So, I feel the need to blank and moan about the steam heat in my apartment. I am up now because currently it sounds like the Limmat is running through the steam pipes in my bedroom, the only guess I have as to why is that the people who live on top of me have their vent turned up to max. I know this because previously my kitchen vent was stuck on the max setting and those pipes made the same noise then (I was able to rip off the plastic valve turner, and with some vice grips and a little luck made that one shut up).

Now if this were the first night that this silly heating method had woken me up I wouldn't be so pissy about it. BUT every night in December up to about the 20th, at 5:30 in the morning the pipes in my bedroom started making a (loud) tapping noise, about every 3 seconds until 6:00. Now I thought this was an uncontrollable problem, but alas when the upstairs people went away for Christmas the noise stopped, so for some ungodly reason they woke up at 5:30 every night for a month and cranked their heat, and now they've decided to just leave the vent at max forever!

What are the alternatives to steam heat you ask? Electrical baseboard heat was common in my NA apartments, in much colder climates than this, I know electic heat is more expensive than gas, BUT it doesn't make the same ungodly, unnecessary noises. Also, there is nothing wrong per se with forced air (HVAC) heating systems, although retrofitting old buildings with them may not really make sense.

Well, I'm done for now, schlafen sie gut (sleep well)

If your radiator's like my floor heating (Bodenheizung) it's hot water that's suppose to be running through those pipes, not steam. The problem you are experiencing is when air accumulates in the system. Upper floors suffer from this problem the most because the air rises to the top of the heating lines. Somewhere on your radiators there should be a bleed valve to remove the excess air, the system really should be bled (at the very least) at the beginning of the heating season. I've included a couple of pictures to show you what I mean. Remember mine isn't a radiator system like yours rather it's pipes that run under the floors (Bodenheizung) but I think you should have something similar on your radiators (maybe 2?).



The next picture demonstrates how to bleed the system. There's a special 5mm key (see it's on the bleed valve now) which can be bought at just about any D.I.Y shop (Coop, Migros, Jumbo) for about 1chf. Get yourself a 1 meter length of 10mm tubbing and a bucket. Be sure the radiator is already open to it's highest setting then open the bleed valve slowly. Careful, it might spit a little and the water may be very warm (55°-60°c). Once the water flows smoothly without any more spitting you're done. You should be able to enjoy a good nights rest :-)



Your maintenance man (Hauswart) should be able to do this for you but if he's like most Hauswarts...

good luck

Thanks a lot Vwild, I now have a weekend project

After re-reading your post I realized you have a problem that I had in a previous apartment. As it was explained to me the problem was about a pair of handcuffs and something about the guy's wife liking it rough..

Still that doesn't explain the three second interval... (Maybe somebody is trapped in the cellar )

I think the house heating gets activated at 5.30 am and then you hear the old pipes expanding for half an hour.

In the past I sometimes heard a whistling noise when a valve somewhere in the neighboring appartments was open, so you have my sympathies!

I have just come across a similar problem with my apartment (I think it's similar) about the pipes.

We are a ground floor apartment and every evening at the moment at just past 9pm we suddenly here this knocking noise, which sounds either like a tree hitting a window/wall or a pipe noise. This runs right through until about 2am/3am. At first I thought it was the former, because it's totally irregular - it may happen 3 times at 2 seconds apart and then not at all for 15 seconds. Consequently it is really annoying, as because it is irregular you can't "get used to it" and get back to sleep.

I definitely now think it is the pipes though, as there is a faint hissing after the first knock which then stops with the second. Anyone experienced something similar? Who's responsibility is it to sort it out? I've considered talking to other residents but my German is abysmal - so no idea how I would explain myself.

Should I contact my landlord and ask for it to be sorted out? Is he going to be bothered?