Even when your neighbors are behaving, does it ever feel like your home is too noisy? The floor creaks more than it used to, the leaky faucet won’t stop dripping, and that’s without taking into account the sounds from the street. Although you may have learned to drown out most of the noise by now, wouldn’t it be lovely if you could settle down for some quiet time with nothing but the sound of silence as your background noise. Doing this doesn’t have to cost a fortune either; here are some easy DIY guidelines to take the volume in your home down a few notches.
Fix the leaky faucet
Silence the endless dripping without calling in a plumber. In fact, fixing a faucet is so easy, even most DIY novices could do it. Just remember to turn off the water supply before you start. If you have a traditional screw-top tap, then the problem is often a washer, which are fairly easy to change, and cheap to buy from any plumbing shop. If you have a swish mixer tap, however, the problem could be that the ceramic cartridge needs replacing. This is a much more expensive fix, as these cartridges often need to be specially ordered from the original manufacturer of the tap. To save yourself some trouble, try replacing the washer first, to see if that solves the problem. It’s a good idea to plug the sink to make sure that any small screws are not lost down the drain.
Banish the creaks in the floorboards
Believe it or not, you won’t need to invest in special flooring supplies to stop the boards from creaking. There are several ways to fix a creaking floor, depending on what is actually causing it, and none of them require you calling in an expert. But the first thing you should try is pouring talcum powder on the offending area. Talcum powder is a lubricant – and a cheap one at that – so it can easily help to silence floorboards by reducing the rubbing between planks and strips that cause the squeaking. Simply sweep the particles into the floorboard, or place a cloth over the boards and walk on it to work the powder into the cracks. Vacuum up any remaining powder, and strut across your silent floor.
Keep the world outside
Turn your bedroom into a silent haven by putting up laying down heavy carpet rugs. Putting up a heavy curtain made of velvet, or some other bulky fabric can keep out noise from the street, especially if the window is flimsy. You could even invest in some specialty noise-absorbing drapes, which have a thick wool core stitched between the decorative fabric. If you share a wall with a noisy neighbour, a bookcase packed with heavy novels can absorb the noise. Now you can read in peace without being an unwilling participant in their loud discussions. You can also keep noise out by covering up cracks at the bottom of the door.
