Reducing Noises in Your Home
If you have a busy household, noise pollution is almost inevitable. Depending on your children's age, they could be crying, having tantrums, banging toys or jumping and running around, causing lots of irritating sounds. They are capable of creating a symphony of sounds unheard of that can wreck your sanity. With older kids and teenagers, it would be more likely loud TV, music, friends, or arguments with siblings.
Other noises from appliances such as refrigerator, microwave, or washing machine can also produce constant low-level sounds. Moving furniture or washing dishes can also cause lots of unwanted noise. Some people even complain about strange plumbing noises coming from the bathroom. When all these sounds add up, they can easily cause you distress.
How loud is loud?
When manufacturing cars, automakers spend millions to reduce the noise that cars could create. How bad is noise really?
Loud sounds of over 85 decibels for a prolonged period can cause permanent damage to the ear resulting in loss of hearing. For comparison, the sound of a fridge is 45 decibels, and if you are just having a conversation at home with your close ones, the sound is 60 decibels. An argument at home is going to be of higher decibels, for sure. A child's cry is, not surprisingly, around 100 decibels.
What Does Continuous Noise Cause?
The noise inside your home may not be loud enough to cause damage to your hearing. However, it may be enough to cause you psychological distress which can lead to physical health problems. Too much of continuous noise can cause heart disease in adults and the elderly. In children, noise can cause lack of concentration, irritation and learning difficulties.
How to Reduce Noise in Your Home
Noise From Inside
The key here is to reduce the noise-triggers. Fortunately, you can get high-quality appliances that make less sound. Also, having built-in appliances reduces disturbance. Think about all the electrical gadgets you have around your home. Can you live without some of them? It is well known that, for example, microwaves are not the best for our health. See if you can reheat your food the traditional way.
A dishwasher is a keeper if you’d like to reduce the noise that comes from banging dishes whilst they’re being done. A super tip is to switch it on at night, while you are fast asleep in your bedroom; make sure to keep the kitchen door closed.
The next tip is to reduce the travelling of noise around your home. Closed solid-core internal and external doors will do the job beautifully; they are worth the investment. Thick carpets also absorb sounds from the neighbours living in the floor below you. If you live in a house, compared to a flat, insulate the ceiling voids with acoustic insulation. Close space between the floor and tighten the floor joints to stop floor squeaks.
If you have wood flooring around your home, the echo of each little bang travels around. To reduce these echoes from rumbling away, use materials such as rugs, mats, curtains or sofas that will absorb the sounds.
The screechy sound of chairs moving around on wooden flooring by a child is close to unbearable. Even an adult, when moving furniture in a rush, can cause lots of unintentional noise. You cannot stop your kids from moving furniture; what you can do is to apply simple-to-use Simala furniture pads. They are durable and will protect your flooring from scratches. If you have heavy dining chairs with affixed furniture pads, they will glide on your wood flooring with ease and without a sound.
Other noises around the house are caused when cabinets get closed in the kitchen and the bathrooms. Similar noises are generated when you close bedside table drawers and wardrobes in the bedrooms. To end these slamming noises, apply SIMALA bumper pads on each and every one of your cabinets. Easy peasy!
To stop door handles from bumping into walls, apply useful SIMALA door bumpers onto the wall behind each door. SIMALA furniture pads and bumpers will make your house quieter even with kids around. These simple-to-use products will protect your cabinets, walls and flooring from getting damaged.
Noise From Outside
If you live in a busy city street, the sound of traffic, ambulances or fire engines passing by can wake up the whole house. To stop the noise chaos from entering your home, you can invest in double or triple glazed windows. An alternative is to use good-quality heavy curtains that will help reduce the noise coming in. Make sure you keep your windows closed whenever the streets get busy.
If you have a gap beneath the entrance door, use door sealer or filler. All these tricks will also reduce your energy bills in the winter months, as they keep the heat inside.
No doubt you love your neighbours, but if you have a particularly loud neighbour, you can put furniture on the connecting wall. If they are noisy in the late evenings, you can always complain to the council.
It is not always possible to apply each of this tips. The aim is to use the affordable and practical tricks first, before using the seemingly impractical measures. We hope we’ve provided you with some useful ideas on how to reduce everyday noises around you. Browse noise dampening furniture pads on our products page or visit our amazon storefront for amazon exclusive deals.
- Tina Simala