Appliances are often the loudest noise source in a home. Of these, there are several that are particularly bad offenders, such as blenders, washers, dryers, refrigerators and dishwashers. Ever wonder how they compare to one another? Check out our infographic on Loudest Appliances and Electronics in your home.
Compare against other common noise levels
Soundproofing Your Appliances
Now that you know how loud your every day appliances actually are, you can do something to keep them quiet if they bother you. Unfortunately, for some appliances such as blenders or tea kettles, you might just be better off buying a nicer, quieter version of one.
I don’t think anyone will ever invent a quiet blender, but there are now electric tea kettles out there that don’t whistle when your tea is done. They also boil your water in around 2 minute, but that’s besides the point. Let’s get into what you can do to keep your appliances quiet other than just not using them.
Soundproof & Quiet Your Noisy Refrigerator
While you can’t soundproof your actual fridge, you can soundproof the space around it. We have a couple of methods and materials you can use to reduce the sound that escapes out of your fridge.
First, you should invest in a cushioned mat that you can place under the fridge. This will help to absorb the vibrational noise coming from your refrigerator’s pump. We recommend using 1 lb/SF mass loaded vinyl, which will help to separate the rigid legs of your fridge from vibrating against your hard floors.
Depending on how new your fridge is, this can determine how loud the compressor can be. Most fridges have decibel levels of around 30-50, which is a pretty big range. For example, when increasing or reducing a sound by 10 decibels, it will result in a perceived 50% change in the noise level.
Also, if you, like others, have your refrigerator in an alcove, make sure it is not touching the surrounding walls. When your fridge sounds like it’s vibrating, when it is also touching a wall, that connection will help the sound travel faster and seem louder.
Quiet Your Washer and Dryer
Similarly to your refrigerator, place pads under the legs of your washer and dryer, so that if it is shaking and making very loud noises, the pads will help to absorb the sound. Along with this, you should either place padding between your wall and the washer/dryer or move your washer and dryer away from the wall all together.
If you see a pattern here, you always want to be sure that your appliances are not pushed all the way up to a wall if it’s already a noisy appliance. When two rigid surfaces are in contact, sound travels further and faster than it does through the air. Also, if you have a washer that constantly goes off balance it’s going to make much less noise away from the wall than it will up against a wall.
If this is not enough, and you have a separate laundry room for your washer and dryer, try a soundproof door cover. This will help reduce the amount of sound escaping through the door to your laundry room. For those of you with folding slatted doors, you probably experience a lot of noise coming out of the laundry room. You could likely start by stapling mass loaded vinyl to the back of that door to reduce a lot of that noise.
Soundproof Your Dishwasher
While the dishwasher isn’t on our list up above, if you have an older one or loud one in general, it might be one of the louder appliances in your house right behind the washing machine. This is another appliance that you want to keep away from its surrounding alcove. In this case, we suggest lining the surrounding alcove with – you guessed it – mass loaded vinyl. This will help keep a running dishwasher from directly touching the surrounding walls and making more noise.
An added bonus to the mass loaded vinyl is that is can protect surrounding cabinetry and drywall from getting wet and growing mold/causing the materials to deteriorate.
Soundproofing Your Appliances
So when it comes to soundproofing your appliances you only need to follow a few simples steps. First, place padding such as mass loaded vinyl underneath the legs of refrigerators, washers, dryers, and dishwashers. Second, do not let any of these appliances touch the wall if they shake or vibrate while on. Finally, if the room that holds said appliance is on it’s own and has a door, try installing a soundproof door cover or simply stapling mass loaded vinyl to the back of the door.
