Loud washing machine and neighbor relations

We have one of those cherished dual washer/dryers. It's in the kitchen, which has tiled floors, and apparently is directly above our downstairs neighbor's bed. They've recently complained about the noise at night, and asked if we could make sure all laundry has finished before 10pm.

It's easy to pop a load in the morning, if we have time, but the thing takes about four hours to finish. We usually get home late--too late to start and finish another load of laundry. We're already vying for the washer on the weekends as it is.

So what would you do?

1. Be disciplined, make sure laundry is in before we head out the door, and do only one load a day.
2. Sacrifice neighbor goodwill and decide it's not your problem that their bed is underneath the washer. Not the nicest option. 

Just curious how others feel. I guess my position is obvious, given that I'm posting!

I think it would be awfully unfair to do your washing after 10pm, especially as it's right above their bed. 10pm isn't an unreasonable time to have your washing finished.

The idea of stopping someone from sleeping due to lack of organisation in starting a wash before you leave seems very unfriendly and frankly a bit selfish. If they were saying no washing in the evening at all or during the day I'd think differently but 10pm is more than generous.

If your washing hasn't finished drying by 10pm you can always stop the drying cycle and either hang it up and it will be dry in the morning or start it again when you get up in the morning.

If you're position is number 2 then I'm glad I'm not your neighbour!

Heh! We've been considerate so far, but I'm near the end of my rope. I agree that it's terrible to have to listen to a washing machine, but it's also terrible to only be able to do laundry on the weekends. If we don't get home until eight, we can do half a cycle, then the rest in the morning, then another half-cycle that night... it's just frustrating (besides the fact that I usually have to run the dry cycle twice to get them dry). There's absolutely no hope if I realize I need something cleaned before the next day.

Out of curiosity, I wonder what our technical obligations are. If we wanted a permanent solution, who should be responsible for soundproofing? And does this mean I can ask them to stop smoking inside their flat because it makes our home smell like an ashtray?

Ah, flat living. I just wish I knew exactly where the boundaries are!

I have to agree.  We owned our flat in Cardiff before we bought our house and we always stopped our laundry at night because our machine was loud.  Most buildings with blocks of flats actually have regulations insisting on stopping noise after 10.  Ours was a divided house, but we kept noise to a minimum to be polite.  I'll admit, I think it would also be incredibly rude to keep a loud machine going at night.  It sounds as if they were pretty polite about the request, but even if they weren't, it is their right to be able to go to sleep at night.  How would you feel if they were blasting loud music or doing construction when you were trying to sleep?  Learn to plan ahead, and if there's something you really need for the next day, do a quick wash cycle earlier, throw it over a hot radiator for the night or live without.

I never do laundry after 9 PM. It is actually in our tenancy agreement - and I live in a terraced house so I would just be annoying people on either side of me, not running the machine over someone's head while they are in bed.

I don't see why it's unfair to only have to do laundry on weekends. Lots of people only do laundry (and other household chores)  on weekends because they are too busy working during the week.

Running a washing machine is no different than making any other type of loud noise - playing loud music, using a Hoover, etc.

I don't understand what you mean about having something to wash for the next day. Why can't you plan what you need for the week and then wash it the weekend before?

Or if you want to wear something and then realise that it's still in with the dirty laundry, just wear something else.

Another option for an exceptional occasion - for example, if you were going on a job interview and there was a particular outfit you needed to have cleaned for it - would be to have your outfit drycleaned.

I could understand if you were very poor and couldn't afford enough clothing to last you through the week, e.g., you only owned one top that you had to keep washing over and over, but I assume that isn't the case.

I'm sorry, but I don't think your neighbours are being unreasonable at all.

I can't imagine trying to sleep - or just relax- with a washing machine banging on top of my head.

I'm curious, since you say the laundry takes 4 hours to finish, what time at night do you actually have it all done by?

I disagree that running a washing machine is the same as playing loud music.  One is noise for its own sake, and the other is a necessity of modern life.  Our washer's normal cycle takes two and a half hours; if we could only do laundry on weekends, we'd have to spend all weekend, every weekend with the machine constantly running.  I also don't think that the OP is inconsiderate for not wanting to comply with their request.  It will be a major inconvenience for her.  However, in the interest of good neighbour relations, I would suggest putting all your clothes in the washer at night so that all you have to do is push the button in the morning and you'll have clean clothes when you get home.  Also, do the largest loads you can.  I am not nearly as diligent about separating colours and fabrics now as I used to be--at 2.5 hours per load there isn't enough time to be! 

If you can do a load a day, there's no reason you can't get by on that.  Families with kids could get by on it (unless, of course, they were washing nappies or something).  If you absolutely need to do more than one wash a day, you could consider hanging them to dry and just running the wash cycle.

I live in a set of Victorian large terraced houses, and we definitely can hear when any of our neighbours do their laundry.  It's one of the only things that carry into our flat from anywhere but directly above us.  If you have other neighbours, you may very well be making it noisy for more than just the one neighbour.

I usually do the 9-9 rule with the wash.  I don't do a load a day, but even running long cycles and an extra rinse, I usually can get two or even three done a day.

  Our washer's normal cycle takes two and a half hours; if we could only do laundry on weekends, we'd have to spend all weekend, every weekend with the machine constantly running.  

What's wrong with that? Overall, you are running the same number of loads during the week, so it is not costing you any more money/using any more electricity.

You can leave the laundry running while you do other things during the weekend.  Since a load takes 2.5 hours, that gives you plenty of time to do grocery shopping, etc., whatever else you need to do.

Sorry, but having to rearrange your schedule is not as much of an inconvenience as being kept awake every night.


While a washing machine may be a necessity of modern life, being able to use it whenever you choose is not a necessity. And a dryer is definitely not a necessity. I don't have one.

Note: X-posted with Legs Akimbo. I agree one load a day is plenty.

I think part of the problem is that you actually use the dryer funtion.  You wouldn't have half the time problems if you hung them up.  While I appreciate that can be annoying, and certainly took getting used to, the machines just aren't the same in the UK and concessions have to be made somewhere.  10pm isn't unreasonable and I dread to think of you doing laundry at 1 am for the precious dryer function.  I would also check your lease, you may already be in violation of the terms with your noise.

Sweetpeach, it's not a question of money but of time, and of being tied to the washer all weekend.  Plus, if the weather's bad and we can't hang it outside, the we can't do as much because there's no room inside to hang it.  I don't do laundry late at night, but I get home early enough to do a load in the evening if necessary, and if I couldn't do that, it would pose a real problem.  I sympathise with the OP, that's all.

edited for coherence

I would say definitely ask them to stop smoking if it makes your flat stink!  I'd also say not doing laundry after 10pm is a reasonable request as well, especially if it can be a trade off for the smoking.

I agree with just popping it in at night and pushing the start button in the morning before you leave.  Sure, it's not your ideal situation and you want to be able to wash stuff when you want, but it's probably better to have not-grumpy neighbours.  

I don't have the luxury of a dryer, so we have to be home when the washer finishes, otherwise it makes everything stink and we just have to wash it again.  We're often tied to the washer on the weekends.  It sucks.

I live underneath a flat where their washing machine is right over our bedroom, they do washing all hours of the day and night and it is very frustrating trying to get to sleep when you can hear the spin going on above you. So for me it would be option 1.

I also have a very very noisy washing machine and I put my washing on in the morning and take it out to dry when I get home in the evening, I dont have a dryer function but I have a drying rack to hang my clothes on.

Does the machine have a 'quick wash' function - if it does, then washing only takes only about an hour.

Make sure you do a load before you leave the house and maybe loading the machine the night before, as suggested by others? I think it sounds like you may have to be more coordinated and organised with your laundry routine. A 10 PM finish time sounds reasonable to me.

And you can buy drying racks for the radiators - saves money, as well.

A 4 Bar Radiator Airer is only £1.58 from Wilkinson's:

http://www.wilkinsonplus.com/browse/274?ex=co_wizr-locayta&template=wz_locayta&pageno=1&perpage=10&collate=pdxttype%3Apdxtcolourn%3Apdxtbrandn%3Apdxtsizen%3Apdxtmaterialn%3Apdxtpackqtyn%3Apdxtheightn%3Apdxtpowern&setsortorder=name&setsortname=ascending&fieldinvt=type&termtextinvt=invt&typeinvt=exact&fieldpcatid=pcatid&typepcatid=exact

We spend a lot of time on weekends doing laundry and sometimes have to plan errands around this, unfortunately. At least we don't have to do laundry by hand, like before washing machines!

Regarding the smoke issue, you may want to talk to Shelter for advice:

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/repairs_and_bad_conditions/repairs_in_private_lets/contacting_environmental_health
 
See here also regarding neighbour disputes:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/WhereYouLive/NoiseNuisanceAndLitter/DG_10029682

We have a 'late washer' that lives next door to us. We live in a 1960's block of flats where the walls are paper thin. Each flat has a unique layout, so our bedroom (and consequently our bed) is against the wall that is common to the kitchen of the flat next door and the washer/dryer is directly opposite our bed.  We have had problems with the particular tenant that is there now because they do laundry at odd hours... we're not talking 10 pm either but 2, 3, 4 in the morning sometimes and they like to do a complete kitchen clean at the same hours. We had tried to talk to the tenant on our own a couple of times but he doesn't answer his door even when we KNOW he's there.

We also have had their cigarette smoke filter into the common hall and into our flat as well.

We finally complained directly to his letting agent (who happens to also be the owner of his flat) and they were appalled to hear of the issues we have had with him. Especially since there are clauses in his lease and overall building rules that each tenant is given that specifically state that no large appliances (washers/dryers/dishwashers) are to be used after 9pm and no new loads started after 8pm and his flat is a non-smoking flat.

So he has been issued a formal warning from his flat owner, the building management company and due to other issues (that were not known to us at the time) his lease will not be renewed when it comes due.

10 pm does not sound unreasonable to me...I would be careful because you're being very unreasonable and you do not know what the people that live underneath you have in their lives. Like us they could have a small child that is woken constantly by your washing...it could result in your lease not being renewed...seems like a small concession to make especially when housing is difficult to find.

Does the machine have a 'quick wash' function - if it does, then washing only takes only about an hour.

I was wondering about that, too.

When I do laundry during the week, I pop in a load as soon as I get home from work. Cook dinner while it the laundry is being washed, and by the time I've finished dinner and done the washing up, the laundry is done.

Another thing you can do, if you don't already, is get separate bags for sorting your clothes in - one for whites, one for colours, one for delicates - however you sort your laundry. When you take your clothes off, put them in the correct bag. This way your clothes are already sorted and all you have to do is stick them in the machine.

Regarding space for hanging clothes, when I lived in a small flat I hung my laundry on a clothing rack in the bedroom, on radiators, on doors and on the backs of chairs.  Now that I live in a house, I do pretty much the same, except I also have the luxury of being able to hang laundry on the banister.

I've been to other people's homes in the UK and seen laundry hanging all over the place, so I guess it is a common way of doing things.

I consider myself lucky to even have a washing machine.

When I lived in New York City, I didn't have a washing machine. If I wanted clean clothes, I had to stick my laundry in a trolley, put my coat on and wheel the trolley to the laundromat. I could only get there on the weekends during the day, and if it was raining or snowing I had to choose between getting wet and not having clean clothes.

I also had a clothing rack for hanging things that I couldn't put in the dryer. I had to keep it in the bathtub and move it when I wanted to take a shower.

Sometimes you just have to make do with the options that are available.