My washing machine vibrates the whole kitchen!

Hello,

I've just moved into a first floor flat, and have - so far - kept the thin vinyl flooring that the builders installed. I had my washing machine on spin last night, and my downstairs neighbour knocked to inform me that her kitchen lights were shaking! To be fair, it was a heavy load and on a fast spin, but I noticed that it was affecting my kitchen floor quite badly in terms of vibrations.

I'm planning on getting some thicker (and nicer!) vinyl flooring down at some point, but can anyone recommend anything either in the meantime, or some sort of insulating underlay that I can use with new vinyl flooring?? I definitely don't want to annoy my new neighbours, but will still need to spin the washing machine!

TIA
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Comments

  • medical
    medical Posts: 379
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    pls check that you have taken the safety thing at the back ( to do with transporting)
    out
    we had our washing machine vibrating for 6 months and could not fathom what the problem was until we called someone in
    medical
  • black-saturn
    black-saturn Posts: 13,937
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    Some women quite like it ;)
    2008 Comping Challenge
    Won so far - £3010 Needed - £230
    Debt free since Oct 2004
  • calleyw
    calleyw Posts: 9,822
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post I've been Money Tipped!
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    I am sure you can get some things to slide under the machine to stop it jumping it about. Typical can't find anything at the moment.

    I use to live in ground floor flat and my neighbour use to 99.9% of there washing during the day or not after 6pm during the week.

    Here is an interesting articlenot sure it is much help.

    And here

    But it does really come down to the an uneven load and the the really naff way that builders build. Even in flat which was built in 1980 if I had no radio on I could just about hear the Telly upstairs.

    Personally all flats and adjoing houses should be made to have decent sound proofing by law.

    So you can only do so much as well as making sure you keep the machine in good working condition eg. when the bearings go get it fixed as it make a noise like something in hades would.

    Enjoy your new flat though. You just need to be mindful so no jumping around with your clogs on :rotfl:


    Yours

    Calley
    Hope for everything and expect nothing!!!

    Good enough is almost always good enough -Prof Barry Schwartz

    If it scares you, it might be a good thing to try -Seth Godin
  • calleyw
    calleyw Posts: 9,822
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post I've been Money Tipped!
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    Some women quite like it ;)

    yeah but would have thought the other thing* would have been cheaper and more discreet.

    And while searching for info on vibrating washing machines. More of the other things* are sold then washing machines and tumble driers put together every year :eek:


    Yours


    Calley

    *did not want offend anyone just incase we have any young readers. But I am sure that most of the adults will know what I am referring to ;)
    Hope for everything and expect nothing!!!

    Good enough is almost always good enough -Prof Barry Schwartz

    If it scares you, it might be a good thing to try -Seth Godin
  • RedOnRed
    RedOnRed Posts: 1,190
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    If you have a 1600 spin speeder like our Bosch, then on max spin it's always going vibrate big time.

    Make extra sure that the machine is perfectly level. However, even after that ours still vibrated excessively so we called Bosch out and the engineer put some sort of dampeners on it and it's been a lot better since.
  • across
    across Posts: 1,648 Forumite
    you lucky thing indiegirl!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • markdavey
    markdavey Posts: 617 Forumite
    indiegirl wrote:
    Hello,

    I've just moved into a first floor flat, and have - so far - kept the thin vinyl flooring that the builders installed. I had my washing machine on spin last night, and my downstairs neighbour knocked to inform me that her kitchen lights were shaking! To be fair, it was a heavy load and on a fast spin, but I noticed that it was affecting my kitchen floor quite badly in terms of vibrations.

    I'm planning on getting some thicker (and nicer!) vinyl flooring down at some point, but can anyone recommend anything either in the meantime, or some sort of insulating underlay that I can use with new vinyl flooring?? I definitely don't want to annoy my new neighbours, but will still need to spin the washing machine!

    TIA

    We simply cut a bit of old thick carpet to the size of the w/machine base and put it, upside down, under the machine, damps down the sound quite a lot.
  • leaving innuendo aside.

    if you want the machine to stop shaking the whole kitchen... look at the back of the machine, there should be 2 or 3 'transit bolts' in the back, these hold the couterweight steady in the machine so its not damaged in transit.

    Also look at the feet, one or two should turn so you can adjust to the level of your floor, oncve you have it balanced it should limit the noise for you neighbours considerably.
  • MrWolf_2
    MrWolf_2 Posts: 34 Forumite
    If the Transit bolts are removed and it is not a really really really old washer it should not be as noisy as you describe. Besides a lot of machines do not even work unless the bolts are removed. The chances are it needs some attention from an engineer. The 2 most common causes of this are a broken suspension leg. There are normally 3 of these, they act like shock aborbers in your car to reduce vibration. The other is the bolts have worked loose on the concrete dampener. This is basically a heavy concrete block bolted to the top or botton of the drum. It works on the principle that heavy things do not move easily. All washing machine have at least one of these. Sometimes the bolts work loose and simply need tightening. Watch out for grey dust on the floor. This means that the movement is severe and the bolts can shear the anchor points of the drum and then a new drum would be needed. Personally, I would not use it until it had been checked by an engineer as it can only get worse. Now it might still be a simple repair only needing some bolts tightening (call out only). Leave it and you may need parts too.
  • Hi Indie Girl,

    Here's the engineering solution. We did this when we lived in a flat with our washing machine.

    We bought a large peice of hard board approximately 1 inch thick and cut it to the size of the washing machine footprint.

    To this square of wood we fixed some heavy duty rubber washers at each corner. You are basically trying to separate the connection between the washer and the floor. Preferably just put one at each corner, but make sure the washers are up to the job. The rubbers go down to the floor, the washing machine stands on the wood.

    Basically Noise and vibration are types of energy. The more solid the connection between one vibrating object and the next the more energy will flow between it and the more noise will be transmitted.

    Think of a cats cradle (you know those exeucutive desk toys) with the balls swinging. One steel ball hits the next, the energy goes through all the balls and makes the last ball move.

    Imagine putting something between the steel balls to stop such a good connection, such as a rubber mat, the last ball now doesn't move so much, as so much energy is not transmitted.

    So your washing machine vibrates passing that energy into the building and moves your neighbours ceiling. The board and rubbers underneath your washing machine create an artificial floor, similar in construction to a 'floating floor' which is used to sound proof flat floors. This joint is now flexible and does not conduct so much of the energy..........therefore your neighbour gets less noise.

    You'll need to do a bit of experimentation.......but it's worth it. Try asking around for a DIY genius........they always seem to fall for good cakes and tea.

    Also worth checking that everything is well with your washing machine. Sometimes the straps that hold the drum in place work loose and this creates a lot of noise as the drum moves a lot more than normal.
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