Electrical hum

Hi everyone,

Looking for some help here. We own a two family townhouse, bought gut renovated. Recently, our tenants have been hearing a faint but distinct low frequency hum in their bedroom, and it’s been driving them (and in turn me) crazy. It’s at times intermittent and at times constant.

We’ve tried killing every breaker in the house, and it persisted. I’m thinking that means it’s not related to the electric wiring in this house, and perhaps something coming from the house next door. The person living next door won’t let me go in there to have a look. The tenant is asking me to tear open the dry wall to have a look, but I’m thinking that won’t really help anything, and just be expensive and pointless.

Any ideas here? Has anyone experienced this? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Guest User | 4 years and 8 months ago

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Guest User | 4 years and 8 months ago

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Hi everyone. Really appreciate your help.

I don’t think it’s about them wanting to break the lease – they just moved in on Sep 1, and love the apt otherwise, and spent a bunch of money on new furniture, etc.

It’s def not the heating – cause we literally killed every breaker in the house, and this started happening before it started getting cold.

The odd thing is that we’ve lived here for almost two years and the previous tenants never heard anything, and they hasn’t heard anything for maybe for first month they had lived hear.

The joys of being a homeowner/landlord!

ellenlourie | 4 years and 8 months ago

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Try to turn heating off and see if it affect humming.

GreenThinker | 4 years and 8 months ago

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Really not much you can do. Could very well be something in the neighbors home, but if they aren’t interested in even entertaining the thought of turning everything off in their room to check if it’s actually coming from them, what can you do. Don’t tear the drywall down, won’t help. If anything, adding another layer with green glue might lessen the noise. However, these low frequency noises in the silence of the night really penetrate well into your ears. One of my tenants who lived right about me had one of those oscillating tower fans, and it was the same problem; she said she couldn’t sleep without a fan on, and i said i couldn’t sleep with it on, luckily she moved out. There are also some mini split a/c units in a new development that i hear at night, they have a hum to them when they are in heating mode.

Speaking from experience, these “hums” really do get to you once you lay down in bed. If i were a tenant in that situation, i’d move out.

yudashasom | 4 years and 8 months ago

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It could be a neighbors fridge, boiler, furnace, anything really. I’d say your tenants might have other motives – like breaking their lease, and not because of the hum.

Guest User | 4 years and 8 months ago

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Believe me, I would love to. But the tenants will not, they are constantly complaining that it’s interfering with their sleep, etc etc.

Rick | 4 years and 8 months ago

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Low frequency hum from a neighbor’s building? I would try to let it go .

Guest User | 4 years and 8 months ago

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To clarify, it’s coming from behind the drywall from one specific area, on a shared wall.