Running water
Little change- Overall
- 1.10 → 2.91
- Background
- 1.14 → 4.11
- Naturalness
- 1.13 → 2.51
Remove Water Noise from Audio for Free
EraseNoise is a background noise remover that lowers running water, such as a tap, a sink, or a shower, behind the voice in an audio or video file. In our real sample, the background score went from 1.14 to 4.11 out of 5, but the voice can sound processed. Listen to that trade-off below, then judge it on 30 seconds of your own file, free.
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Up to 2 GBFirst 30 seconds free
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- Free 30-second preview
- Files deleted after 24 hours
- Works on your phone
How do I check water noise before I pay?
Play the tap recording and keep your attention on the voice rather than the gaps, because water covers much of the voice range and the cleanup can thin it. Then run 30 seconds of your own file for free.
This is one of the weak cases of the 24 recordings we tested. The water dropped a lot, background from 1.14 to 4.11 and overall quality from 1.10 to 2.91, but naturalness ended at 2.51, so the voice can sound processed. Scores are DNSMOS and NISQA predictions on a 1–5 scale for a real running-water recording from the Microsoft DNS Challenge test set, processed with no hand edits.
Which water sounds can be removed?
Running water is a loud, wide hiss that covers much of the voice range. It drops, but less cleanly than a fan.
A tap or a sink
Someone talking while washing up. The rush of water drops, and the voice stays, a little thinner.
Hear the recordingA shower or a bath filling
We tested a tap, not a shower. Water farther from the mic than the voice is usually the easier case, so compare the preview.
Rain, streams, and fountains
We have not tested rain or outdoor water. It is broad noise like a tap, so expect the same trade-off and check the free preview.
An aquarium pump or a water cooler
Not tested here. A steady bubbling or hum is closer to fan noise, which cleaned well in our fan samples.
Remove fan noiseWhy remove water noise with EraseNoise?
A classic noise filter treats running water as a profile to subtract, and the voice goes with it. Here the voice is the reference.
The words stay readable
Even where the voice sounds thinner, the words come through above the water instead of under it.
A strength control
The Noise reduction control mixes some of the original back in. A little water left under a fuller voice often sounds better.
An honest sample
The recording above is one of our weak cases. You can hear the trade-off before you upload anything.
How do I judge the voice after the water is lowered?
With water, the voice is the test, not the gaps.
A thin or watery voice
If the voice sounds hollow, turn the Noise reduction control down and compare again.
Turn the tap off next time
For the lines that matter, a few seconds without water does more than any cleanup.
EraseNoise vs other ways to remove running water
Water is a weak case for every method. Choose by how much of the voice you can afford to lose.
| Option | Works best when | Falls short when |
|---|---|---|
| EraseNoise | The words must be clear and a slightly thinner voice is acceptable | The voice must sound fully natural |
| Audacity Noise Reduction | The tap runs at one steady level and there is a gap with only water | The flow changes or there is no water-only gap |
| Cutting in an editor | The tap runs only between sentences | The water runs under the words |
| Re-recording the line | You can turn the tap off for a few seconds | The moment was outdoors or cannot be repeated |
Which files with running water can I upload?
Upload the tap, shower, or river recording unedited, up to 2 GB.
MP3, WAV, M4A, AAC, OGG, Opus, or FLAC
A voice note recorded at the sink is returned as a WAV file.
MP4, MOV, M4V, or WebM
A video with water in the soundtrack downloads as MP4 with the same picture.
How to remove water noise from audio
- 1
Upload the recording
Choose the audio or video file where water runs behind the voice.
- 2
Compare 30 seconds
Play a sentence spoken over the running tap in both versions; you can do this signed out.
- 3
Download the WAV or MP4
Clean the whole recording only if the water is lower and the voice has not turned hollow.
When do people remove water noise from audio?
Cooking and cleaning videos
The tap runs through the explanation. Lower it and keep the picture.
Voice notes recorded at the sink
A message recorded while washing up. Clean it before you send it on.
Outdoor clips by a river or a fountain
The water was louder than it seemed on the day. Clean the soundtrack of the video.
Is water the real problem?
Use this page for running water. If the voice must sound natural, re-recording the key lines is the safer fix.
| Job | Use |
|---|---|
| A tap, sink, shower, or stream | Use this water page |
| Kitchen clatter and the hood fan | Remove kitchen noise from audio |
| Wind on an outdoor video | Remove wind noise from video |
| A steady hiss from the mic | Remove static from audio |
| Recordings that cleaned better than water | See every example with scores |
How long is the water recording kept?
Files with running water in them, and the cleaned versions, are erased 24 hours after the upload and are never published as samples. Keep your own copy before then.
Frequently asked questions
How do I remove water noise from audio?
Upload the recording with the tap running and compare the free 30-second preview with the original. Download the full file only if the water is lower and the voice still sounds like the speaker.
How well does EraseNoise remove running water?
On a real tap recording from the Microsoft DNS Challenge test set, the DNSMOS background score rose from 1.14 to 4.11 out of 5 and overall quality from 1.10 to 2.91. NISQA naturalness ended at 2.51, so the voice can sound processed. That makes running water one of the three weak cases among the 24 recordings we tested.
Why does the voice sound thin after cleaning?
Running water covers much of the same range as a voice, so lowering it takes some of the voice too. Turn the Noise reduction control down to keep more of the voice.
Will EraseNoise remove rain?
We have not tested rain. It is broad noise like a running tap, so it likely drops with the same thin-voice trade-off. Check the free 30-second preview before you pay.
How long does EraseNoise take to clean a recording with running water?
Processing time depends on how long the recording with running water is: as a guide, a 5-minute video takes 10 to 60 seconds. The free 30-second preview of the recording with running water uses no paid minutes, so you can judge it first.
What file size and how many free previews do I get for a water recording?
A single file can be up to 2 GB. Previews of 30 seconds are free 3 times in 24 hours without an account, or 20 times with one. The full recording is charged in whole minutes, minimum 1.
Remove water noise from the next recording
Upload one file. Keep the result only if the water is lower and the voice still sounds natural.
Upload your recording