The Washington Post 20100411

Reducing Outside Noises Inside Your Rental

If the folks living next to you have arguments all night long or play their music too loud, the first thing you need to do is to talk to them. Odds are they have no idea that you can hear them. If this is the case, there’s a good chance they might be embarrassed when you approach them, so there’s really no reason to be too harsh. Sure, if you need to tell your neighbors for the tenth time to turn down the Bob Dylan, your patience level might be at its lowest and your frustration and anger level turned up high. If you’re approaching your neighbors for the first time because you were up all night listening to them argue about whose mother-in-law is uglier or the fact that not putting the toilet seat down causes serious problems, a little tact may be required.

After you’ve spoken with your neighbors and there still seems to be no end to the noise, you may need to enlist the help of your landlord to serve as an intermediary. Together, you may

to electrical or pipe situations—not rodents, yikes!) is to put gaskets behind electrical cover plates. Make sure your plumbing pipes are insulated on the outside and are not bumping against solid framing. If you fear that you might have a rodent problem, contact your building management immediately.

be able to compromise and agree on some easy fixes. Agree to move stereo equipment away from shared walls, lay down carpets to absorb the pitter patter of little feet and determine what period of time is definitely a no-no for noise (that means no workout videos at 4:00 a.m., not vacuuming past 10:00 p.m., and not having loud guests over on weeknights). There’s a good chance that the situation will not escalate any further than this, as long as you keep your temper and work toward a solution. Don’t forget that a little compromise

may be necessary. Avoid name-calling, swearing and other bad behavior. In the event that you’re not dealing with a reasonable individual, document it and make sure you tell your landlord. If you ever are or feel threatened, contact the local authorities at once. If it gets to this point, there’s a good chance that either you or the problem neighbor won’t be living in that building much longer. And whichever way you look at it, that’s really not a bad thing.

A quick fix to rattling noises that come from inside the walls (due

Building management can also help you if there’s a lot of noise in your apartment coming from outside. “No Loitering” signs and phone calls to local law enforcement can work wonders. Lastly, there are also things that you can do yourself inside your apartment to help absorb sound. Use heavier draperies on windows or as room dividers. Put caulk under your baseboard. Place thick throw rugs around your room. Hang pictures or tapestries on walls. Use felt cushions on the bottoms of chair and table legs if you have tile or hardwood floors. And if all else fails, invest in a good pair of earplugs!

About this section: This editorial was produced by The Washington Post special sections department in conjunction with Apartments.com and did not involve the editorial department of this newspaper.

This editorial was contributed by Apartments.com.Visit Apartment Living on Apartments.com (http://living.apartments.com) for everything you need to know about living in an apartment. Browse useful information on landlords, leases, budgeting, moving, gardening, decorating and more.

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