How to muffle washing machine noise

July 27, 2015 10:30 PM

Our neighbor just put in tile for his laundry room floor, and now the noise of his washing machine every single morning is quite loud and even vibrates the walls of my room.

Before, I could hear it, but the noise was bearable. Thankfully, he is willing to work with us and is thinking of putting some padding underneath the machine. What is the very best shock-absorbent (?) pad he'd need to keep the floor and walls from vibrating? Or is there anything else either he or I could do to remedy this, short of punching a hole in our wall and adding insulation? (And, even then, the sound could very well come through the floor.) The rooms in question are all on the second floor, if it matters.

posted by madonna of the unloved to Home & Garden (5 answers total)

Best answer: Padding, like garage floor stuff (kinda rubber foam) is probably going to be the easiest to obtain and install. Don't even need a lot of it: Just the four corners. Buy one "tile", cut it in four, put one piece under each corner bearing weight. I don't know if you can buy just one but in box of four it ain't that expensive either

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Obviously, test if they are soft enough.

Your other option is probably "anti-fatigue mats", but those aren't designed for long-term holding up a washing machine.

[link]

Amazon also shows this:

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posted by kschang at 11:06 PM on July 27, 2015 [1 favorite]

Start with the Sorbothane feet in the Amazon link above.
posted by rhizome at 11:16 PM on July 27, 2015 [1 favorite]

Best answer: If this is a front-loading machine, step one is to make sure the washing machine is absolutely dead level with all four feet bearing solidly on tile. If there is a lot of vibration, it could be because the machine wasn't set up level again after tiling - and that can make a big difference with front-loading machines.
posted by ssg at 11:25 PM on July 27, 2015 [10 favorites]

I used a ½” yellow foam sleeping mat under a ¾” high-density MDF slab. This seemed to work for my downstairs neighbour. Also, yes, make sure it’s level. And don’t let the machines or the slab touch the wall.
posted by davidpriest.ca at 8:21 AM on July 28, 2015

The specifically best sound absorbing padding, which is used in industrial applications to isolate machinery from building structures so the vibrations don't carry, is neoprene. Something like this, 3/4 inch thick.
posted by beagle at 8:41 AM on July 28, 2015