Soundproofing your apartment may seem complicated or labor-intensive, but there are some easy ways to reduce noise in your home — both temporary (removable) and permanent. What follows is a look at mostly removable options that you can execute on your own. For permanent methods, it’s important to discuss the process with your landlord prior to taking any action.
From your windows to your walls, we hope these tips help you remain productive during the day and asleep at night.
How to soundproof walls
1. Search for holes and glue them
Category: Permanent
We don’t mean to scare you, but some older apartments have holes in their walls. This can be common on walls that are shared or connected to a neighboring apartment. A common reason these holes exist is for cables.
Start by inspecting your walls and the holes, and identify if this is the main source of unwanted noise. If so, seal the small holes with glue and larger holes with foam or another soundproofing material. Remember to discuss home improvement projects with your landlord before executing them.
2. Cover walls with a tasteful tapestry
Category: Removable
Apartments are notorious for thin walls, so covering your walls with fabric can help reduce inside and reflected noise.
For example, hang a tapestry behind the head of your bed. Hanging a decorative tapestry not only adds an interesting focal point to your space, but it also keeps the sound from passing from one room to another. This is especially helpful if your apartment layout has a bedroom sharing a wall with your living space.
3. Leverage large furniture
Category: Removable
Large furniture can also help absorb sound within a room. This allows you to soundproof with items you already have, rather than purchasing supplies to help solve the problem. For example, try placing a bookshelf against a wall or incorporating upholstered furniture into your interior design. Both of these strategies can help decrease the sound that travels throughout your apartment.
How to soundproof floors
4. Accessorize with thick rugs
Category: Removable
Your biggest enemy when it comes to muffling sound within your apartment is your floors. Noise naturally reverberates off hard surfaces, so if your apartment or bedroom doesn’t have carpet, it may be noisier.
Conversely, soft surfaces absorb sound. This demonstrates why accessorizing your rooms with plush rugs and thick rug pads underneath can effectively soundproof floors. Even a small area rug will help lessen noise from within a room. As an added benefit, thick rug pads will also muffle your footsteps for your downstairs neighbors. This could keep you from disturbing others in your building.
5. Pair appliances with rubber floor mats
Category: Removable
Does your in-unit washer or dryer ever aggressively shake? Even though this may be due to human error from overfilling the washer, appliances that vibrate on hard surface floors can easily create unwelcome noise. Positioning a rubber floor mat under loud appliances such as dishwashers and washing machines can lessen noise levels.
How to soundproof windows
6. Upgrade the windows
Category: Permanent
Windows are most likely the primary culprit bringing unwanted sounds into your apartment, especially if you live close to a busy street or along a public transportation route.
If you have a landlord who’s willing to make improvements to your apartment, consider suggesting they upgrade the windows. Single-pane windows let in the most noise and are commonly found in apartments. Replacing them with triple-pane windows will guarantee less street and unwanted outside noise.
7. Apply heavy drapes
Category: Removable
It’s likely that you experience outdoor noise frustrations at night since noise regularly disturbs our sleep. Purchasing thick, heavy drapes that you can pull across your windows can be an easy way to soundproof your apartment. Plus, closing drapes before bed won’t interfere with the natural light coming into your apartment.
How to soundproof doors
8. Mind the gaps in doors
Category: Permanent
Regardless of whether the noise offender is something inside your apartment building or out, eliminating incoming sound by minding the gaps in doors, windows and even walls can be very effective in quieting things down.
Address spaces between walls and window frames and around electrical outlets with caulk or weather-stripping.
9. Create a draft blocker
Category: Removable
Inspect your doors for gaps between the door itself and the doorframe, adding weather-stripping here as well. A draft blocker can help muffle sound coming through interior doors as well. These can easily be crafted with some fabric, thread, rice and stuffing. Remember, if air can get through a space, so can sound.
Additional soundproofing tips
10. Purchase a white noise machine
Category: Removable
When you’ve done all you can to soundproof your apartment, and the noise is still getting to you, stop fighting it and join in. Drown out the rough sounds grating on your sanity with soothing melodies from a white noise machine or the constant hum of an air conditioning unit.
White noise machines are typically small, portable and louder than they look. You can also download a white noise app to keep handy. Window AC units generate a ton of white noise that pretty much makes it impossible to hear anything else.
11. Confront the noise source
Sometimes it just comes down to confronting the noise. If your neighbor is the problem or your landlord needs to make some repairs, you have to voice your concerns — in a nice, neighborly way. Regardless, you don’t have to settle for unwanted noise just because you’re living an apartment lifestyle.
Soundproof your apartment like a pro
Soundproofing your apartment isn’t always expensive or solely for buyers. With a little bit of innovative thinking and resourcefulness, there are a plethora of easy ways to reduce noise in your apartment.
If you’re currently moving, keep in mind that the location of your new apartment can influence noise levels. Make a pros and cons list based on the apartment floor on which you may live to evaluate the likelihood of unwanted noise.
