If you live in your own home, you might think that your house—especially older ones—has a life to itself. These noises, especially if they occur in the middle of the night, can provide quite a fright, but as AAA explains, these are common issues that usually have easy solutions.
Buffalo Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing has a look at five of these strange sounds.

Random Toilet Flushing

Everyone in your house may be accounted for in the kitchen or living room when the toilet in the bathroom randomly flushes. This occurs when the toilet flapper goes bad and needs to be replaced. If you also notice this happening in one toilet, it may happen in the others due to normal wear, so you may want to replace them all as a precaution.

Persistent Knocking

When it’s especially quiet, you may hear some knocking in your home that clearly isn’t from the front door. If it’s persistent and on beat, it’s likely the pressure of your home’s pipes moving water around. If this is happening when no one is using any water, turn off your main supply valve and flush the lines by turning all faucets on and flushing all toilets. Turn the valve back on once all the water stops flowing. Call a plumber if you’re still having issues after that.

Abrupt Chirping

You might hear a faint chirping sound but not realize where it’s coming from—especially with so many electronic devices in today’s homes. Most often, however, this is going to be coming from a smoke detector with a low battery. To ensure batteries are always fresh, change them twice per year when you adjust the clocks for Daylight Saving Time.

Scratching Noises From Outside

With winter coming, it’s common to have some windy weather. That might be accompanied by some scratching sounds in the house or windows. You likely have some branches that are hanging over and brushing up against the roof or other areas of your house.

Rattling Noises

Another potentially unsettling sound on those windy nights are rattling noises in the house. That happens with old or improperly maintained windows in windy conditions, so check your seals with some weatherstripping.

To learn more about Buffalo Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing and all of the services they offer, visit http://buffalo-center.facilities.centershealthcare.org/.