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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to ask neighbour to run w.machine at slightly diff hours?

112 replies

dazzledsazzle · 03/09/2012 12:24

I feel bad as otherwise they are great neighbours, but the woman next door does two loads of washing a day, 7 days a week: 7.30 and 5.30 so every morning, getting ready to the noise of it spinning in the bedroom & bathroom & then shaking kitchen/earsplitting noise in the lounge (open plan) while i grab breakkie - & every night i come in to the same.... And no weekend lie ins either . It's a bit grim after a long commute tbh. She used to run it every night at 10pm on top of that: til the neighbours above her complained so she has cut it down to twice a day already .. She is at home all day, 2 kids in school ... Would some cup cakes w. a really polite note (that includes me saying plse tell me if i ever disturb you too) be out of the question ? I only run my machine Sat afternoons by way when everyone is out as conscious walls so thin ..& weirdly tho its in my flat, its way, way quieter - so how does that work/don't understand ?!

OP posts:

ThePigOnTheWall · 03/09/2012 13:07

I bet she doesn't realise how loud it is in your place

StealthPolarBear · 03/09/2012 13:10

how do you know it's her?

valiumredhead · 03/09/2012 13:12

7.30am isn't exactly early though and nothing wrong with 5.30pm. Have you tried ear plugs. Sorry, but that's the sort of thing you have to put up with when you live in a flat, people need to do their washing and get on with their lives.

whatsoever · 03/09/2012 13:12

She is probably doing it at those times to use cheaper electricity - my mum did all the washing during the night when I was a kid for this reason.

It sounds bloody annoying but I don't think you can ask her to do it at different times. If its that noisy I suspect the machine is about to go though - we had a machine that made that much racket in a rented flat years ago and after a couple of months it flooded the kitchen floor & turned out a bearing had gone.

You may not have too long to put up with it!

spoonsspoonsspoons · 03/09/2012 13:14

i'd only expect a significant noise/vibrations during the spin cycle. Seems odd if it lasts for 90mins

TheNorthWitch · 03/09/2012 13:15

I also think there must be something wrong with her machine. I had this problem and had to get the repairmen out to sort it (some pins had come loose) but I knew myself it was too loud and something wasn't right. I live in a flat and can hear my neighbour's machine but it's very much in the background and not disturbing at all.

As for 14 washes a week - no rest even at weekend - what on earth are they doing - just how dirty can two kids get? Maybe her machine is protesting/calling for help

So YANBU - you are just as entitled to peace and quiet in your home as she is to do washing. I would let her know just how noisy the machine is in your house rather than focus on the times initially.

StealthPolarBear · 03/09/2012 13:17

Maybe you should be talking o both of them :)

LurkingAndLearningLovesCats · 03/09/2012 13:23

YANBU to be homicidal annoyed at it, but YABU to send a condescending note and cupcakes. I would find that bloody offensive if it were me...As another poster said, I'd enjoy the cupcakes even though I don't like them and continue. You don't know her lifestyle or personality, you could be seriously imposing not to mention risking a disgruntled neighbour who decides to purposely annoy and stop being lovely, she could become the neighbour from Hell for all you know.

I have extremely severe insomnia. I also have a neighbour who is obsessed with his yard/lawn/trees/bushes/flowers/dirtbike/ute/paddock bomb/'Man shed' type contraptions and has all sorts of machines going from 8:00AM. The things I say about him and his brother to my mother are truly horrible when I'm grouchy and He. Just. Won't. Stop. For. Hours.

But like your neighbour, he is really lovely. Heart of gold in fact. Would give me his left leg if he thought it would help, and we barely know the guy(s)! The only time mum has requested he stop was after a particularly hard surgery and I couldn't sleep through it. He was lovely and apologetic, as is his nature. However if we started asking him to be more quiet when his huge ute comes in from his night shifts/hunting, or to shut up because we want a morning lie in? I imagine we wouldn't have such a great neighbour.

I don't know about you OP, but I've had neighbours I swear were the devil's minions. Don't cause drama over a minor annoyance. How long has she been your neighbour? You may get used to it. If you're a light sleeper and long time neighbours, perhaps try earplugs or relaxation music? Sorry if that's useless advice. I take horse tranquillizers very strong sleeping pills and I'm used to my annoying neighbour in this rural area. I guess in a way he (they..Never see his brother) seem angelic compared to neighbours on other side. Dog that ate (yes ATE) our kitten when I was five, after that dog passed got another dog from same breeder that on a walk attacked a neighbourhood girl's face so badly she was air lifted to hospital, then got another dog from (yep, you guessed; SAME BREEDER!!) who scares my dog so much I have difficulty training her outside or playing and both of us are afraid to even hang the laundry. They're in their late forties but play loud badmusic ALL day long and crack it if I mow just an inch of the neighbour strip in front of their house. Our 'annoying' neighbour often does our very large front strip for no reason at all.

I guess what I'm saying is be careful. You could wind up with a neighbour who leaves you in tears instead of a mildly annoying one who is a kind person.

LurkingAndLearningLovesCats · 03/09/2012 13:25

Speaking of noisy machines..We used to have a machine that would be on the other side of the laundry after a load was done.

We couldn't replace it because we couldn't afford it. If that's her issue, again, you may very well embarrass her a lot or provoke an extreme reaction.

I tend to tread the waters carefully with neighbours though.

firawla · 03/09/2012 13:32

there is obviously something wrong with her machine, it normally wont make that much noise. ours started making a crazy noise like that, then shortly after that it started leaking too & whole thing was totally broken
but as for the times, its fine and whatever time she does it - its in her own house so think its wrong for neighbours to ask her to change it

LurkingAndLearningLovesCats · 03/09/2012 13:35

I don't think there's any polite way to ask someone to buy a new washing machine....
The pastry would have to be REALLY, REALLY good.

AmberLeaf · 03/09/2012 13:37

How long does the spin part of the cycle last though? even if its a 90 min wash its only about 30 mins of the noisy part for two washes a day.

I could easily do one wash a day, maybe she has a child that wets the bed every night? that would explain a daily morning wash.

susitwoshoes · 03/09/2012 13:42

I'm not sure the OP should wait for the washing machine to die and cause a leak that could cause damage to the flat below?? Also, I don't buy 'it's in her own house' - the noise and disturbance is NOT contained to her own house. That argument would mean that anyone playing their music at earsplitting levels is fine because 'it's in their house' which is a nonsense. Living in flats is communal living and if the OP and neighbour can come to an agreement, that is surely better than the OP having to have her flat shaken to bits because someone doesn't know, or won't do anything about, a very noisy washing machine. Why does the neighbour's 'need' to do that much washing at those times (and I would say that the times would be fine if the machine wasn't so noisy, though I still can't get to grips with 14 loads a week) pip the OP's need to live in her own flat without this level of daily disturbance? Why on earth should she have to wear earplugs in her own flat? Lordy.

ImNotCrazyMyMotherHadMeTested · 03/09/2012 13:43

Oh lord there might be someone in the house with continence issues, tread carefully about mentioning the number of washes, just in case!

imonthefone · 03/09/2012 13:44

it is no ones business at all how many washes the woman does-let alone why!

StealthPolarBear · 03/09/2012 13:49

Or whether in fact it is her or her other half! It's their washing machine and either of the two of them may be using it, yet from reading this thread it is depressingly clear that washing is still women's work.

Feminine · 03/09/2012 13:50

So, is it 5 in the morning?

and 7:30 at night?

I still can't work that out!

Feminine · 03/09/2012 13:51

Ok re-read minus holding a sandwich

Its not too early, nor too late then.

But, op I do feel for you, it still sounds very invasive.

LurkingAndLearningLovesCats · 03/09/2012 13:53

Maybe no one can work it out because no one here knows her lifestyle/job/personality/all the other factors etc?

That's my warning OP. Unless she is someone you consider a friend, you're treading very thin ice. Yeah, she could just be an annoying weirdo. But she could also have valid reasons that are no one's business.

Iggly · 03/09/2012 13:54

I think 7.30am is too loud. I don't put ours on before 8am and my neighbours have young kids like us. I also don't let ds into the living room before 7am as he's like an elephant and our living room is above their bedrooms.

LadyBeagleEyes · 03/09/2012 14:00

Sounds like she's doing it during the cheap rate time.
Should she only do it to fit in with your lifestyle?
It's not as if she's keeping you awake at stupid o'clock.

Teeb · 03/09/2012 14:02

Yabu.

OrangeandGoldMrsDeVere · 03/09/2012 14:03

She probably hasn't got a clue how noisy it is on your side.
I used to wait until later to put mine on but after chatting to neighbour she said she couldn't hear it.
So I put mine on really early. My machine is on all day so thank god for solid, 1940s council constructed walls :)

Yanbu it's too early if it's that loud and she could put it on at slightly different times surely?
If she can't, you would be unfair to stop her putting her washing on though.

YouForgotToCallMePeppa · 03/09/2012 14:05

It does sound like she needs to make sure all the feet are balanced - and maybe she needs to try to pull it slightly away from the party wall so the vibrations don't come through.

As to the times she is doing the laundry - maybe she has a child who wets the bed and needs to do all the bedding and sheets as soon as they get up so it will be dry for the evening? And maybe she washes all the uniform in the evening ready for the next day? Could be something like that.

I would go and tell her how noisy it is and ask if she could do anything to make it quieter - leave it up to her what she actually does, she might be embarassed if she realises it disturbs everyone and decide to do it at a different time/ have her machine serviced or whatever.

Teeb · 03/09/2012 14:06

Surely a washing machine being on is just a general part of a house/flat being inhabited? If that is too noisy, then I'd want to be speaking to my landlord and getting him round to come up with a solution like soundproofing.

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