Sound deadening material for laundry room (1 Viewer)

[Shade Watson]

I am having a problem with sound from my washing machine and dryer in my laundry room leaking into my living room where I have my HT setup.
What type of acoustic deadening material could I buy to line the walls of my laundry room to reduce the amount of sound leakage?
Would this type of solution actually help much, and would it be affordable?

 

[Bill Catherall]

I just turn off those offending appliances while watching movies. That's the cheapest fix I know of. My "noise generator" is the dish washer in the kitchen.
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Bill

 

[Shade Watson]

Yeah Bill,
That works for me. However the Wife runs them 24/7. Sometimes I suspect she is running a business on the side.

 

[Jim Robbins]

To stop the noise you would probably need to set the units on a heavy foam pad. Most noise seems to transfer to the floor which acts as a sounding board.

 

[Shade Watson]

Thanks Jim,
Could you be more specific as to what type of foam pad?

 

[Clay Autery]

Sorbothane
I use it for many different applications. isolation mounts are just one of the many...
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[Gene Severn]

For some thing as heavy as a washer and dryer, try an old mattress...place the mattress on the floor and a sheet of plywood on the mattress, then place the washer and dryer on the plywood. This may look strange but might work.

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Shade,
The floor will not be an issue in a house like yours that is on a concrete slab.
Before you go the expensive and/or esoteric routes, try the simple things first.
Keep in mind that sound carries better and farther through air that it does through a wall. The fact is, a regular sheet-rock wall provides adequate acoustic insulation for household sounds like this that are of limited frequency range and not at high levels.
The weak point will be the door. Interior doors do not have an airtight seal, and there is a gap of an inch or two at the floor. That is where most of the sound is getting through.
Try installing a tack-on weather seal around the parameter of the door. The bottom is more problematic; if you can’t find a rubber “sweep” extension long enough, you will have to install a threshold under the door, the same as you have at outside doors.
The only downside to sealing the room is that it will render ineffective any air conditioner vent. But if you can get an air-tight seal on the utility room door, Shade, I’m confident that will eliminate most of the noise problem. If not, the next step would be to install a heavy, solid-core door. These two steps should be able to eliminate 90% of your noise situation.
Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt
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My Equipment List

 

[Richard Greene]

I have a laundry room on a concrete slab -- that's
not a sound transmission. (I'm not sure how Wayne
knew your laundry room was on a concrete slab since you didn't post that).
Wayne is right that the typical (hollow) laundry room
door with a huge gap is the primary problem.
Before you make the laundry room air-tight, be sure there is
a good source of air for your dryer, because if you seal up the room too tight your dryer won't work efficiently.
In my own laundry room I actually removed weatherstripping on the second door going to my garage -- that allows most of the air needed by my dryer to be sucked in from outside (cheaper than using only the heated or air conditioned air from inside my house for my dryer). I have seen some laundry rooms with no forced air heating/cooling vent
(that vent is a potential source of air for the dryer
if the room is well sealed)