Reducing the Noise

Part of living in an apartment is accepting the fact that peace and quiet will never be achievable 100% of the time. Whether you’ve got rowdy neighbors, an air conditioning system that rattles uncontrollably or your bedroom window faces the street and you’re woken every Tuesday morning to the sounds of a garbage truck, noise is just something that people come to expect when living in a community setting.

However, there are some pretty easy things you can do to lessen the noise level and regain your sanity.

So, the folks living next to you have arguments all night long, or you just might not have the same musical tastes, the first thing you need to do is to talk to them. Odds are they have no idea that you can hear them. If this is the case, there’s a good chance they might be embarrassed when you approach them, so there’s really no reason to be nasty with them. Sure, if you need to tell your neighbors for the tenth time to turn down the Bob Dylan, your patience level might be at its lowest and your frustration and anger level turned up high. If you’re approaching your neighbors for the first time because you were up all night listening to them argue about whose mother-in-law is uglier or the fact that not putting the toilet seat down causes serious problems, a little tact may be required.

After you’ve spoken with your neighbors and if you see no end to the noise in sight, you may need to enlist the help of your landlord to serve as an intermediary. Together, you may be able to comprise and agree on some easy fixes. Agree to move stereo equipment away from shared walls, lay down carpets to absorb the pitter patter of little feet and determine what period of time is definitely a no no for noise (that means, not working out on the treadmill at 4:00 am, not vacuuming at 2:00 am and not having loud guests over during the week).

There’s a good chance that the situation will not escalate any further than this, as long as you keep your temper and work towards a solution. Don’t forget that a little compromise may be necessary. Avoid name calling, swearing, and other bad behaviors. In the event that you’re not dealing with a reasonable individual, and the situation becomes hot: end it, document it and make sure you tell your landlord (if he/she is not present). If you ever are, or feel, threatened, contact the local authorities at once. If it gets to this point, there’s a good chance that either you or the problem neighbor won’t be living in that building much longer. And whichever way you look at it, that’s really not a bad thing.

A quick fix to rattling noises, coming from inside the walls (due to electrical or pipe situations, not rodents, yikes!) is to put gaskets behind electrical cover plates. Make sure your plumbing pipes are insulated on the outside and are not bumping against solid framing. If you fear that you might have a rodent problem, contact your building management immediately.

Contact your building management if you suffer from noises from mechanical devices like elevators, garbage chutes, air conditioning units, heating units or garage door openers. The building management may be able to do something relatively simple, like moving an air conditioning unit farther away from the apartment building walls, to give you back your sanity.

Building management can also help you if there’s a lot of noise in your apartment coming from outside. “No Loitering” signs and a couple phone calls to local law enforcement can work wonders to repel unwanted “tail-gaters” from building property.

Lastly, there are also things that you can do yourself inside your apartment to help absorb sound.

• Use heavier draperies on windows or as room dividers.
• Caulk under your baseboard.
• Place thick throw rugs around your room.
• Hang pictures or tapestries on walls.
• Use felt cushions on the bottoms of chair and table legs if you have tile or hardwood floors.

And if all else fails, invest in a good pair of ear plugs!! Good luck!