized correctly, and the bladder inside of the tank may have developed a hole in it. If there is no pressure in the tank, it will flow well for a short time and then trickle out. This trickle is how fast the system is making new water.

      I would check out my articles How To Repressurize an RO Storage Tank, and Can A Reverse Osmosis Storage Tank Go Bad.

      I think that the tank will be the problem and not the auto shut-off valve.

      I hope this helps.

      Paul

  6. Hi Paul- This has all been helpful information. Thanks! Our reverse osmosis is under the sink. We’ve had the system going on two years. It does make a lot of gurgling noises and now the water is coming up into the sink. Also, we bought a new Bosch dishwasher and things aren’t getting clean. I am finding silt/leftover food particles in the glassware. What seems to be the problem? Are the two problems related?

    1. Hello Kim and thank you for the question.

      I believe that you have a back-up in your drain pipe. A reverse osmosis system will discharge water down the drain when it is making filtered water, but it is a slow flow. It should not be enough for it to back up.

      This would also explain the spotting on your dishes. If your dishwasher is unable to rinse away the wash water properly, it will leave the food particles in your dishwasher and they will go back onto your dishes.

      I would check the drain pipe for blockage, I think that both your problems are due to a clogged drainpipe.

      I hope this was helpful.

      Paul

  7. Hi Paul, I just replaced my filters and now I get a loud ‘groan’ sound coming from the system (not sure if it’s the tank or filters)after I use water from it. I didn’t have this the last time I changed the filters. What do you think?
    Thanks, Frank

    1. Hello Frank, and thank you for the question.

      It sounds to me like there may be air getting into the system as it is making new water to fill the tank. The first thing that I would do is try to identify exactly where the sound is coming from. I hold a piece of the tubing against my ear and point the other end to different areas of the RO as it is making the sound.

      Once you find the location of the sound, shut the water off to the system and check the connections where you heard the sound. You may want to remove the tubes one at a time and add a small amount of silicone grease to the o rings to make sure they are sealing well around the tubing.

      Also, make sure that no lines are kinked and the drain line is properly centered over the drain line hole as this could cause backpressure.

      It is likely due to irregular pressure in the system.

      I hope this helps.
      Paul

    2. did you forget to re-open the holding tank refill valve? If so, you would also notice quickly the water pressure deteriorating.

  8. Hello Paul: My RO system has begun making a strange sequence of noises. I hear my cold water pipe in the wall behind the RO system make a sudden vibration/shaking for about 1 second. This is followed by what sounds like a slow dribble of water from the RO system into the drain. The draining is not a heavy flow and can last up to 30 seconds. The water pipe shaking seems to happen at random times. Thank you for any suggestions, and for your kind service to the RO community!

    1. Hello Tom, and thank you for the question.

      A water pipe shaking is most likely due to a quick change in the water pressure in the pipe. I am not sure if it is related to your reverse osmosis system, but it may be happening because your reverse osmosis system is drawing water to make filtered water and at the same time, water is being used somewhere else in the home.

      I would check if there is a toilet running or a faucet dripping somewhere in the house. If the water pressure in the pipe is low due to water running elsewhere, the sudden drop caused by the reverse osmosis drawing water may be enough for it to shake.

      The slow dribbling is likely just the system discarding wastewater because the drop in pressure is making the system produce more filtered water.

      I hope this was helpful!

      Paul

      1. Hi Paul..just some closure on this. Turns out it was my automatic shutoff valve that was vibrating. Replaced it. Didn’t help. Replaced flow constrictor. Didn’t help. Then I saw a comment on another sight about air bubbles in the membrane trapped when I changed the filters a few months ago. I bypassed the flow constrictor to run the system for 2 minutes to fully flush the membrane. Reconnected. All good.

        1. Hello Tom and thank you for the update.

          Great to hear that you found a solution to your noise issue, sometimes there can be multiple problems that can cause the same type of noise. I hope that your solution will help others who may have the same problem.

          Have a great day!

          Paul

    1. Hello Mr. Rogers and thank you for the question.

      If the hole that you are referring to is an “air gap” which is there to protect against contamination from water backing up in your plumbing and getting into your reverse osmosis water, there may be air coming out or a gurgling noise because of a blockage in the reverse osmosis system drain line. There may be a blockage in the pipe that the drain line is connected to, or in the tubing going to the faucet.

      If there is air coming out of the faucet spout itself, there may be a blockage in the air gap or there could be a fluctuation in pressure coming out of the system.
      Make sure that there are no kinks in any of the tubings and then check the pressure in the storage tank.

      Check out “How to repressurize a reverse osmosis storage tank
      I hope this was helpful.
      Paul

  9. We are getting a vibration and a noise from the red hose that connects from the bottom of one of the filters, up to the base of the spout that sits on the counter. Sometimes it will begin when we open the spout to fill a glass of water. The vibration will aways stop when we turn off the supply line water ball valve.
    Please give us your very helpful and detailed advice.

    1. Hello Cecily, and thank you for the question.

      When tubing vibrates, it is because of the pressure inside of it fluctuating. When the pressure increases, the tubing will become stiff, and when the pressure drops, the tubing will relax. A vibrating tube of a reverse osmosis system is usually caused by the system trying to stabilize the pressure inside of it but a valve is not opening or closing properly.

      Chances are good that the water quality coming out of the system is fine but at some point, you may find that the system continues to put water down the drain because it is not shutting off correctly.

      I hope that this was helpful.

      Paul

  10. We just had an RO system installed under our kitchen sink a couple months ago. When the RO tank is full/near full, we hear a noise about 2-5 minutes after water is used anywhere else in the house. The noise starts as a 2-second low vibration sound (like a low moan/humming) and gradually ramps up to a high-pitch squeal; the entire sound lasts about about 3-5 seconds and can be heard in adjoining rooms in the house. The RO installer has already tried the following solutions with no luck: replaced system and tank, added check valve to the drain, increased tubing size, and checked and adjusted RO connections to water supply. We have a well and have confirmed our system pressure is not too low/high. Do you have any ideas for possible causes and fixes?

    1. Hello Deb and thank you for the question.

      The sound that you are hearing is because of a change in the water pressure inside of the reverse osmosis system. When water is used elsewhere in your home, the water pressure supplying the system drops and it struggles to reach a balance of pressure. As the pressure starts to balance out the noise will become higher pitched.

      I don’t believe that there is anything wrong with the reverse osmosis system, it is just straining to get enough water pressure to operate properly. Check that the supply line has no kinks in it, the water supply is on full and you might need to run a separate supply line if there are many other appliances getting water from the same line to stop the noise.

      I hope this was helpful.

      Paul

  11. I have a Whole house RO system by kinetico, I am getting black rings in the toilet bowl. Any ideas?

    1. Hello Randy, and thank you for the question.

      A properly working whole house reverse osmosis system should be removing anything that would be creating a black ring inside of a toilet. Without testing your water, I can’t be sure of what it might be but if you have Manganese in your water it can leave a black stain behind where it settles. But if you are only getting this black staining in one location, it may be an air bound bacteria that have settled on the surface of the water in your toilets and have begun to grow on the edge where they are able to anchor themselves and are exposed to the air.

      I would try cleaning the stain with a mild chlorine-based cleaner and then use a chlorine toilet cleaning tablet that hangs inside of the bowl to prevent future bacteria growth.

      Also, check to see that your toilets are getting supplied by the whole house reverse osmosis system. In some cases, a home may have untreated water going to toilets and outside faucets.

      I hope that this was helpful.

      Paul

  12. Hello Paul,
    Thank you so much for your informative article. We recently had our Reverse Osmosis 3 Filters changed but after doing so, the drain from water being made is EXTREMELY LOUD and seems to go on for hours! It’s much louder than it had been before. For replacing 12 oz of water, we’ll hear the loud water drain sound for at least 2 hours. This had happened back in 2020 and it resolved after we had a new tank installed and the maintenance person also added a flow control that had been accidently left off during initial install. Since then, absolutely no issues, but after our 3 filters were changed this year and they had A LOT of debris in them, which surprised us because we also have a whole house filter system as well. But after the 3 filters installed, the system is again LOUD! I checked to ensure the Flow Control attachment was still intact and it was. I’m told this is normal but it didn’t happen until the filters were just changed. Any Ideas what could be causing this? I believe it could because the other 2 filters may be dirty as well. But why would changing 3 filters cause this? Any advice would be appreciated!

    1. Hello Cindy and thank you for the question.

      My first guess is that some dirt or sediment has gotten lodged in the drain tube where it connects to your drain pipe.

      When this happens, the drain water gets restricted which can make the reverse osmosis system take longer to fill its storage tank, and the water going into the drain will spray out into the pipe like when you put your thumb over the end of a garden hose to make the water spray farther with more force.

      Check that the drain tube is clear and also that it is properly aligned with the hole in the drain pipe. If the tubing has been shifted when the filters were changed, you will get the same loud spraying into the drain pipe.

      My second thought is that some debris has gotten into the auto shut-off on the system which will keep it from shutting off when it should and could cause noise because the water is restricted.

      If you are a bit handy, you could remove the tube from the drain saddle on the drainpipe by pushing it in, then hold the grab ring in and remove the tubing.

      You should be able to stick a toothpick or skewer through it and into the pipe to check that it is aligned correctly.

      If you don’t feel comfortable working on your system, call your water treatment professional to check that the system is draining properly and check the auto shut-off on the system.

      I hope this was helpful!

      Paul

  13. Hello, my osmosis is making extremly whinning noisy funny sounds. It occurs while pump inside the well for house water supply turns on. It pumps for about 10-20 seconds to fill 60 liter tank. Then osmosis starts to whinning for about 1 minute and makes funny sounds until I use water from it. Basically when osmosis tank is full and it is “off” it does crazy sounds when pump runs.
    Could it be too high pressure? Thank you.

    1. Hello Marek and thank you for the question.

      I believe that it is more the change in pressure that is causing the whining noise rather than the amount of pressure.

      When your pump turns on, it will increase the water pressure going to the home and the water pressure going into the reverse osmosis system. I recommend adding a reverse osmosis pressure regulator to maintain constant pressure on the system and the noise should stop.

      I hope this was helpful.

      Paul

  14. Changed the filters on my 5 stage AMI home system. Have deleveloped water hammer and can feel it in the drain line. This occurs after I get water from the osmosis faucet. System seems to working well otherwise. Thanks.

    1. Hello Guy and thank you for the question.

      It sounds like your system is not getting a strong enough water supply.

      If you have a booster pump on your system, make sure that it is plugged in and working.

      You may have some air bubbles in the system. Let the system run until the tank is empty and then let it refill for 3-4 hours. If this does not help, refer to the “How Can You Get Air Bubbles Out Of Your Reverse Osmosis System?” section of this article to help remove bubbles from the system.

      I hope this was helpful.

      Paul

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