DIY Guide to Soundproofing Laundry Rooms

One of the noisiest places in your house is your laundry room. You surely have a machine that produces noise when you’re doing a load—likely, so much that the room next to the laundry room can become unbearably loud when you’re running your washer.

So, let’s do something about that, shall we? Read on to find out exactly how to soundproof a laundry room.

To start, consider that the noise level tends to be based on the building layout, the material that was used to build it and the items in the laundry room that is being used. For instance, a brick house with a laundry machine will give off more sound than a room with cupboards and other materials that absorb the noise from the machine.

In a nutshell, soundproofing a laundry room comes down to doing something about the washing machine itself, the door, the floor and the walls. Now, let’s have a closer look…

How to Make a Laundry Room Quieter


Washing machine - DIY guide to soundproofing laundry rooms

Could Your Machine Be the Culprit?

No matter what sort of washing machine you use, you can expect to hear loud noises when you’re doing a load. You certainly don’t need to run out and buy a new washing machine, since that won’t solve the problem.

There are a couple of easy things you can do, however.

First, make sure there are no unwanted items in the washing machine (such as coins or other dense or metallic objects) that make for a loud load of laundry. Also, pay attention to how you load the washer, since overloading the machine can cause it to run more loudly.

How to Soundproof Laundry Room Doors

Containing sound and preventing it from exiting your laundry room is the most effective solution to noise problems. Therefore, the first thing you should do is take a detailed look at your laundry room door, since it’s likely to be the source of the greatest sound leakage.

When soundproofing, it’s best to pay close attention to the areas of the house that have doors leading to other portions of the house. In particular, laundry room doors are often thinner than a home’s walls, which allows sound to travel through them faster than it travels through walls.

A door sweep is one of the more unusual solutions you might use. This is a tiny object that resembles a broom in appearance. You can attach a door sweep to the bottom of the door, between the door and the ground level.

Investing in a soundproof door blanket is another great course of action, especially if you’re seeking a long-lasting answer to your sound problems. If you have some old, unused blankets around the house, these are perfect items to use to block the unnecessary sound coming out of your laundry room. However, they must be set up properly on the door so that they cover it from the inside.

Once one or more of these blankets are set up, the internal laundry sounds will be absorbed by each blanket before reaching the door, and decrease the overall noise level. Therefore, they’ll keep the noise that escapes the door to a minimum.

What About the Floor?

The laundry room floor is the second most significant component of the space.

The constant collision between the washing machine and the floor generates vibrations throughout the house, resulting in loud sounds that can be heard in various sections of the residence. The sounds produced by your washing machine may also cause objects in your home to vibrate, which can be dangerous if you have fragile items located close to the machine.

Installing an anti-vibration mat under your washing machine can help alleviate the noise coming from the floor underneath it. These anti-vibration pads provide extra cushioning and grip for the washing machine, preventing it from sliding about. If you use this method, the machine will be prevented from vibrating and transmitting its vibrations to the rest of the household.

One option is to create an anti-vibration mat on your own by using do-it-yourself techniques. A viable approach to this is to accumulate a large number of rubber corks over time, and arrange them on a sheet of paper so you can stick them together with some sort of adhesive. Two or three layers of rubber corks should be sufficient, and the dimensions should be long and broad enough to allow the washing machine to sit comfortably on top of the finished mat.

Bolster the Wall

If your home doesn’t have the thickest walls, sound will be able to pass through them more readily than it otherwise would be able to. To remedy this issue, a soundproof wall is one that’s designed to increase the thickness of the walls, making it more difficult for sound to travel through them.

This type of wall can successfully operate as a barrier for sound and prevent it from flowing through; for it to work properly, though, it’s necessary to construct additional layers of several different types of soundproofing materials on top of one another.

Even though various types of soundproofing materials are available these days, such as foam and panels, the basic concept behind all of them stays the same: You have to use multiple layers of soundproofing material. Soundproofing materials may be especially useful if your laundry room shares a wall with your bedroom or living room and causes a lot of noise to travel into either of these rooms.

One alternative you might consider is to tape the materials you’ll be using to the wall of your room and then apply an attractive base material over top of them before painting them. When soundproofing materials are hidden, they don’t stand out as much, which makes a space seem more acceptable overall. You can keep the materials uncovered, though, if that’s your preference, as it’s unlikely that anyone from the outside world will enter your laundry room at any given time.

Strategically Place Furniture in Your Laundry Room

Another soundproofing alternative that will save you money is to stack furniture in your room. You don’t have to layer furniture on your walls, but rather, have certain items cover a significant part of the wall space. Items like cabinets and shelves do an excellent job of lowering sound levels and containing sound inside an area.

There’s no question that continual noises emanating from the laundry room may be irritating to cope with, particularly after a long and stressful day when you need some alone time to recharge your batteries.

Summary: Soundproofing Laundry Rooms


View of entire laundry room - DIY guide to soundproofing laundry rooms

Before we say goodbye to the loud, annoying noise that’s coming from your laundry room, here’s a summary of what you must do to reduce or eliminate that noise:

  • Make your washer and dryer soundproof

(Stop overloading the washer; make sure there are no unwanted items, like coins, in the pockets of the clothing inside; use anti-vibration mats. These handy tricks work both with both new and old machines!)

  • Soundproof the laundry room door

(A thick curtain, a thick blanket or a door sweep can help you here.)

  • Ensure that your laundry room flooring isolates noise

(Put material on the ground, such as an anti-vibration mat; place appliances on the floor; attach tape to the sides of your washing machine.)

  • Add standard soundproofing materials to your laundry room’s walls
  • Strategically arrange the room’s furniture

No matter which methods you choose to use, do your research. Find local and cheap alternatives whenever possible. When buying materials, try asking the store for a discount.

You Don’t Need to Break the Bank


Following the steps mentioned above will help you minimize the sound and vibration that’s coming from your laundry room, so you can live with peace and quiet. You don’t have to break the bank to address this issue once and for all! Contacting a professional to do the job for you is an option, but this DIY guide will also help you achieve the desired results.

image 1: Keith Survell; image 2: Pixabay

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