Dense padding material for sound reduction

July 11, 2017 10:50 AM

What dense padding material should I use to stuff this narrow opening? This is for brief travel, so the padding needs to be easily removable (and easy to pack in luggage). My improvised solution last time was small towels and a soup cup; this time I want something that blocks external sound as much as possible. (All mid- to high-frequency ambient sound, such as talking or music with minimal bass.)
posted by kalapierson to Home & Garden (7 answers total)

Maybe, once you're there, get a large cardboard box and tape it up there?
posted by at at 12:23 PM on July 11, 2017

is it not sufficient to just close the opening? it's just for ventillation...
posted by acm at 2:33 PM on July 11, 2017

What's on the other side of the fold-down window/transom? Can you stuff the entire opening with something or is the other side a public hallway where that would be unsightly?
posted by duoshao at 3:03 PM on July 11, 2017

Melamine foam is good for blocking high frequencies.

You can also look for MLV (mass loaded vinyl). I bought rolls and rolls of this stuff off Amazon to sound proof my car (brand name:Noico). Maybe you can find some scraps on eBay.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 4:53 PM on July 11, 2017

Response by poster: Ah, it's not closeable – the arm on the right is a powerful spring holding it open (the soup cup in the second pic was wedged under the spring arm to force it as closed as it could go). And yes, the outside is a public hallway – this is very dormlike housing (possibly the original intent was to make sure nobody was having sex in the rooms?).

My ideal is something very dense to stuff in the cracks because the cracks aren't closeable. (I will check out the MLV but at first look it seems to be flat and would need some way to be held maybe over the cracks?)
posted by kalapierson at 8:53 PM on July 11, 2017

Depending on how big the gaps are, it might be practical to bridge it with Mortite or similar. It's this playdoh/clay-ish stuff, blocks sound well. It'll take some time to install and remove but it might be worth the effort.
posted by Standard Orange at 9:44 PM on July 11, 2017

Response by poster: Does anyone have experience with using memory foam in an opening like this? I may try strips of memory foam compacted as densely as possible (I found a mattress dealer that sells cheap remnants from their manufacturing process).
posted by kalapierson at 11:43 AM on July 12, 2017