How To Soundproof Laundry Room On Budget [+ Expert tips to do it cheap]

When you’re searching for ways to Soundproof your Laundry room, I’m sure you’ve gone through hell lot of noises.

I can bet that you’ll agree with me when I say:

It’s really hard to make peace of mind when noise coming from a loud washing machine waking up the entire house.

Just Imagine:

You’re relaxing at home by trying to sleep or read a book or maybe catch up your favourite show. You’ve decided to put some clothes into washing machine to save time.

The noise coming from the washing machine is so loud that you’ll probably not be at peace till the laundry is done.

Laundry room has become essential part of our life because not only they make our life much easier by cleaning the clothes within the matter of minutes but also saves a lot of time and energy as well.

If you’re someone who is even slightest bit concerned about being hygiene then you’ll have a laundry room or atleast a washing machine in your home.

As easy as a washing machine in our laundry rooms makes cleaning our clothes easier, there’re also some problems associated with it as well.

No matter how technologically advanced we might get, one thing that doesn’t change with them is noise from the washing machine.

Starting from top loading washing machines to front loading washing machines, not to mention different sizes, shapes and how advanced they may be at washing and drying your clothes. One common thing is they all make noise in some sort or other.

Before going directly to the solutions.

let’s consider:

WHY NOT SHIFTING THE LAUNDRY ROOM?

You can avoid sound from the laundry room by taking out washing machine or shifting to somewhere else in the home.

A common myth

Yeah! You heard it right. It’s a myth.

The real thing is:

No matter how long you move the laundry room, the sound will find its way to your ear by echo throughout your house and annoy you like hell.

Forget about shifting rooms, even if you move the laundry room to another floor, it will still irritate you with its noise.

The most convenient option for you would be to soundproof your laundry room door.

Soundproofing or sound deadening(which also means the same) will help you minimize the sound coming from the laundry room, and the better thing about it is not spending your entire salary at that thing.

Before going to the deal, incase if you’re interested in knowing WTF is the noise and How the hell is that reaching your ears and making you go through hell:

WHAT IS STRUCTURAL OR WHITE NOISE?

If you listen to washing machines closely, you’ll understand that they won’t make any rough sounds. Washing machines usually tend to make noise in low pitched frequency range. This is what we call white or structural sound.

These are not good anyway because they’re called white sound. This is because these sounds tend to vibrate through possibly anything and makes it a difficult job to stop. So what can you do then? We are with the solution for this in step#2.

With detailed research and few own experiences I’ve brought you some steps you need to follow to soundproof your laundry room under $50. 

How To Soundproof The Laundry Room:

Step 1: Get a Soundproof Door Blanket

Most of the modern doors are hollow inside i.e., which makes it good at acting as physical barrier but NOT that good in blocking the noise from one side to another.

Though getting a new door is a very good option, but an expensive one. Not only expensive but also takes your valuable time while installing it.

Reinforcing the door may be a better option for you. For this you can consider using a soundproof door blanket. This is probably the easiest and one of the most cost efficient option you’ll ever have.

These blankets are hung to the laundry room door and they’ll absorb the noise from washing machine and dryer.

It is very good absorbent material which not only absorbs, but also blocks from crossing the door. Installing it is very easy, it won’t take more than 5 minutes to do.

You just need to pin four nails or metal rings maybe to the four sides of the blanket into the laundry room door and you can forget about it.

Here’s Tip: Because it does not always look good, so recommend installing this blanket to the side inside your laundry room so that it won’t look weird from outside.

You can easily buy soundproof blankets on Amazon. We recommend you to check this one (the one shown above) which has amazing user reviews. It is a double stitched fibreglass soundproof blanket which makes up for your laundry room door.

The soundproof blanket I recommended comes with four heavy grommets (metal rings) using which you can easily hang the blanket to the laundry room door.

Step 2: Get Soundproof Washing Machine Pads Right Now on Amazon

Yes, you read it right. And you’re going to buy it as soon as you complete reading this article.

Acoustic Anti-vibration pads are probably the best, cheapest, easiest to install, and one of the most effective way of blocking the structural noise. As discussed prior, the structural noise can easily penetrate through the walls and closed doors.

You’ll need to buy two i.e. one for your washing machine and another for dryer. I would recommend buying 4 pack of Anti-vibration pads of size 4” x 4” x 3/8” Rubber or Cork isolation pads from Pneumatic Plus.

It comes with pack of Anti Vibration pads Rubber & Cork 50 PSI max load. Which means it easily absorbs the sound pressure and the main feature that makes it possible to do great job is its height which enhances the additional vibrational insulation under all sound loads.

I recommend you to Check this out. This particular one not only has all the above-mentioned features but also versatile and can be used multipurpose as well. It can be used to sound deaden the air conditioners, air compressors, studios, treadmills as well as any type of studio equipment too.

But, if you think such kind of pads are not suited for you and you desire to be differently and more efficiently I’ve something else to suggest for you.

Anti-walk Silent Feet – Anti-Vibration Pads for Washing Machines and Dryers is the one produced by The Vibration Solution Company. The company is well known for its quality products and its efficiency specialized in soundproofing. It has also received many industrial awards for its standard and quality for the price.

If you think price isn’t a matter and the damn thing has to be done then this product is for you. I’m sure that you’ll get more value than what you pay for.

Here’s small video describing Sound deadening washer pads.

https://youtu.be/AxPkYKANNAI

 Step 3: Cover the Door Sweep with soundproof door sweep

Okay if you think of insulate the noise from the laundry room to absolute, then covering the door sweep does the final work for you.

Even though how professionally soundproofing work you’ve done to your laundry room, their always exists a gap between your laundry room door and the floor. That you need to cover that gap with a good door sweep cover.

That’ll be the case in most of the situations.

But if you don’t think so:

Pro Tip: Check your door and how closely does it hug with the floor. If you can insert your fingers under your door, then you need to buy one door sweep cover.

If you think of buying one, then I recommend buying this one from Amazon as I’ve used it myself and it also has very good user reviews.

Before buying a Door sweep, check the gap between the door and the floor. If the gap is very less, then a simple Door sweep cover will do the thing for you.

However, if the gap between your laundry room door and the floor is big, then the door sweep cover is a must have. For this big gap, instead of buying a basic door sweep cover, you should try  ((loobani self adhesive door sweep cover))

This door sweep consists of three layers and reduces the sound upto 5 times better. It is very easy to install and can fill the gap easily upto 22 mm.

In the case the door blanket didn’t work for you, then this door sweep cover will be your best go.

At this point, you’ve done almost everything to cut down the sound from the laundry room. These steps must be more than enough to mute the noise.

Bonus: Repair or get a new washing machine

It may not sound like a bonus to you.

But, actually it is.

Even if you’ve followed all the steps mentioned above and still you’re yet to figure out the difference in the noise, then your washing machine must be not less than a racket.

It can be very obvious that if you don’t care your washing machine properly, then it might turn into a second home theatre that plays noise instead of music.

If your washing machine is something you’ve inherited from your ancestors and it has gone absolutely crazy overtime.

Unless your washing machine doesn’t carry emotions or sentiments, its always a better idea to consider buying a new washing machine.

There are a number of different kinds of quiet washing machines are available to buy on market.

Although we can’t guarantee that your newly bought washing machine won’t make any noise. But, it’ll be better than what you have now and will not make any kind of noise during its initial stages.

Believe me, its worth taking some efforts and little money to make peace and quiet.

If you’ve come this far and you’re yet to figure out a way to follow. Then, there’re few other cheaper alternatives to soundproof your laundry room.

Cheaper alternatives to soundproof your laundry room:

Some of the above mentioned products like Anti-vibration pads are expensive and not everyone will be or want to afford them. I always try to help everyone with whatever I’ve.

Here I’ve brought you few other cheaper ways to minimize the noise.

Using Corks:

If you need a quick fix but you are on very tight budget, or you want make it on your own then you can do that by using corks.

You can simply cut the cork according to size required to fit under your washing machine or dryer.

Use soundproof door seals:

Another inexpensive option if you aren’t willing to spend much money, will be using soundproof door seals which you can buy from amazon.  You can simply use these seals.

These are very simple whether proofing seals that you can place either under or over the door to make sure no noise crosses the door.

These seals are very budget friendly and for about 10$ you can get ((this one)) from amazon.

While installing these seals you need to make sure no gaps are present at the door. Otherwise, these seals will be of no use.

You can also try putting some soundproof panels and foams on doors if you‘re satisfied with the above steps as it will certainly help.

Absolutely FREE methods:

You can try using thick clothes like towels as anti-vibration pads to absorb white sound under your washing machine or dryer.

Here’s another deal:

You can also use stuff you won’t use like old boxes to soundproof your walls. You can simply stack them to the wall. The sound will be minimized if the walls are filled with stuff properly.

You can do as many things as possible to make peace, after all, who will visit your laundry room except your family members.

Make sure you’re safe:

Though, as easy it is. All safety measurements should be taken such as wearing a pair of gloves and other things in order to prevent the smallest chances of injuries, which shouldn’t be happen.

It is always helpful to have someone else to help you out with the processes like hammering.

Final words on soundproofing laundry room:

The noises from your laundry room can be a bother to you, but they don’t have to be. With just a few dollars and minute efforts, you can make peace out of them.

They are so cheap that with around 20$ you can buy both anti-vibration pads and door sweep covers. Buying a soundproof blanket is a bit expensive, but trust me, it will worth much more than what you pay for. And you’ll love the serenity at your house.

If your family gets disturbed while sleeping, having a pair of noise-cancelling earmuffs can do a world of good to them.

Good luck to your soundproofing laundry room. Hopefully this article will help.