I often get woken up by someone passing near my door or by sounds coming from underneath it. But I found the best way to block sounds from under door while sleeping. I had to try a few things before I found the perfect solution for me and I’m going to share all of them because one of them might be your way out.
The first thing I tried
Noise pollution is a very nasty business and it can “aid” us sleep less and be tired at school or at work. I was feeling so tired because of constant sounds coming from under my door that I started to think what I could do to fix this. I realized that if I move my bed near the other end of the room (so that my door) will be a lot further) I might just get some rest. Tired as I was I got up from my bed and pushed it towards the other wall. Sat down in complete silence and waited. At first I thought I was in heaven because it was quite for a few minutes and then I realized the problem wasn’t fixed. I could still hear noise coming from my door. It was better now but it still was enough to not be able to fall asleep.
You can even move more furniture around and see if that makes any difference. If you can, try moving something between your bed and the door to attenuate the sounds.
Second idea: why didn’t I think of that in the first place?
Since the noise was not as powerful anymore I thought I would need something to put under the door so I placed an under the door draft guard and see how that would work. Not being able to sleep I went online and ordered a double sided door draft stopper. Then I wondered: “what if this is still not enough?” so I ordered a draft stopper filled with fragrant balsam (I like nice smells :)). They both arrived within 2 days and I placed the first draft stopper underneath the door and the other on right in front of it. They greatly reduced noise and light coming from the other side. It was pretty quiet and a “normal” person would have slept like a log but not me! I must have super ears or something because I could still hear some noise and was falling asleep only to wake up 5 minutes later.
So, upwards and onwards to the next thing: white noise
I honestly thought there is no best way to block sound from under door while sleeping but the white noise machine I bought proved me wrong. I’m so glad it did! What really helped me was the Marpac sound machine! Not only does this block sounds coming from the door but it also helps with any sounds coming from anywhere! And as an added bonus, it seems to make me sleepy whenever I hear it.
So, for me, this combination worked wonders. For some, the white sound machine might be enough. For others, the draft stoppers will do the trick or just moving furniture around the room. Start with what doesn’t cost any money or doesn’t require much effort and move on if that doesn’t work. While I was researching how to get rid of the noise coming from under my door (yep, remember I couldn’t sleep?), I found out a few other tips that might be of help to someone else:
1. You might want to really check if the noise is actually coming from under the door and not through the door itself. This wasn’t the case for me because the door was pretty new, but it might happen. I’ve heard of cases where people had to use a door insulating foam to fill in the gaps in their door.
2. Although it might sound scary, there is also the possibility you need to change the door because it’s too used and has too many cracks and gaps. If your door is old then noise is easily going to get in no matter what you do. This is an expensive solution but it’s sometimes unavoidable.
Those are the things I learned about while browsing the web at 2 A.M. for the best way to block sound from under door while sleeping.
[Image via Flickr]
