What Causes the ‘Hiss’ of a Hot Shower?

Hot showers make a hiss because steam forms and air bubbles pop. When you turn on the hot water, it quickly heats up the cold water, causing tiny bubbles of steam to form and then collapse, like a soft popping sound. This is why your shower sounds like it’s whispering or hissing when it's really hot.

Take the quiz →

Examples

A hot shower in the morning makes a soft hiss because steam bubbles pop inside the pipe.
The shower sounds like it's whispering when the water is really hot, almost like it’s saying 'Good morning!' with every drop.
When you turn on the hot water quickly, it creates more hissing than if you let it warm up slowly.

Ask a question

Discussion

Recent activity

Categories: Physics · acoustics,thermodynamics,water pressure,sound waves