Neighbour complained about dryer

[alisonelli]

I have just had a text from my next door neighbour saying my tumble dryer is too loud and its "having a significant adverse impact on their quality of life".
For context, we live in detached houses, its on carpet in the utility room, I'd say there is at least 6ft gap between the houses, with cavity wall and a fence. I don't run it early in the morning or late at night. I'd say it runs between 10 and 3 if that. Its an eco one, so it does go on for about 3 hours, but uses little electricity. I have 2 kids, who play lots of sports and I have clothes I need to get dry.
What do I do?

Ours is under the stairs and on for 3+ hours in the day, with dryer balls and no carpet. We close the door and it's not too bad. My kids can sleep while it's on. He's totally overreacting.

I would go over when the dryer wasn’t on, but tell them it is actually on and ask if you can listen to what they hear. If they claim they can hear it, you know it’s a them issue!

Not for everyone-for some comes and goes. There are hearing aids that you can wear all day/night which I'm told do help, but the NHS refuses to give them (and a parent said they even gaslight parents who have kids who need them, by denying they exist-the mum sent said a link about Phonak Lyrics to prove they did, but got no reply).
Only posting this because some people won't be aware, and there's a few articles you can google if it's relevant to you, or anyone in your family about how tinnitus can really affect lives, so if me spending a minute or two posting this helps anyone, it's worth it. Hope no one minds, as I know it might not be relevant to your neighbour, OP.

Personally I'd kill him with kindness in this situation.

I'd turn the dryer on, go round and knock and ask him to come outside and listen for the dryer with you - and ask him to confirm if they very slight rumbling is in fact what he's hearing. Surely when confronted with next to no noise he'd have to agree there's no issue and perhaps he's mistaken?

I wonder if he’s had some hearing loss and recently got a hearing aid. They can be a problem as people get used to them and learn to filter out background noise again that they’d sort of stopped hearing at all.

Sounds like he is being ridiculous but I’d ask to come round and listen to the noise.

If they can hear it I’d probably ask if there was a better time for the dryer to be on (eg. If they work nights so are sleeping in the day). I wouldn’t stop using it though.

Surely they can’t hear it.

Low frequency noise travels further than other noise & travels through the ground. Human hearing begins to deteriorate at 14yo & it's the higher frquencies that we lose first. In a universe of infinite possibility, there may be LFN transmission from the dryer (or from a more distant source that's nothing to do with you) & having by virtue of age, inevitably lost some hearing in the upper register, LFN could seem horribly intrusive to them.
I agree w posters who suggest a sound insulating mat under the machine - they're pretty cheap & show willing.
First though, if you're usually on good terms w the neighbours, go round & see what, if anything, you can hear while the machine's running, get someone in your house to turn it off while you're there & see if you or the neighbours can hear anything in either case. It's quite possible there is a new noise but it's nothing to do with you. It could even be a plumbing fault in their own home.

Edited to add: Don't alert them in advance that you're having it turned off. When you know it'll be off, ask how it seems but don't prime them. If they're stressed about it they'll relax when it goes off & it's surprising how much popping & whooshing & even humming one's own body can create when one is under stress.

Excellent. Play a mean trick on someone rather than approach the problem honestly, in good faith and with a proper desire to get the issue sorted. As the OP has done so far.

I think this neighbour is bored out of his brain and sees how busy your life is and it irks him. He’s texting you OP because he also gets a thrill. He’s trying to interfere and be part of your day. It’s clear he has lots of time on his hands to watch your house, just based on how you have described his commentary.

Running the dryer during the day is normal. He is the one with a problem. And also, I think you should open windows when running a dryer as they can get really hot and need ventilation. Screw the neighbour and fling open the windows.

I wouldn’t respond in the message or future ones and start putting up privacy screens. If it gets overwhelming I would send your DH over to discuss.

I also have tinnitus and it is worse since we moved to this house. I was convinced it was something electrical because it increased when I walked around the house, but I actually think it must be related to something physiological like blood pressure, since I realised the times it increases are when I walk up or down the stairs most prominently.

I went around and turned everything off at the fuse and could still hear it. We live in an industrial area so I thought it was possibly something relating to one of the factories but I think it is just in my head, unfortunately! I finally admitted it has to be this when I eventually remembered to check for it at a quiet time when I was nowhere near home, and there it was again. I don't usually notice it unless I'm sitting quietly e.g. at my computer or trying to fall asleep.

Agreed. Using washers or dryers at night isn't on... neighbours at my last place did this..dryer was on the wall at the other side of my bedroom.

You could put in an anti vibration mat if you wanted to be nice. In flats they are often obligatory for washers and dryers. You aren’t obligated..!

I wouldn’t be keeping the window closed. If it’s a condenser it will generate some condensation so you need the window open to prevent damp/mold issues in the room, There is no why he is feeling vibrations from it and I don’t think the noise even if he can hear it is unreasonable and more so as you are only running it in the daytime.

Keeping the window shut with a decent dehumifier running will avoid damp far more effectively than just cracking a window, especially over winter when it's cold and damp outside.

I had this with my downstairs neighbour, except she spoke to me in person and was polite about it. The problem was I was running mine at night (working full time, it was sometimes easier) so now I know how loud it is to her I only run it during the day (weekends) or early evening.

She asked me to get a rubber mat to out under it (though she did stress it was up to me, she wasn't insisting) but when I spoke to a washing machine guy who came to fix it, he told me such a mat would in his opinion make the situation worse as it would make it move around in the aperture it is in, and babg against the cupboards either side more. So I didn't.

I think it's one of those where you compromise if you reasonably can, but ultimately choosing to live near other people does mean choosing to hear some noise. You can't never dry your clothes. You could (possibly) ask them if there are certain hours that would inconvenience them less. That's all you can do I think.

I'd be polite and apologetic to a point, conciliatory but also factual about your own needs and situation.

Good luck. Any kind of tension with neighbours is stressful, I know.

You’re detached?! Ignore!

This is her detatched ‘neighbour’, not downstairs

It doesn't mean there isn't an issue.

Ignore and live your life.

It’s on in day time hours, in a detached house. He’s being bloody ridiculous. If he wants zero neighbour noise from appliances in the day, he’d need to live on some sort of private estate!

I can see how it might. My detached neighbour is about the same distance away. He had a punchbag in his garage, and we could hear him punching it if we were in my living room.

We didn’t complain though. It’s normal noise from a neighbour. I wouldn’t tell them to stop.

How do they know you have a tumble dryer?

Does it making squeaking noises. You might just need a new belt

A very similar thing has just happened to me.... currently away from home in a very rural location and I can hear exactly the same low frequency sound. At least I now know it's nothing to do with my home...It's so distressing 😞

Ask that they buy a piece of 50mm insultation board to put between your dryer and the wall if it bothers them that much. This will cost about £30 and should finish the problem.

That way, you have offered a solution but at their expense. They have a choice that way that makes little or no difference to you. If they refuse then you have at least tried!

These boards come up as remnants after building work all the time on FB selling and gumtree and it can be cut to size easily.