If you’re looking for a cheap way to soundproof a room, then a soundproof blanket (or more than one!) is probably what you need. Using blankets for soundproofing is, without a doubt, one of the easiest and most affordable ways to soundproof the majority of rooms.
Although a soundproof blanket won’t completely absorb all the sound, you can expect a massive reduction in echo, as well as improved acoustics. This is especially true if you cover a large amount of the room or the entire room.
Ideally, unwanted sound in the room will rebound off the blankets and be reduced, in some cases, by up to 70 percent. Personally, I use soundproof blankets as a temporary solution to the noise coming from my child’s room.
In this article, I’ll explain exactly how you should arrange the blankets in your room in order to block as much sound as possible.
How to Soundproof a Room With Blankets
Adding a soundproof blanket to various hard surfaces in your bedroom will certainly help decrease the noise level. When you’re soundproofing a room with acoustic blankets, there are several areas that you should be sure to cover, such as:
1. The Door
Doors are often the main culprit (along with windows) when it comes to letting too much noise in and out of a room, so you’ll need to cover these areas. This is especially important if you have hollow interior doors. If so, tacking soundproofing blankets to the door of your room will dramatically increase its thickness and reduce the amount of incoming and outgoing noise.
Tacking each blanket to your door should give you better results, but gluing the blankets to the door is also an option. You should also make sure you cover any gaps under the door with a door sweep.
Blankets hanging from a door have the potential to look really weird, but since there are many designs on the market for you to choose from, you should be able to get some blankets that’ll complement the decor of your room.
2. The Walls
There are several ways that you can add soundproof blankets to your walls. You can nail the blankets up, tape or glue them to the walls, tack them on with putty or suspend them from a curtain rod. Of these options, the most permanent option is to nail them to the wall. If you decide to nail your blankets to a wall, though, you should make sure you don’t push each nail all the way into the wall.
If you’re like many people who don’t have permission to modify their walls, then I recommend that you suspend your blankets from a curtain rod (if you go this route, blankets with grommets will be easier to install). Blankets that are hung in this way are commonly seen in professional recording studios.
Whichever way you decide to go about hanging them, when buying soundproof blankets, make sure you get thick ones—the thicker the blankets are, the better the soundproofing will be. The thicker ones won’t empty your wallet, either, and since you’ll only need to buy them once per year, at most, the investment will be worth it.
3. The Windows
I don’t recommend that you install acoustic blankets directly over your windows, because this will take away your view, but if that’s not important to you, you can go right ahead. However, an alternative way to reduce the amount of noise that can travel through your windows is to use noise-blocking curtains. These are also made of thick material, and they look pretty darn good.
4. The Ceiling or Floor
Honestly, while you can use soundproofing blankets to reduce the amount of noise traveling through your floor or ceiling, or to improve the acoustics of the room, I wouldn’t recommend it. Since these blankets are thick and soft, they can make a good alternative to carpet, but let’s be honest, nailing a blanket to the ceiling can be challenging. If you feel the need to do so, it’s best to get a family member or friend to help you lift them, due to the fact that they’re quite heavy.
Purchasing the Correct Blankets For Soundproofing
Thicker and heavier soundproofing blankets simply have more mass, and more mass absorbs more sound. The highest quality soundproofing blankets (also known as “moving blankets“) actually have more than one layer. This makes them highly effective, as any sound that goes through them has to move through multiple layers.
The price of these blankets will vary, depending on their thickness and size. Sometimes they’re sold in packs, so you’ll need to pay close attention to what you’re buying.
Furthermore, I recommend that you get blankets that already have grommets or eyelets. If you get ones that don’t, you may have to cut small holes in them in order to hang them, which might look unattractive.
5. Appliances
Before you start covering an appliance with a blanket, you must read the appliance’s instructions carefully to be sure that it’s safe to do so. Heating appliances, for one thing, certainly won’t react well to being covered up.
You can use soundproof blankets to cover appliances such as laundry machines, dishwashers and refrigerators. Polyester, cotton and fiberglass moving blankets can do a pretty decent job in this regard.
If you want to lay a blanket over your dishwasher or washing machine, you should order one that’s just as wide as your machine, but long enough to cover it neatly. This will help you reduce a lot of unwanted noise at a very affordable price.
6. Furniture
If you’ve been keeping up with my articles, you should know that any hard surface will allow soundwaves to bounce. So if your room has a lot of furniture, you might consider covering each piece up. You can use any type of blanket to do this, but thick and dense soundproofing blankets are the best choice.
Covering the furniture in your room with moving blankets can drastically reduce echoes as well. It may not be the most attractive idea, but it works magic!
Focus on the Weak Points
You don’t have to cover your entire room in blankets to experience positive results. If you can identify the area that’s producing most of the noise, then you can focus on soundproofing that part of the room.
If you don’t mind spending a bit more money, you can add more layers to get even better results, instead of just spreading the blankets all over the room and hoping for the best.
That being said, if unwanted noise is present everywhere, then trying to cover the entire room with soundproof blankets is, in fact, the best option.
Measurements Are a Must
Before buying a soundproof blanket, you should measure the surface you want to add it to and compare those measurements with the size of the blanket you’re looking at.
One of the worst feelings ever is when you realize you don’t have enough material to get the job done, so you should always make sure you order enough blankets to do it properly.
Conclusion
I hope this article has given you all the advice you need to soundproof your room with blankets. For the best results possible, I recommend that you follow the steps above as carefully as you can. For more information, check out one of my other guides to soundproofing a room.
image: Joanna Bourne