Items that can cause DC on the mains are, Dimmers, Hair Dryers, portable electric heaters, LED lights, CFL lights, electronic ballasts, and cheaply made switch mode power supplies.
Here is a quote from Nelson Pass:
Nelson Pass
Here is a quote from Nelson Pass:
Nelson Pass
If you are experiencing mechanical hum from yourhttps://www.diyaudio.com/forums/solid-state/2080-dc-filter.html#post15973
transformer, it is often caused by the presence of
DC on the line. Usually this comes from some appliance
using current asymmetrically, such as a lamp dimmer.
The hum comes usually from toroidal transformers, which
saturate easily with DC, and when they recover, they
draw an extra pulse of current, causing the noise.
You can put a pair of back-to-back electrolytics in series
with the AC power line to block this, and it works fine.
Makes sure the current rating of the electrolytics is
high enough, and the they are joined at a like polarity,
such as + to +.