To not expect neighbour to use washing machine overnight

[BornInTheWrongCentury]

Just that really. Over the last couple of months our neighbours started using their washing machine/tumble dryer overnight, it was going on on at about midnight and stays on till around 3am.

My husband asked a them politely a few weeks ago when he saw them outside if they’d mind changing the time they have it on as it really disturbs us. We’re in a mid terraced house and they are the end of the terrace. Their kitchen is below our bedroom. The previous occupants took out a wall in their kitchen that separated the kitchen from their hallway so it’s open planned now so all sound from their house is amplified now anyway and noise seems to travel up the wall into our bedroom.

After my husband mentioned it to them they stopped for a couple of weeks but now the noise has started again as they are putting a wash on at about 10pm and it finishes at 1am.

It’s really upsetting me that I can’t go to bed and read/fall asleep in peace until at least 1am now.

If it’s relevant we own our house and their house is social housing. They are the end of the terrace so if I complain to the council or their housing association they will know it’s me. They are the kind of couple who seem ok as long as you’re on the right side of them but they are rather loud and look very intimidating and to be honest I don’t want to make things worse or get into an argument with them.

They are pretty good neighbours apart from this issue as in the only other noise we hear is their children (they have very screechy, door slamming children but I can cope with that during the day!) They don’t have parties or play thumping music - it’s just the issue with not being able to go to sleep when I want to. I don’t know if I’m just being over sensitive where I so tired.

What would you do?

YABU - just be grateful it’s nothing worse than a washing machine and try to ignore it/go to bed later when you know you’ll fall straight to sleep

YANBU - be brave and speak to them again asking them to not use after 11pm and complain to the council if they refuse?

YANBU. I would knock on their door each time. They will soon stop

If it’s relevant we own our house and their house is social housing. They are the end of the terrace so if I complain to the council or their housing association they will know it’s me. They are the kind of couple who seem ok as long as you’re on the right side of them but they are rather loud and look very intimidating and to be honest I don’t want to make things worse or get into an argument with them.

They are pretty good neighbours apart from this issue as in the only other noise we hear is their children (they have very screechy, door slamming children but I can cope with that during the day!)

What an absolute peach you are. Those SH neighbours a bit rough cos they’re poorer than us, their kids are more feral than kids we’d have.

I loathe this kind of judgemental attitude.

A big F off to everyone who seems to think that if you want to be able to sleep at night you have to be able to afford a detached house. So fuck 90% of the population then, they have no right to quite enjoyment of their houses?!?

The only difference is that of you live in a detached, you can be inconsiderate and it doesn’t affect anyone else. But if you’re in an apartment or terraced, you have to think of others.

And yes, everyone who puts on their washing machines at night in these situations—your neighbours hate you.

A big F off to everyone who seems to think that if you want to be able to sleep at night you have to be able to afford a detached house. So fuck 90% of the population then, they have no right to quite enjoyment of their houses?!?
The only difference is that of you live in a detached, you can be inconsiderate and it doesn’t affect anyone else. But if you’re in an apartment or terraced, you have to think of others.

And yes, everyone who puts on their washing machines at night in these situations—your neighbours hate you.

I agree, the excuses people will come up with on here for rude, antisocial behaviour is ridiculous! Either they are very entitled or on a wind-up.

Thank you vinyl biddy and demented . Never heard of that! :)

@Cokie3

I have not RTFT yet, but people who want peace and quiet shouldn't live in terraced houses let alone buy them. Terraced houses (which I actually had to google what they are even are! and I was horrified anyone can live like that) are not a thing in the country I live in, thank goodness, except for the inner city. If you want to live the ordinary daily routine with normal hours and peace and quiet, terraced houses are the antithesis of that. Sell and buy a proper house. OR, put up with it. Many people are shift workers, so their living hours will be opposite to yours. Maybe your neighbours are not shift workers, but still, they should be able to use the washing machine and dryer whenever they want. Living right on top of each other like sardines means you don't really have the assumption of peace and quiet. Unfortunately it's the choice you make when you choose to live and buy there. I also wonder just how loud a washing machine and dryer can possibly be. It should be easily classified as just background noise outside, no louder than cars going by all the time, so unless you have issues getting off to sleep, you should easily be able to sleep through that, of all things. Unless the machines are rusty and clanging all the time. So, while it's not nice to have to listen to background or outside noise like that, you ABU to live in a terrace house and expect the same level of peace and quiet in a detached house.

How snobby.

Would you say the same about living in a flat?

A large majority of people live with neighbours along a party wall.

It is perfectly fine. In an ideal world I'd live in a detached house, with access around every side of my house. Ensuites, a swimming pool etc. But I live in the real world and I live in a terrace and have a lovely standard of living. Thank you very much.

@RizzleDrizzle Yes I meant that I wouldn't dream of putting it on during the night.

Yes, all the people who live in terraced houses, why would you do that when they could buy a huge detached property with a drive a mile long? I wonder why they do that?! How silly of them!

@PenfoldPenny

Im really astonished by all the YABU on this thread. Seriously - if this was you and your life you would be ok with your neighbours keeping you awake until 1am most mornings. You'd just go to sleep with earplugs in and be ok with that?? OP, YADNBU. Its thoughtlessly annoying. No reason at all why they cant instead put it on before they go to work/in the daytime. Im shocked too at a washing load taking 3 hours - thats a whole lot of water/time - ours takes an hour.

I wouldn’t leave my washer or dryer on while I’m out of the house for most of the day.

Different washers have different settings. A 30 wash takes minimum 1.5 hours, 60 is a minimum of 2.5 hours.

There is a quick wash option which takes 45min , but you’re only supposed to fill the drum 40-50% which would just mean double the amount of washing I need to do. So in the end, it would take the same amount of time, energy and water probably.

I wouldn't do this in my own house, partly due to noise (my bedroom is above the utility room) and partly due to the risk of fire. No attached neighbours.

It's not relevant you own and they're social housing what are you going to do? Get them evicted for putting their washing on?!

Maybe the machines are right up against the wall? Can you ask them to check and move them forward an inch away from the party wall?

At the same time move your bed away from the wall a couple of inches?

@Cokie3 We bought the house 16 years ago and although ideally would have moved after a few years haven’t been able to (health issues/having children etc) so have worked really hard to make this house a home. We don’t have another bedroom to swop with as ours is the only one big enough for our bed, the other two bedrooms are tiny and anyhow our children sleep in them.
We are not in a position to move or upgrade to a semi detached/detached house as house prices are so expensive here (south east) I would love a semi/detached house - who wouldn’t? but it’s not possible for us.

I will look at ear plugs and what we can do to soundproof our side. Hopefully that will help. If that doesn’t work I will look at the cost of rearranging our bedroom but we’d have to move fitted wardrobes and the radiator so it’s not ideal. (If I have I do that I am also going to have a BIG TV fitted to that wall and watch movies in bed till 1am to drown it their noise!

@Robbybobtail Or, instead of the OP having to sell her house and scrape the money together for a new, detached house in the suburbs the (anti-social) neighbours could just run the washer from 8-11pm in stead of 2-3 hours later? It's called being polite.

They may be shift workers who are at work during those times? Not saying they, but in a rhetorical way, some residents of terraced houses would be shift workers I imagine and what you consider anti-social may simply be their normal time and the only time they can do it. Maybe some are Essential Workers, ie NHS. Or police. You just don't know. There is no such thing as anti-social hours. People work at all hours of the day.

YANBU - my washing machine is very noisy when it’s spinning, I would not want to sleep above it.

Also, my previous machine caught fire one night, and the only reason I caught it in time to prevent a house fire was that I had forgotten something in the kitchen and got up to get it. I never run appliances at night now.

YANBU

YABU.

I put my washing machine on overnight as it's cheaper.

Really surprised at the number of people here saying YABU!

I wouldn't be putting up with this, it's really inconsiderate of them and they know it's disturbing you. We would love to have our washing machine on at night as it would be more convenient and cheaper, but we don't because we live in flats and it would be hell for our neighbours!

YABVVU

If you can;t cope with the noise of a washing machine you will have to move.

Wow to everyone saying YABU. I’m sure they wouldn’t like it, how ridiculous!

Are they at home during the day? If so, that’s the time to do washing. Is it really that much cheaper?

9 PM is the latest I’d want a cycle to end (the spin at the end is the loudest), even though I go to bed hours later. Because I’m a considerate person.

Yes to mentioning it casually when you see them, seems like the least confrontational as approach.

Can you suggest the put the machine on one of these?

www.amazon.co.uk/etm-Anti-Vibration-Washing-Machine-Mat/dp/B00QVN1JPA?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

Might be no good if the machine is under the worktop though.

@BornInTheWrongCentury

Thanks for all your replies and suggestions xx

My husband wasn’t specific about what time was too late to be a nuisance to us when he spoke to them, he just said it was really loud and vibrating up our wall and therefore disturbing our sleep. They apologised for the noise and it stopped for a couple of weeks before starting up again - just at an earlier time.

I don’t think it’s a good idea to go round to speak to them about it (judging by some of the responses I’ve had on here I’m even more worried about how they might react now!)

I think I will wait until I see one of them outside and thank them for not running it the middle of the night anymore, but mention that it’s still been really hard to for us to fall asleep with it running after 11, so would they mind trying to finish the cycle by 11... hopefully that’s not too unreasonable of me.

If they become as defensive as some of the posters on here, or argumentative, or refuse I’ll guess have to let it go and get on with the lack of sleep as best I can

OP, I'd phone Environmental Health and just ask what their views are on this situation

They may well agree with you.

YABU.
I put my washing machine on overnight as it's cheaper

If your neighbours politely asked you not to as it was keeping them up at night would you stop?

Are they at home during the day? If so, that’s the time to do washing. Is it really that much cheaper?

If on Economy 7 it can be up to 50% cheaper.

@BlueSussex

YABVVU

If you can;t cope with the noise of a washing machine you will have to move.

What nonsense!

God, the world gets more selfish by the day.

'I'll do what I want to do and sod the effect it has on anyone else!'