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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Upstairs neighbours hoovering at 5.40

35 replies

Movelikewater · 08/10/2022 05:56

My neighbours go to bed VERY late, like 1 or 2 am, they’ve not woken me at that time but I do notice because of the noise if I’m awake. They then wake up at 5.30-ish. Their alarms go off, I hear vibrating through the floor (their bedroom is directly above mine). This morning they are hoovering. Right now. At 5.50.

I am not certain why they wake up this time, both work from home I believe, office hours. My friend told me he himself wakes up at this time to pray, they share a religion, could this be the reason?

I like them very much and don’t want to upset, I also have a live and let live policy in general - but it’s so upsetting to be woken so early every morning, including on weekends!

YABU - toughen up, wear earplugs, get over it, accept living in a flat can be noisy
YANBU - speak to them and ask them to cut out the vibrating alarm clocks, early showers and hoovering.

OP posts:
georgarina · 08/10/2022 05:59

I would slip them a note politely asking them not to hoover before X time because the walls/floor are very thin

ReeseWitherfork · 08/10/2022 06:00

Hoping the hoovering is a one off?! Maybe they dropped something? I think I relied quite heavily on ear plus when I lived in a flat! If hoovering becomes regular then absolutely say something, but not sure you can say much about alarm clocks and showering. Probably do have to suck it up but you have my sympathies!

rwalker · 08/10/2022 06:00

If it’s a one off leave it I’ve had to hoover at midnight when smashed a glass
picked it up and wanted to hoover to make sure got it all up

DriveMeCrazy1974 · 08/10/2022 06:06

I wake up ridiculously early - today it was 4.30, normally it's 5am, but I would be very annoyed if somebody was hoovering in the flat above or below me at that time! I may be up, but I don't like to hear noise!
I'm not sure why it matters that they work from home and still get up early? I work from home too, I'm just an early riser, I guess.
If it happens again, I think I'd say something about the hoovering, but you can't say anything about their alarms going off really, can you?! I use silicone earplugs so that I don't hear any noise in the night - they're better than the foam ones in my opinion (although perhaps not so useful if you have small children you need to hear)!

silentpool · 08/10/2022 06:08

I would play brown noise on your phone/Alexa at night. I live in a flat and can't hear anything at night, including parties 😀

PeloFondo · 08/10/2022 06:14

I think you can say something about the hoovering. I'm in a flat and we have no noise times between 11am - 7am
I'm awake as the stupid burglar alarm was beeping low battery and I'm trying to fix it, have set it off 3 times Blush so my neighbours probably want to kill me Blush

JenniferWooley · 08/10/2022 06:28

I always wake naturally between 5 and 6am but I'm very conscious that my downstairs neighbour doesn't.

I'm up now & all I have planned for today is housework & some baking but I can't start that until 8am at the earliest so as not to disturb her.

I do feel it's a waste of 2 hours not being able to really do anything but that's the joys of living in a flat.

However another joy of living in a flat is that if I was to spill sugar all over the kitchen floor while making a coffee I'd quickly hoover the area after sweeping it up irrespective of the time & hope I didn't wake my neighbour because that to me is standard household noise (although not a regular occurrence) & is to be expected - obviously I wouldn't be hoovering the entire flat at that time of the morning!

If it's a one off I'd let the hoovering go but if it's a regular thing I'd speak to them about it.

Also people don't realise how noisy they are! Downstairs neighbour always says she can't hear anything but one afternoon I was in her flat & DD & DS sounded like a fucking herd of elephants above us, I rushed up to get on to them about stomping about & they were walking normally along the hall.

LakieLady · 08/10/2022 06:39

I'd just ask them, politely, if they'd put off hoovering until a bit later as it wakes you up.

I'm an early waker too, and I don't do anything that might disturb my neighbours early. I think it's every bit as anti-social as making noise late at night. And I live in a semi-detached house, so it's not as though I have people beneath me.

My neighbour mentioned that my new boiler woke her up when it came on at 6. When my plumber came back to refit the bathroom a few months later, I asked him about it, and he turned the water pressure down at the mains to make it quieter. I was a bit surprised it bothered her, because her isn't attached to mine, and her bedroom is on the far side of her house!

WonderingWanda · 08/10/2022 06:44

It's funny how noise can carry in buildings. Not sure there's a diplomatic easy to say please could you be quieter at 5 30 but it is a reasonable request.

You have just triggered a memory that on the night we moved into our house we heard the neighbour hoovering and moving furniture at 1.30 in the morning for about an hour. I remember thinking what the fuck have we let ourselves in for but actually she has turned out to be the quietest neighbour who we never hear a peep from. I do wonder what on earth she was doing that night.

StillNotWarm · 08/10/2022 06:50

I don't think you can complain about the alarm clock or showers, but I think you would be right to ask they don't regularly hoover early in the morning. The first 2 are normal living. The third is not usually necessary first thing in the morning.

SomethingVexesThee · 08/10/2022 10:28

@JenniferWooley in your spilled sugar scenario I would just sweep up and wait for a sociable hour to hoover.

I've lived in many flats and terraces, and wouldn't dream of hoovering at 5am. I actually can't think of a scenario where the hoover couldn't wait until after 8 or so.

JenniferWooley · 08/10/2022 10:45

@SomethingVexesThee sweeping doesn't always get everything & I'd probably stand in it & traipse it through the place & my hoover is very quiet - it doesn't wake DS so unlikely to wake neighbour whose bedroom is at the opposite end of the flat to my kitchen in the 30 seconds I'd need it on.

I wouldn't go round the whole flat doing a proper full on hoover.

luxxlisbon · 08/10/2022 10:47

It sounds like the hoovering was a one off, so no you can’t ask them to stop their alarm clocks or showering when they wake up!

TooMuchToDoTooLittleInclination · 08/10/2022 10:55

You can go & talk to them, explain the things that wake you up. If they're WFH, they might be able to shower later & they might be able to move the vibrating alarm onto a soft surface instead of a hard surface etc.

if I was your neighbour I'd want to know. I'd change what I could. Obviously if I was going out to work & wanted to shower before work I'd leave it as late as I could, but I wouldn't not shower, WFH I'd just shower at a later time.

no harm in talking to them.

if in time they're still hoovering at stupid o'clock you can look into the buildings rules & regulations.

I wake up very early and can rarely go back to sleep, but I'd never Hoover that bloody early as sane people are sleeping!!

fuckingworms · 08/10/2022 11:01

Maybe they have a worm infestation like us! I have hoovered that early every day since Wednesday.
I want to apologise to neighbors but too embarrassed to say why!

SomethingVexesThee · 08/10/2022 11:59

Why do you need to hoover early in the morning because of worms?

BeanStew22 · 08/10/2022 12:12

Hoovering at 5.40 on the morning obviously unreasonable! There is a difference between cleaning up a small spill & doing the whole house though. I would mention it when you next see them

You can go & talk to them, explain the things that wake you up. If they're WFH, they might be able to shower later & they might be able to move the vibrating alarm onto a soft surface instead of a hard surface etc.

^ if they are waking up to pray however then in many faiths, a person is expected to wash before praying so this is less reasonable to expect someone to agree to

When I lived in a flat I would sometimes have to get up at 5 or so to travel for work - I would shower and my neighbours never mentioned any issues

fuckingworms · 08/10/2022 12:14

@SomethingVexesThee as soon as kids get out of bed, strip beds and Hoover, save walking any eggs round the house

lanthanum · 08/10/2022 12:23

A vibrating phone on the floor is really quite surprisingly loud in the room below, and they may not realise that. (DH has alarms on his phone and leaves it on the floor, and underneath I can hear the vibration but not the alarm itself.)

Hymnulop · 08/10/2022 13:07

WonderingWanda · 08/10/2022 06:44

It's funny how noise can carry in buildings. Not sure there's a diplomatic easy to say please could you be quieter at 5 30 but it is a reasonable request.

You have just triggered a memory that on the night we moved into our house we heard the neighbour hoovering and moving furniture at 1.30 in the morning for about an hour. I remember thinking what the fuck have we let ourselves in for but actually she has turned out to be the quietest neighbour who we never hear a peep from. I do wonder what on earth she was doing that night.

Female Jeffrey Dahmer?

georgarina · 08/10/2022 13:43

WonderingWanda · 08/10/2022 06:44

It's funny how noise can carry in buildings. Not sure there's a diplomatic easy to say please could you be quieter at 5 30 but it is a reasonable request.

You have just triggered a memory that on the night we moved into our house we heard the neighbour hoovering and moving furniture at 1.30 in the morning for about an hour. I remember thinking what the fuck have we let ourselves in for but actually she has turned out to be the quietest neighbour who we never hear a peep from. I do wonder what on earth she was doing that night.

my flatmate did this once, turned out there was a giant cockroach in her room and she was trying to find it and get it out!

Sarahcoggles · 08/10/2022 13:44

fuckingworms · 08/10/2022 11:01

Maybe they have a worm infestation like us! I have hoovered that early every day since Wednesday.
I want to apologise to neighbors but too embarrassed to say why!

Struggling to think how having worms in the house means you need to hoover at 5am!

fuckingworms · 08/10/2022 13:53

fuckingworms · 08/10/2022 12:14

@SomethingVexesThee as soon as kids get out of bed, strip beds and Hoover, save walking any eggs round the house

@Sarahcoggles

burnoutbabe · 08/10/2022 13:56

With current energy crisis I think fist noises from early morning will be more normal.

Our flats stlll have economy 7 (currently 1.30-8.30am)

So I time dishwasher and washing machine to finish at 8.30 . However I am conscious that the spin cycle of the washer /dryer is noisy. So if I want to wash/dry (4 hours) I wash before go to sleep -so end /spin at 9pm then programme drying to be 5-8 (not as noisy)
Others in flats seem to also be doing washing overnight as we here washing machines often during the night.

Rubbishname101 · 08/10/2022 14:00

Wax earplugs - the only way I can sleep thanks to my neighbours, now I don’t hear a thing.