Honestly, I’d say those foam sleeves are more for stopping heat loss than noise. If the pipes are rattling, it’s usually because they’re not secured tight enough. I had a similar issue—turned out one loose bracket was the culprit. Once I added a couple of proper pipe clips, the banging stopped almost completely. Might be worth crawling under there and checking if any supports are missing or loose... sometimes it’s just one spot making all the noise.
Honestly, I’d say those foam sleeves are more for stopping heat loss than noise. If the pipes are rattling, it’s usually because they’re not secured tight enough.
Yeah, I’ve noticed that too. The foam sleeves are everywhere in the supply room, but I always thought they were more about keeping the hot water hot (and maybe saving a few bucks on the bill) than actually quieting things down. I tried wrapping some around a copper line that was knocking against a joist—didn’t do much except make it look chunkier.
Funny thing, I once spent like half an hour trying to wedge bits of foam and even an old rag between a pipe and the wall, thinking it’d hush the noise. Turns out, the bracket two feet down was barely hanging on. Tightened it up and suddenly, peace and quiet. Guess sometimes it really is just one loose bit making all the racket.
I’m still learning, but it seems like pipe clips and brackets are way more important than I first thought. Is there a trick to knowing how many supports you actually need? I’ve seen some runs with clips every couple feet, others way more spaced out. Maybe depends on the pipe material?
Anyway, I’d say check for loose supports before spending on more foam. Unless you want to keep your crawlspace extra toasty, which... hey, maybe someone does.
I ran into something similar when I first started poking around under the house—thought I could just slap some insulation on a noisy pipe and call it fixed. Didn’t really work, and honestly, it just made it harder to see what was going on when I needed to check for leaks later. Ended up learning (the hard way) that a wobbly bracket or clip will make way more noise than bare copper ever will, especially if you’ve got long runs.
From what I’ve read and seen, the spacing for supports does depend on the pipe material. Copper seems to need more frequent support—every 6-8 feet is what’s usually recommended, but if you’ve got bends or valves, closer is better. PEX is a bit more forgiving since it flexes, but even then, I try not to go more than about 4 feet without some kind of anchor. PVC seems to sag if you leave too much distance between hangers, especially with hot water.
One thing that tripped me up was not thinking about thermal expansion. Pipes can move a surprising amount when they heat up and cool down. I once had a hot water line start knocking every time someone took a shower because the clips were too tight—loosened them just a hair and added a little plastic insert, and the noise stopped.
If you’re trying to keep things quiet *and* efficient, maybe focus on getting those brackets solid first, then add insulation where you actually want to save energy. Foam sleeves are definitely great for keeping hot water lines warm (I noticed my morning showers heat up faster now), but they won’t do much against banging pipes if the supports are loose or missing.
Funny how often the simplest fix ends up being the right one... Tighten a screw here, add a clip there, and suddenly everything’s calm again. Makes me wonder how many people out there are living with noisy plumbing just because of one loose bracket behind the wall.
Not sure I’d put all my eggs in the “tighten every bracket” basket, honestly. I’ve seen plenty of cases where folks go overboard with supports and end up creating more problems—especially with copper. If you clamp things down too tight or use the wrong kind of bracket, you can actually make expansion noise worse, or even stress the pipe enough to cause pinhole leaks over time. There’s a sweet spot between “wobbly” and “locked down like Fort Knox,” and it’s not always obvious.
Insulation isn’t just about energy savings either. If you use the right kind—like closed-cell foam with a bit of give—it can help dampen vibration and reduce that metallic ringing you sometimes get with long copper runs. It won’t fix a loose bracket, but it’s not useless for noise either.
And about PEX: yeah, it’s more forgiving, but if you don’t leave room for movement at the ends, you’ll still get weird noises when it expands. Sometimes it’s less about how many supports you use and more about how you install them. Seen too many “over-engineered” jobs that ended up noisier than the original mess...
Totally on the mark about over-tightening brackets—seen it way too often, especially with copper. Folks think more is better, but you end up with pipes creaking every time the temp changes or, worse, leaks down the line. There’s definitely a balance. I usually tell people if you can’t wiggle the pipe at all, it’s probably too tight.
Insulation does more than people give it credit for. That closed-cell foam can really take the edge off those pinging noises, especially in older houses with long runs. Not a cure-all, but it helps.
On PEX, yeah, it’s more forgiving, but you still need to let it move. I’ve seen some installs where they zip-tied it everywhere and then wondered why it sounded like popcorn when the water heater kicked on. Sometimes less is more—just enough support to keep things tidy, but don’t strangle the pipe.
Honestly, half the battle is just stepping back and thinking about how those pipes are gonna move once everything’s closed up. Overthinking can make things worse... seen that movie too many times.
