To think that if you want a light on overnight, it should be blacked out from outside?

[Gibble1]

My neighbours over the back have a really thin white blind and leave their bathroom light on all the time. It's like a thousand suns shining through our bloody rear windows. We have reasonably thick curtains but they don't block out the light.
I had to go round there before and get them to turn off their effing security lights and noticed the bathroom lights a couple of days later when I wasn't on a night shift. They were new to the house so I thought it was just an acclimatisation thing and didn't want to keep going round there complaining but the light is doing my effing head in now. I no longer work nights so it's all the bloody time and I just want to be able to sleep. It would also be nice to do some star gazing but DS's telescope got put in the loft as there is no effing point even trying to look at the sky.
Gah! Why can't people just turn off their bastard lights or put up black out blinds at every window so no lights can be seen from outside?
I'm sorry for the moan but I'm frickin knackered.

You are cutting off your nose to spite your face. Blackout blinds are dirt cheap.

However, I would find it irritating too. I live somewhere where it is very dark outside (no streetlights) so it's very noticible if a neighbour behind our house leaves a light on. It wouldn't effect my sleep though - it's more. That is aesthetically displeasing

I'm really shocked by this thread. I leave my bathroom light on at night with most of the doors half closed so that when DD inevitably wakes me up in the middle of the night, I can see but it's not so bright it hurts. If not that light, then a downstairs one. It would never Ever occur to me that this light could be affecting anyone (I only like dim lights anyway but I think that's irrelevant here)

They are not being unreasonable having their light on in their house, if they choose. The onus is on you to buy black out curtains.

If you call the council, expect an unsatisfactory response.

This is not the same as noise pollution either. You cannot compare it.

It sounds to me as if you are getting so wound up about this that it is really magnifying itself in your mind. You have described both the security light and the bathroom light as being as bright as a thousand suns. Not only are both descriptions massive exaggerations, but it is inherently unlikely that an internal bathroom light behind frosted glass and a blind is as bright as a security light.

So it does sound as if this is in reality your problem. You could try asking them very nicely if they could switch it off at night or put in a lower intensity lightbulb or use darker blinds, but they're perfectly entitled to say no.

Maybe they are awake though? Many people work late/ night shifts / have babies.

Dh and I are often up working during the night as have to be in contact worldwide with the obvious time differences so it makes sense to work 6pm-3am or start at 4am a different day.

Aibu? Yes. No I'm not.

Bright lights on all night and boarded up windows?
Another vote here for cannabis farm

The path of least resistance and drama is to buy a blackout blind for your window.

Yabu. You sound like you've let this get to you too much & you risk ruining any sort of neighbourly relationship by complaining that they leave a light on & their blind isn't thick enough. You never know when you might need them.

I'd be well pissed off if someone came round & complained like that to me. Also though it sounds like the security light was reasonable, however if you used the term 'as bright as a thousand suns', I'd think you were a little crazy unless you were pretty friendly with neighbours.

When new people move in they may do things differently. If you had moved into the area & the current residents already left their light on would you go & complain?

It'd be a bit of a sad cannabis farm if it occupies a small functioning and regularly used bathroom. Hardly worth the effort really.

Most people in towns and cities can't star gaze from their own garden.We love 6 miles from the nearset town but even the glow from that has an effect.You need to travel to somewhere dark.
A security light pointing into your window might be something the council would take seriously, but an internal light behind a blind- no way.
They probably want to leave the light on so they don't fall or trip going to the bathroom at night

Wow. I leave my bathroom light on all night. I don't even have a blind and it's facing a house across the street. It's definitely not that bright behind frosted glass and if anyone told me to turn it off or get a blackout blind I'd tell them to take a run and jump. My house

My business. Op I think you are being very precious. If it bothers you put up a blackout blind. If it is really that bright it lights up every surface in your room I suggest you aren't using curtains In your own home.

Come on now, it can't be that bright. I think I'm pretty reasonable but if I received that note I'd do absolutely nothing. The security light sure thing but an internal light? Nah.

Buy blackout blinds or a mask. And if I were you I'd be a little careful about running to the council. If you decide to sell you'd then have to declare a neighbour dispute b

There is a block of flats opposite us which has a mega bright gazillion watt bulb. Shines into our bedroom window and lifts it up like daylight.

We complained. Checked out the rules. Nothing to stop people shinning fucking bright lights like this.

Get proper black out curtains and your problem will solved.

You are being a complete drama llama.

Security lights, if angled incorrectly, i get...but a bathroom light? You can't bear it and are going to cancel the council?

I leave my landing or bathroom light on every night. If my neighbour threatened the council, once I'd stopped laughing I'd tell them to go ahead.

OP the majority of people on this thread have told you they think YABU and I agree. I hate light, at night, too but I have fitted blackout blinds in my bedroom. A small price to pay for a nights sleep. Maybe, if you got some sleep it wouldn't bother you so much. Sleep deprivation distorts your thinking. I really don't think you should approach your neighbour as the bad feeling caused will be worse than the light problem.

light pollution makes me crazy too, well it makes me moan to dh about Mrs FagOnTheStep at the back, although she has moved and the new folks are loads more considerate with the security light

and her at the front, Mrs VeluxLandingLight....she never turns the bloody thing off when she is home.

I am with the OP...it's rude and inconsiderate, not to mention wasteful and frivolous to leave lights on all night. It'll not be allowed when I am Queen.

Get yourself some blackout curtains, and then buy one of those sunlamps that mimic the sun rising. and slowly light up your room, so you can wake up slowly and naturally in the morning.

We live in a well built up area. Most of the homes have young children and leave on a bathroom light for them. We do too (altho ours is the downstairs light, and no windows to shine out of, so it shines into the hallway and is enough for night use). We can;t stargaze either - but no urban garden can nowadays anyway really. If you want to stargaze I suggest camping occasionally out in the country, far far away from any towns or cities.

All the homes with their lights on in their bathrooms, have, without fail, never been bright enough to disturb our sleep - and we have thin curtains and can see 6 bathroom windows from our bedroom. One is at the end of our own garden, so max of 30 ft away.

YABVU, and then also BVU for not getting that message from this thread.
Don;t ask if you don;t want to listen, or accept, the answer.

Yellowdinasaur: the distance is 100ft, not 100m. 100ft = 30.48m

Thanks for the correction paxtecum. Even at 30m though my comments stand.

Was any light pollution rule ever intended to prevent the use of normal household lighting as opposed to say fuck off huge flood lights that businesses use

This ^

Frosted windows or not if you have a light on in bathroom and no blind from around 10 ft away its like looking through clear glass.

oh and the man down the bottom of our garden has two un guarded security/back of the house lights. My MIL knew the train station was close and asked me in the morning if that was the trains she could see!!!!!!!! Never laughed so hard!

Drama queen.