Your home needs to be peaceful for it to be happy. You will surely want to think about what furniture to buy and take time to find color schemes you love so you create that calming environment that lets you rest and relax. However, this might not be enough.
So many homes are built in a noisy neighborhood. And there are noisy neighbors, of course. As a result, you will want to reduce noise levels inside the home. Fortunately, this is always possible. Obviously, you can always build a strong noise barrier wall. This is the option you surely thought about. However, you can do so much more. Here are some great recommendations you can consider.
Seal Doors And Windows
When there are gaps present under doors and in older windows, unwanted noise has an easy way in, together with insects and draughts. Whenever you hire professionals that would draught-proof the home, doors and windows are always checked. However, a very cheap way to go at it is to do it yourself.
Buy silicone sealant from the local hardware store. This is more than enough to repair most cracks and fill gaps. Also, fitted garage and door seals can instantly reduce how much outside noise will enter your home.
Update Floors
If you have echoing floorboards, you will hear all footsteps through the house. And you might also have squeaking floorboards. These should be fixed and the great thing is that you do not need to make a style compromise. You can just install acoustically engineered flooring. This acts as the base for the floor covering you love while deafening noise.
Rearrange Furniture
One of the simple things you can do is to move your sofas to the wall from the middle of your room. This absorbs sound traveling from adjacent rooms and from the outside. Rugs can be added to the rooms that have the most traffic, like shared spaces. These are the rooms that usually generate a lot of noise and that would greatly benefit from adding effective sound-reducing surfaces.
Actually Use Your Bookshelves
If you have a bookshelf in your home and you do not like the noise, simply stock up on books and make sure the bookshelf is full. The books inside bookcases will become an extra barrier. Minimal sounds will end up being carried out from a room to another room. When the shelves are loaded, you gain more noise canceling. This means you can easily go to garage sales and second-hand stores to buy some great books.
Soundproof The Laundry
We do not spend much time inside the laundry room but we have to mention it because dryers and washing machines can easily create a lot of background noise. The appliances create huge annoyance. Obviously, you will want to buy new machines that produce minimal sounds. However, this is not possible for everyone’s budget.
An alternative is to use shock-absorber pads or mats. These can be put under and behind the washing machine to reduce movement. Buy these from hardware stores and seriously consider washing without a full load. This is because more noise appears when loads are larger.