13 ms·

Noisy appliances: How loud is your house?

design-of-homes 5y ago
I agree with other posters that external noise - neighbours, cars, loud music - is more stressful than internal noise. However, the trend with modern homes (houses and flats) to create open plan layouts with combined kitchen and living spaces makes appliance noise feel more intrusive. I live in a modern (new build) flat with a combined kitchen and living room which I have come to dislike. The constant hum of the fridge/freezer - harmless 'white noise' to some - is annoying when it's ever present in the living room. My food processor sounds like a drill penetrating concrete. The worst offender is the cooker hood or cooker extractor. It sounds like a jet engine about to take off. It's impossible to listen to music or other audio (even with headphones) while the cooker hood is switched on. Washing machines have improved a bit on the noise front, but many UK homes still have washing machines in the kitchen - problematic if you have an open plan layout. Modern front-loading washing machines also have ridiculously long wash times for normal wash programmes e.g. 3 hours. Imagine having to listen to your washing machine for that duration while sitting in your living room. All these things have made me really dislike the open plan layouts that are the default in new build housing today.
- vladvasiliu 5y ago
  I agree with you, those noises are terrible, but at least, they only happen when you use the appliances. Aside for your fridge, which I find strange. Mine isn't running particularly often. In my apartment, which is open-plan also, by far the worst offender is the building ventilation. The extractor sounds like a jet engine, 24/7, and I have to cover it with something to not go crazy.
  - Symbiote 5y ago
    My apartment's washing machine is in the bathroom, which is normal in Denmark. I can close the bathroom door when it's running, and it's not a problem during calls. The fridge is not noticeable except at night, with all the windows closed. The extractor hood's fan is somewhere else (top of the building?) so it's only at night that I can hear it running. The building ventilation is also quiet. I noticed the absence when there was a power cut, but otherwise don't hear it, even at night. The windows are excellent too. Most of this seems to be typical in above-average newer apartments in Denmark.
    - vladvasiliu 5y ago
      > Most of this seems to be typical in above-average newer apartments in Denmark. Yeah, I think this is the point that matters. Don't know about Denmark, but in France only recently standards started to take into account noise. In Paris, most housing stock is from before 1990 [0]. There are some very old buildings (<1900) which I think may be fairly quiet (prefab wasn't a thing yet) and supposedly newer buildings (>2000) are quiet also thanks to the laws. I've never been in the latter, but have been in an older one (not sure about the year though) and it was very, very silent AND cool despite the hot summer outside and lack of AC. [0] An interactive plan of the age of buildings https://www.comeetie.fr/galerie/BatiParis https://www.comeetie.fr/galerie/BatiParis
- tzs 5y ago
  I understand the fridge annoyance because those things can run at any time. I'd have expect the hood and the food processor to not be much of a problem because presumably they only run when meals are being prepared. My washing machine got a lot more annoying when I realized its whosh whosh whosh is timed to perfectly accompany the old "Badger Badger Badger" Flash animation [1] [2]. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzagBTcYsYQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzagBTcYsYQ [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badgers_(animation) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badgers_(animation)
swader999 5y ago
On a scale of kids, wife, pets, the appliances are the least of the noise concerns. Soft insertable ear plugs with hunting ear muffs on top keeps me sane. I don't focus well with most kinds of music unfortunately.
- BuildTheRobots 5y ago
  I recently bought a pair of Sony active noice cancelling headphones and spend a lot of time in the house wearing them in noice calcelling mode without playing any music. I find it takes away large amounts of anxiety and stress - and as much as you don't notice the silence quite that much, the second you switch them off it's surreal how noisy reality actually is. Saying that, before I got them I was doing a lot of DIY round the house and would occasionally catch myself wearing ear defenders even hours later without realising, so it coukd just be me that's overly sensitive.
montzark 5y ago
Appliances are least concern in city. To me most noise comes from cars and motorcycles. This area seems really underegulated, basically anyone can annoy a lot of people at once by making exhaust louder to establish I don't even know what? Semi-joke: Anyone can do it, just drill holes to exhaust before muffler. I thought that maybe I should do that, like annoy so much people that something would be done in regarding this.
- ketamine__ 5y ago
  Something might be done by me. To your car. ;)
- jbverschoor 5y ago
  The only thing that makes noise here is: - fab in the bathroom - fridge sometimes, it’s old - the washing machine - heating thing when you use warm water No fans nothing. Loving my m1
  - sgt 5y ago
    What is the "heating thing when you use warm water"? Aren't water heaters quiet since they constantly boil the water?
    - moreati 5y ago
      In the UK most homes don't have a hot water tank. We have a wall mounted gas boiler, that heats water on demand. These are often located in the kitchen.
      - KineticLensman 5y ago
        > These are often located in the kitchen Also, traditionally, in an 'airing cupboard': a space where washed clothes 'air' before being put in drawers. There is a lot of variation.
      - bananapear 5y ago
CarVac 5y ago
I recently replaced my fridge because it was unbearably loud for me. The noise was pretty much the primary source of stress in my life, no exaggeration. Perhaps it was on its way out anyway, but my new one is deathly silent, just the way I like it.
- tamaharbor 5y ago
  I replaced a brand new Frigidaire refrigerator (internet reviews said it was quiet) with a new LG unit (which is actually quiet) and removed a lot of stress from my life.
  - CarVac 5y ago
    I got an LG as well, because the linear compressor is supposed to be quieter.
- ketamine__ 5y ago
  I'm not able to find an article now but a psychologist (I think?) that lived in Lebanon was interviewed on the quite high level of noise pollution. He said the effect is very real on anxiety, anger, unhappiness even if people don't realize it. He also remarked that people think they are going to move here and adapt. And that's because, in his words, they haven't had the experience. The idea that our lives could be adversely effected and we don't realize the cause? And if someone pointed it out we might disagree? That's scary to me.
- patrakov 5y ago
  I tried to do so, too. Decided to make no compromises, i.e. that any compressor-based refrigerator is unacceptable. So, bought a small absorption refrigerator from Dometic. Indeed no noise at all (because there are no moving parts), but it still feels like a huge waste of money: a bit too small and "suitable only for keeping the frozen food, but not for freezing it". But it does make ice. https://www.dometic.com/en-us/food-and-beverage/refrigerators?sortBy=Relevance&count=24&v_skuproductgroupdisplay=Absorption+Refrigerators https://www.dometic.com/en-us/food-and-beverage/refrigerator...
- joeyh 5y ago
m_mueller 5y ago
ANC headphones have been a real increase in my quality of life. Being able to do the dishes or vacuuming while able to choose my own sound scape is very relaxing.
dirtyid 5y ago
Does anyone else just wear ANC headphones all the time? I have setup Bluetooth on all my regular used devices and wonder if there is a way to synthesize them to one source so I don't have to switch devices all the time. I don't really know where to start, get a bunch of blue tooth receivers and somehow combine all the channels in windows and then transmit to my headphones?
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- jrace 5y ago
  You may want to reconsider this. Over use will cause your threshold of normal to be far lower than normal as you will have retrained your hearing to perceive when ANC on = normal. Then when ANC off = everything will be too loud. Everything.
nojokes 5y ago
40 dB is way too loud for devices that work for longer period of time like dish washers or fridges. Ovens with a fan are also not silent or induction hobs that need additional cooling. The worst case is mostly kitchen exhaust that is very often near 60-70dB. I shopped for decibels and I am mostly satisfied but many people do not know to pay attention to this before it is too late.
- Ayesh 5y ago
  I installed a new Beko B-CFB6433XH hood that was surprisingly quiet than the rest. It was the cheapest model available too. I used a uPVC vent because I couldn't find aluminium ones amidst the lockdown. It probably helped a bit too, because those flexible ones often add up the noise.
asiachick 5y ago
Random one, I love washlets but I hate that many of them make a, to my ears, a fairly loud noise when I sit down, not when I wash. They do some kind of prep work. It's not all of them either. The one in my bathroom makes no noise (does no prep-work), It's a Lixil brand. The washing itself is not loud and anything after that is hidden by the sound of flushing. My friend's Toho makes medium high amount of noise though prepping the moment I sit down. The worst are the ones in most Japanese hotels. Their prep is loud enough I'm surprise I'm not waking up the people in the next room. What makes it the noise stick out is it's something I use in the middle of the night when everything else is silent. I'm in the market for a new one but this particular issue is not covered in any sales material.
chiph 5y ago
I recently replaced a builder-grade dishwasher with a new one. My first criteria was that it be quiet, so that I didn't have to turn up the TV volume in the next room. I found a GE that operates at 45 dB and I can barely notice it. Bosch have traditionally been very quiet - so much so that they have a light that shines on the floor to let you know when the cycle is complete. Some of the new Whirlpool ones are slightly quieter than the Bosch for a lot less money. Note that many models use the same internals, so you don't have to pay for a prestige brand.
VLM 5y ago
Blenders are probably the loudest kitchen appliance. The glass is loud but seen as required for visual effects and cleanliness. In theory there should be a way to blend that is not that loud, or at least is insulated. Even if it wouldn't be a "serious" startup project, it would be a good brain exercise for startup people to think of a way to engineer a disruptive quiet blender. Not to completely ruin the exercise, but think of marketing a blender that's so quiet it could blend homemade baby food while the baby sleeps. Or imagine selling quiet blenders to sports bars you can see the video commercial already of the old fashioned loud blender noise drowning out the "big play". Or a blender so quiet you can keep talking while having a margarita party. Or a blender so quiet you can mix a drink while watching a movie at home without hitting "pause".
- eptcyka 5y ago
  The noise a blender makes is also proportional to what is being blended. If you were to try and blend a thick liquid, it'd be far quieter than blending frozen strawberries, for instance. There isn't much one can do about this. Speaking of blending frozen strawberries, be aware that frozen berries can destroy cheaper blenders.
- illnewsthat 5y ago
  It's $800, but here is an example https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00LADQ83O https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00LADQ83O See also "Vita-Mix Quiet One Blender"
laurieg 5y ago
Since January, there has been a 10-storey office building under construction directly outside my apartment window. It has been a lesson in the debilitating effect of loud noise. Even in with the windows closed it is impossible to ignore. I've also realised that different types of noise cause me to react differently. Intermittent noises (stop start drilling, bolting together parts, hammering) are the most annoying and cause me to feel anger. Constant noises (a table saw, cutting equipment) are more fatiguing. After a few hours you think you are just ignoring them but you instantly feel better the moment they are switched off. People's voices are particularly hard to ignore. I fairly regularly hear screams of "Ouch" and there's a certain emotional tinge to the discomfort that causes.
- brnt 5y ago
  I lived right next to such construction, I wish you strength! The hardest part for me was the fact construction started between 6-7am, well before I rise and shine. A large and not particularly well oiled generator was running 24/7, making sure that also at night there was no quiet.
- burntoutfire 5y ago
  I recommend good noise-cancelling headphones (Sony makes excellent ones). Or just earplugs.
- cafard 5y ago
  Pile drivers are special: the bang/ping of compression and release. They are hard on those who have a reason for sleeping during construction hours.
joppy 5y ago
I recently bought a clothes dryer and took it back because of the noise (which raised a lot of eyebrows - “of course dryers make noise”). Swapped it for a different brand at about the same price point and the difference in noise is night and day, this new one is so much quieter I can’t even hear it if the laundry door is closed. Compared to the first one which was uncomfortably audible throughout the whole house...
duped 5y ago
Sound is so hard to shop for - in every product category. Im shopping for a home now and I detest open floor plan homes because I was raised in a large family and know how a house sounds when sound can take the shortest path to reach your ears. Similarly, in my area the style of renovated homes is to strip the ceiling of any tiles or insulation to expose the bare baseboards to the room below - which is essentially a giant diaphragm to propagate footsteps. Laundries have moved upstairs or into kitchens and pantries to add a spare bathroom or bedroom/office in the basement as well. The cumulative effect of all these changes is to make homes louder. But you would never notice it until you lived there. On the plus side modern double paned windows with argon/low pressure gaps (often sold as energy efficiency windows) and good weather sealing makes an enormous difference in sound isolation from the outside. It's an expensive upgrade, to be sure, but well worth it. That and some hidden foam paneling with thick carpets to reduce echoes, but that is mostly an illusion and doesn't affect sound transmission between rooms.
kaliszad 5y ago
I find it very annoying if appliances (or anything) emit high pitched noises. Mostly, this is just ignorant engineering (e.g. whining coils) and it often slips under the radar, because older people cannot hear those. This makes it also rather hard to return these for some people hardly usable devices. Usually it is hard to hear those sounds in a busy shop and the people checking are often older, more experienced managers who cannot hear these frequencies any more. It should be much easier to measure these noises even using e.g. a smartphone or you know, bringing your kids to work sometime to listen to the new model of a device in operation or just powered on. It is not rocket science. Actually, I own a smartphone that emits high pitched noises e.g. when calling, I cannot grok, how anybody can engineer such junk. I thought, Nokia HMD/ Foxconn should know better. Unnecessarily loud cars, motorbikes, trucks etc. are really disturbing too. People are so ignorant about how loud their cars are. Manufacturers aren't very upfront about how quiet their cars are, ideally I would like a car that I cannot hear the motor at any point in time without the air drag being much louder. I hate it, that electric cars have to emit extra sound below a certain speed. They wouldn't be silent by any stretch even without the buzzer sound. I think this mandate is actually the product of the combustion engine car manufacturers lobby, who don't seem to be able to produce near silent cars. The doors on cars could close much more quietly too, there is not much reason, why that is not the case. And while we are at it, I hate how there aren't more laptops without any kind of fan. Is it so hard to have some kind of passive cooling or are we just so lazy to engineer better/ more efficient computers? I don't mind good mechanical keyboards, which tend to be rather clicky and loud. It is a satisfying experience somehow but I wouldn't mind, if the feeling was the same and the clicky sound just wasn't there.
egberts1 5y ago
I’ve measured an instantaneous 56 dB(A) and 52 dB average in my living room, all appliances turned off and central air not running. I use the free NIOSH SM app for Apple iPhone.
bradknowles 5y ago
Don’t ever buy a Bosch dishwasher, or any other dishwasher, based solely on how loud it is. Make sure that they have an active fan-driven drying/cooling mode at the end. Otherwise, I guarantee you will regret it. We will never, ever, buy another Bosch dishwasher again, regardless of how well rated they supposedly are.
- edelhans 5y ago
  Not sure I can agree. I've bought a new Bosch dishwasher and I am quite pleased with the overall sound level. Maybe except for the obnoxious beeping when it's done :)
cafard 5y ago
At the moment--a/c not running--the cicadas are about the loudest noise, and they are rather quiet.

I agree with other posters that external noise - neighbours, cars, loud music - is more stressful than internal noise. However, the trend with modern homes (houses and flats) to create open plan layouts with combined kitchen and living spaces makes appliance noise feel more intrusive. I live in a modern (new build) flat with a combined kitchen and living room which I have come to dislike. The constant hum of the fridge/freezer - harmless 'white noise' to some - is annoying when it's ever present in the living room. My food processor sounds like a drill penetrating concrete. The worst offender is the cooker hood or cooker extractor. It sounds like a jet engine about to take off. It's impossible to listen to music or other audio (even with headphones) while the cooker hood is switched on. Washing machines have improved a bit on the noise front, but many UK homes still have washing machines in the kitchen - problematic if you have an open plan layout. Modern front-loading washing machines also have ridiculously long wash times for normal wash programmes e.g. 3 hours. Imagine having to listen to your washing machine for that duration while sitting in your living room. All these things have made me really dislike the open plan layouts that are the default in new build housing today.

vladvasiliu 5y ago
I agree with you, those noises are terrible, but at least, they only happen when you use the appliances. Aside for your fridge, which I find strange. Mine isn't running particularly often. In my apartment, which is open-plan also, by far the worst offender is the building ventilation. The extractor sounds like a jet engine, 24/7, and I have to cover it with something to not go crazy.
- Symbiote 5y ago
  My apartment's washing machine is in the bathroom, which is normal in Denmark. I can close the bathroom door when it's running, and it's not a problem during calls. The fridge is not noticeable except at night, with all the windows closed. The extractor hood's fan is somewhere else (top of the building?) so it's only at night that I can hear it running. The building ventilation is also quiet. I noticed the absence when there was a power cut, but otherwise don't hear it, even at night. The windows are excellent too. Most of this seems to be typical in above-average newer apartments in Denmark.
  - vladvasiliu 5y ago
    > Most of this seems to be typical in above-average newer apartments in Denmark. Yeah, I think this is the point that matters. Don't know about Denmark, but in France only recently standards started to take into account noise. In Paris, most housing stock is from before 1990 [0]. There are some very old buildings (<1900) which I think may be fairly quiet (prefab wasn't a thing yet) and supposedly newer buildings (>2000) are quiet also thanks to the laws. I've never been in the latter, but have been in an older one (not sure about the year though) and it was very, very silent AND cool despite the hot summer outside and lack of AC. [0] An interactive plan of the age of buildings https://www.comeetie.fr/galerie/BatiParis https://www.comeetie.fr/galerie/BatiParis
tzs 5y ago
I understand the fridge annoyance because those things can run at any time. I'd have expect the hood and the food processor to not be much of a problem because presumably they only run when meals are being prepared. My washing machine got a lot more annoying when I realized its whosh whosh whosh is timed to perfectly accompany the old "Badger Badger Badger" Flash animation [1] [2]. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzagBTcYsYQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzagBTcYsYQ [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badgers_(animation) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badgers_(animation)

swader999 5y ago

On a scale of kids, wife, pets, the appliances are the least of the noise concerns. Soft insertable ear plugs with hunting ear muffs on top keeps me sane. I don't focus well with most kinds of music unfortunately.

BuildTheRobots 5y ago
I recently bought a pair of Sony active noice cancelling headphones and spend a lot of time in the house wearing them in noice calcelling mode without playing any music. I find it takes away large amounts of anxiety and stress - and as much as you don't notice the silence quite that much, the second you switch them off it's surreal how noisy reality actually is. Saying that, before I got them I was doing a lot of DIY round the house and would occasionally catch myself wearing ear defenders even hours later without realising, so it coukd just be me that's overly sensitive.

montzark 5y ago

Appliances are least concern in city. To me most noise comes from cars and motorcycles. This area seems really underegulated, basically anyone can annoy a lot of people at once by making exhaust louder to establish I don't even know what? Semi-joke: Anyone can do it, just drill holes to exhaust before muffler. I thought that maybe I should do that, like annoy so much people that something would be done in regarding this.

ketamine__ 5y ago
Something might be done by me. To your car. ;)
jbverschoor 5y ago
The only thing that makes noise here is: - fab in the bathroom - fridge sometimes, it’s old - the washing machine - heating thing when you use warm water No fans nothing. Loving my m1
- sgt 5y ago
  What is the "heating thing when you use warm water"? Aren't water heaters quiet since they constantly boil the water?
  - moreati 5y ago
    In the UK most homes don't have a hot water tank. We have a wall mounted gas boiler, that heats water on demand. These are often located in the kitchen.
    - KineticLensman 5y ago
      > These are often located in the kitchen Also, traditionally, in an 'airing cupboard': a space where washed clothes 'air' before being put in drawers. There is a lot of variation.
    - bananapear 5y ago

CarVac 5y ago

I recently replaced my fridge because it was unbearably loud for me. The noise was pretty much the primary source of stress in my life, no exaggeration. Perhaps it was on its way out anyway, but my new one is deathly silent, just the way I like it.

tamaharbor 5y ago
I replaced a brand new Frigidaire refrigerator (internet reviews said it was quiet) with a new LG unit (which is actually quiet) and removed a lot of stress from my life.
- CarVac 5y ago
  I got an LG as well, because the linear compressor is supposed to be quieter.
ketamine__ 5y ago
I'm not able to find an article now but a psychologist (I think?) that lived in Lebanon was interviewed on the quite high level of noise pollution. He said the effect is very real on anxiety, anger, unhappiness even if people don't realize it. He also remarked that people think they are going to move here and adapt. And that's because, in his words, they haven't had the experience. The idea that our lives could be adversely effected and we don't realize the cause? And if someone pointed it out we might disagree? That's scary to me.
patrakov 5y ago
I tried to do so, too. Decided to make no compromises, i.e. that any compressor-based refrigerator is unacceptable. So, bought a small absorption refrigerator from Dometic. Indeed no noise at all (because there are no moving parts), but it still feels like a huge waste of money: a bit too small and "suitable only for keeping the frozen food, but not for freezing it". But it does make ice. https://www.dometic.com/en-us/food-and-beverage/refrigerators?sortBy=Relevance&count=24&v_skuproductgroupdisplay=Absorption+Refrigerators https://www.dometic.com/en-us/food-and-beverage/refrigerator...
joeyh 5y ago

m_mueller 5y ago

ANC headphones have been a real increase in my quality of life. Being able to do the dishes or vacuuming while able to choose my own sound scape is very relaxing.

dirtyid 5y ago

Does anyone else just wear ANC headphones all the time? I have setup Bluetooth on all my regular used devices and wonder if there is a way to synthesize them to one source so I don't have to switch devices all the time. I don't really know where to start, get a bunch of blue tooth receivers and somehow combine all the channels in windows and then transmit to my headphones?

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
jrace 5y ago
You may want to reconsider this. Over use will cause your threshold of normal to be far lower than normal as you will have retrained your hearing to perceive when ANC on = normal. Then when ANC off = everything will be too loud. Everything.

nojokes 5y ago

40 dB is way too loud for devices that work for longer period of time like dish washers or fridges. Ovens with a fan are also not silent or induction hobs that need additional cooling. The worst case is mostly kitchen exhaust that is very often near 60-70dB. I shopped for decibels and I am mostly satisfied but many people do not know to pay attention to this before it is too late.

Ayesh 5y ago
I installed a new Beko B-CFB6433XH hood that was surprisingly quiet than the rest. It was the cheapest model available too. I used a uPVC vent because I couldn't find aluminium ones amidst the lockdown. It probably helped a bit too, because those flexible ones often add up the noise.

asiachick 5y ago

Random one, I love washlets but I hate that many of them make a, to my ears, a fairly loud noise when I sit down, not when I wash. They do some kind of prep work. It's not all of them either. The one in my bathroom makes no noise (does no prep-work), It's a Lixil brand. The washing itself is not loud and anything after that is hidden by the sound of flushing. My friend's Toho makes medium high amount of noise though prepping the moment I sit down. The worst are the ones in most Japanese hotels. Their prep is loud enough I'm surprise I'm not waking up the people in the next room. What makes it the noise stick out is it's something I use in the middle of the night when everything else is silent. I'm in the market for a new one but this particular issue is not covered in any sales material.

chiph 5y ago

I recently replaced a builder-grade dishwasher with a new one. My first criteria was that it be quiet, so that I didn't have to turn up the TV volume in the next room. I found a GE that operates at 45 dB and I can barely notice it. Bosch have traditionally been very quiet - so much so that they have a light that shines on the floor to let you know when the cycle is complete. Some of the new Whirlpool ones are slightly quieter than the Bosch for a lot less money. Note that many models use the same internals, so you don't have to pay for a prestige brand.

VLM 5y ago

Blenders are probably the loudest kitchen appliance. The glass is loud but seen as required for visual effects and cleanliness. In theory there should be a way to blend that is not that loud, or at least is insulated. Even if it wouldn't be a "serious" startup project, it would be a good brain exercise for startup people to think of a way to engineer a disruptive quiet blender. Not to completely ruin the exercise, but think of marketing a blender that's so quiet it could blend homemade baby food while the baby sleeps. Or imagine selling quiet blenders to sports bars you can see the video commercial already of the old fashioned loud blender noise drowning out the "big play". Or a blender so quiet you can keep talking while having a margarita party. Or a blender so quiet you can mix a drink while watching a movie at home without hitting "pause".

eptcyka 5y ago
The noise a blender makes is also proportional to what is being blended. If you were to try and blend a thick liquid, it'd be far quieter than blending frozen strawberries, for instance. There isn't much one can do about this. Speaking of blending frozen strawberries, be aware that frozen berries can destroy cheaper blenders.
illnewsthat 5y ago
It's $800, but here is an example https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00LADQ83O https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00LADQ83O See also "Vita-Mix Quiet One Blender"

laurieg 5y ago

Since January, there has been a 10-storey office building under construction directly outside my apartment window. It has been a lesson in the debilitating effect of loud noise. Even in with the windows closed it is impossible to ignore. I've also realised that different types of noise cause me to react differently. Intermittent noises (stop start drilling, bolting together parts, hammering) are the most annoying and cause me to feel anger. Constant noises (a table saw, cutting equipment) are more fatiguing. After a few hours you think you are just ignoring them but you instantly feel better the moment they are switched off. People's voices are particularly hard to ignore. I fairly regularly hear screams of "Ouch" and there's a certain emotional tinge to the discomfort that causes.

brnt 5y ago
I lived right next to such construction, I wish you strength! The hardest part for me was the fact construction started between 6-7am, well before I rise and shine. A large and not particularly well oiled generator was running 24/7, making sure that also at night there was no quiet.
burntoutfire 5y ago
I recommend good noise-cancelling headphones (Sony makes excellent ones). Or just earplugs.
cafard 5y ago
Pile drivers are special: the bang/ping of compression and release. They are hard on those who have a reason for sleeping during construction hours.

joppy 5y ago

I recently bought a clothes dryer and took it back because of the noise (which raised a lot of eyebrows - “of course dryers make noise”). Swapped it for a different brand at about the same price point and the difference in noise is night and day, this new one is so much quieter I can’t even hear it if the laundry door is closed. Compared to the first one which was uncomfortably audible throughout the whole house...

duped 5y ago

Sound is so hard to shop for - in every product category. Im shopping for a home now and I detest open floor plan homes because I was raised in a large family and know how a house sounds when sound can take the shortest path to reach your ears. Similarly, in my area the style of renovated homes is to strip the ceiling of any tiles or insulation to expose the bare baseboards to the room below - which is essentially a giant diaphragm to propagate footsteps. Laundries have moved upstairs or into kitchens and pantries to add a spare bathroom or bedroom/office in the basement as well. The cumulative effect of all these changes is to make homes louder. But you would never notice it until you lived there. On the plus side modern double paned windows with argon/low pressure gaps (often sold as energy efficiency windows) and good weather sealing makes an enormous difference in sound isolation from the outside. It's an expensive upgrade, to be sure, but well worth it. That and some hidden foam paneling with thick carpets to reduce echoes, but that is mostly an illusion and doesn't affect sound transmission between rooms.

kaliszad 5y ago

I find it very annoying if appliances (or anything) emit high pitched noises. Mostly, this is just ignorant engineering (e.g. whining coils) and it often slips under the radar, because older people cannot hear those. This makes it also rather hard to return these for some people hardly usable devices. Usually it is hard to hear those sounds in a busy shop and the people checking are often older, more experienced managers who cannot hear these frequencies any more. It should be much easier to measure these noises even using e.g. a smartphone or you know, bringing your kids to work sometime to listen to the new model of a device in operation or just powered on. It is not rocket science. Actually, I own a smartphone that emits high pitched noises e.g. when calling, I cannot grok, how anybody can engineer such junk. I thought, Nokia HMD/ Foxconn should know better. Unnecessarily loud cars, motorbikes, trucks etc. are really disturbing too. People are so ignorant about how loud their cars are. Manufacturers aren't very upfront about how quiet their cars are, ideally I would like a car that I cannot hear the motor at any point in time without the air drag being much louder. I hate it, that electric cars have to emit extra sound below a certain speed. They wouldn't be silent by any stretch even without the buzzer sound. I think this mandate is actually the product of the combustion engine car manufacturers lobby, who don't seem to be able to produce near silent cars. The doors on cars could close much more quietly too, there is not much reason, why that is not the case. And while we are at it, I hate how there aren't more laptops without any kind of fan. Is it so hard to have some kind of passive cooling or are we just so lazy to engineer better/ more efficient computers? I don't mind good mechanical keyboards, which tend to be rather clicky and loud. It is a satisfying experience somehow but I wouldn't mind, if the feeling was the same and the clicky sound just wasn't there.

egberts1 5y ago

I’ve measured an instantaneous 56 dB(A) and 52 dB average in my living room, all appliances turned off and central air not running. I use the free NIOSH SM app for Apple iPhone.

bradknowles 5y ago

Don’t ever buy a Bosch dishwasher, or any other dishwasher, based solely on how loud it is. Make sure that they have an active fan-driven drying/cooling mode at the end. Otherwise, I guarantee you will regret it. We will never, ever, buy another Bosch dishwasher again, regardless of how well rated they supposedly are.

edelhans 5y ago
Not sure I can agree. I've bought a new Bosch dishwasher and I am quite pleased with the overall sound level. Maybe except for the obnoxious beeping when it's done :)

cafard 5y ago

At the moment--a/c not running--the cicadas are about the loudest noise, and they are rather quiet.