To think it's anti-social to run the washing machine at 4am...

[LakieLady]

... when you live in a semi-detached house and the water tanks are on the party wall?

I appreciate that my NDNs are doing this to save a bit of money on their electric bills (they're retired, so don't need to get it done before going to work), but I'm frankly sick of being woken at 4am (sometimes 2am) by the sound of gushing water a couple of feet from my head, that goes on for 2 whole HOURS. By the time it's finally stopped, it's 6am and followed by cars starting up as the people who have long commutes are leaving for work. My sleep is done for.

And I have no idea why a household of just 2 people need to do their washing 4 times a week, either.

I can't move my bed as there's only one wall that has an uninterrupted run long enough to accommodate a double bed and a bedside table. I'd move into the back room, but it's even louder in there.

I'm going half mad from lack of sleep. I'm going to have to start going to bed at 8pm, aren't I?

I used to live in a house share and there was a gas tank in a closet the bedroom , it used to make that kind of noise when the heating was turned on.

Sorry boiler is what I meant *

Really? Is this a new thing? My machine's approx 15 years old and even the cycle for the hottest, longest wash is only an hour. I do most things on a 15 minute quick wash, and the 40 minute eco-cycle, which is a whole 2p or 3p cheaper (according to my smart meter).

They don't have gas in the house. They have storage heaters for heating.

It's not a new thing or unusual at all, longest cycle mine does is 3 1/2 hours, the one I usually use is just under 2 hours and we're not "filthy" in the slightest.

Had the machine 6 years, and the one before that which we had for almost 10 had similar cycles.

@LakieLady
"Normal in the middle of the night? It always starts at 2 or 4 am.

It's not them having a bath or shower at 5 or 6 am because they have jobs that start early. That's normal everyday noise. And I wouldn't dream of running my washing machine during the night, even though I can barely hear it upstairs. "

Yes it's normal. "Normal", everyday noise just sounds louder at night due to less surrounding noise. Lots of people have washing machines, dishwashers, heating etc, coming on at night (or early morning) because it's cheaper. All normal.

Maybe get a white noise machine that does water noises. If you fall asleep with that you'd be less likely to wake up when the real water starts moving.

Have just noticed you said they've got storage heaters. They will be on economy 7.

You say he's abusive, I really doubt then that he'll be happy with the washing being done outside of those 7 hours tbh.

I would speak to them and ask if they could use the delay timer on the machine to time it a little later but still before economy 7 night rate ends. If they don't know how to do this you could offer to help show them.

I do this for a load every night but set it so that it only spins after 7am (our eco 7 rate swaps at 8 but they aren't all that late I think they are staggered and you have to watch the meter to know!) it's also much safer as we get up while it's on.

Unfortunately much as I would like to be a better neighbour, and could do it during the day as I wfh, it's more than double the unit price.

The only difference between your washing and a single person's washing is that your drum will be more full.

A single person is still likely to do a bed linen wash and a towel wash weekly, plus at lest one clothing wash. And if they separate by lights and darks, or normal and delicates, that's four washes already.

I try to save things up for a full load, but often I need to wear the clothes that are waiting to be washed, so can't put the washing off until I have more.

It will almost certainly be Economy 7 and that's the whole point of it - to use your appliances when there is less load on the National Grid.
I would imagine the best you can ask is for it to be shifted a bit. The exact hours of Economy 7 vary between suppliers. Sometimes 11.30 to 6.30 or 12 to 7 for example.

I agree. It seems impossible it could be a washing machine, that doesn't make sense.

Clearly though they are doing something that runs water & hence the noise.

There are things you could do to reduce the volume yourself like getting the cavity wall filled with insulation or fitting acoustic dampening insulation to your side of the party wall.

It's not particularly new.

A quick wash takes less load, uses more energy and doesn't get the clothes as clean.

Ironic you're calling your neighbours filthy when you think a 15 minute quick wash is sufficient to clean your clothes properly.

Fine for a freshen up, not fine for underwear, socks or anything that's actually dirty.

My machine's approx 15 years old and even the cycle for the hottest, longest wash is only an hour.

Newer machines tend to have washes that are longer rather than shorter as it's more energy efficient. Longest wash of only an hour is actually very short time.

Same here, I often run mine at night. So it's done for the morning. It's not on a party wall though.

Sorry, I know this isn’t helpful but I couldn’t resist (laid up in bed with this bug) but could they be money laundering? ITs more secret at night

You need wax earplugs OP, I have noisy neighbours but get a great night's sleep if I wear my earplugs, the foam ones are useless but the wax ones stay put really well.

That sounds like the hot water tank filling up and heating up for hot water. Mine does exactly the same about 4/5am, so there’s hot water for us when we get up. It sounds like gushing as it fills up, then pauses to heat, then more filling etc…. and also the same noise when the heating comes on and the water starts moving through the system. If they’ve got an old system it can be quite noisy. I’m detached so doesn’t affect anybody!

The washing machine would only take water in for a very short time, not 2 hours solidly, plus it’s very unlikely to be taking it directly from the tank.

@LakieLady They will be on economy 7 which is cheapest at night so I doubt they will change their habits as their daytime electricity rate will be quite high.

If they are old fashioned I suppose they could be using a twin-tub. I seem to remember DM's could be filled from the hot tap.

That said, who the fuck wants the faff of a twin tub at 4 am!

My washing machine has a daily 30 minute wash, that doesn’t get my clothes clean and I’m not especially dirty, the rest are all 3 hour cycles.
All modern machines seem to be the same, when I bought new a couple of years ago.

I'd look at getting the cavity wall filled if you haven't already.

If it's very loud and a gentle word with them doesn't do the trick, you could contact environmental health and see if it's loud enough to represent a noise nuisance. Your neighbours wouldn't know unless the noise passed the threshold. You get recording equipment where you press a button when the noise is active and it measures the decibels etc.

You might be able to put some kind of insulation in the cupboards to help stop the noise travelling?

Re washing machines, 4 washes for a couple in a week isn't that much. And the longest cycle on my machine is 4.5 hours for a super eco wash!

Is it every day? The theory about water being drawn into a heating cylinder is much more likely than the washing machine.

Washing machines don't actually draw for very long - the same water is reused at different parts of the cycle for washing (obviously new water is drawn for rinsing).

I think this too!

I remember our previous home had an immersion heater - prior to our having CH installed - and the tank operated like this.