Strange home noise

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Teriyakighoul

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Sep 1, 2021
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Location
Waukesha, WI
I apologize if this is in the wrong place, I have never had to place any type of home question online. We moved into this town house in February 2021. My landlord is about as useful as a kick in the pants when it comes to absolutely anything other than taking my money.
We have begun to notice a random rumbling sound. It only lasts for a moment and it sounds as if someone is moving something extremely heavy and its skidding across the floor. (That's the best way I can describe it) it shakes the floor/house and then it is gone. It happens once in the morning and then late at night.
I've lived in the same home for 27 years and this place is totally new to me. I have 0 idea what this could be. I've always taken really good care of my home and I have 0 idea of the history of this one. I just want to know if my family is safe because I will have to fight my landlord to come check it out.
 
Can you isolate where the sound seems to be coming from?

Is it always at the exact same time in the morning/night or just sometime in the morning and sometime at night? Is it never any other time?

Also, what kind of townhouse is it? (Row house, duplex, etc.) Need to better understand what walls you share with neighbors, thus what sounds of theirs you're likely to be able to hear clearly..

If the sound is very regular, then a dishwasher, furnace, or fridge (yours or a neighbor's) would be my first three guesses. Icemakers in fridges can be loud; took me a while to get used to that sound in my current house. Could also be water hammer: that's when the flow of water starting and stopping through pipes causes the pipes to jolt and bang against whatever they're (improperly) secured to, producing a noise that can sound like the blow of a hammer but depending on the circumstances could also sound like a quick succession of loud bangs, similar to something heavy skidding across a floor. Actually I think that's the most likely culprit. Maybe water being used by a dishwasher or a fridge's icemaker.
 
It's anyone's guess what it may be, so please bear with just a lot of guesses on this one.
One simple test to eliminate one more guess, would be to add some red food coloring into your toilet tank and see if the flapper is leaking into the bowl.
 
If you can reasonably connect this sound with something endangering your personal safety, you can get your landlord's attention and maybe that of your local newspaper. Otherwise it's just griping.

I recommend you record it, along with the time. This noise might violate tenants' rights to "quiet enjoyment" of your living space.
 
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