Washer & Dryer on Top Floor - Too loud?

There’s a ton of ways to make this a non-issue for stackable or combined units. Put down a layer of flooring first that is heavy, dense, and screwed tightly to the subfloor, and that pretty much kills most sound that people complain about. You can also get rubber pads that go under your washer (the driers really don’t make noise) and mitigate even more. Washers vibrate and shake a lot so keeping them from bouncing against walls is crucial. If they aren’t leveled they can “walk” from vibrations and start bouncing off the walls.

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kcc414 | 9 years and 11 months ago

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Hey there! I am shopping for a washer and dryer and debating between a stack able unit and the side by side units.
I have heard that the front loading stack able units can shake/vibrate the floor quite a bit, and I am wondering if it would be a good choice for us or not.
Our W/D will be located in our master bedroom closet on the top floor.

cmu | 9 years and 11 months ago

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Depends on your tolerance. We are aware of our Bosch (the largest size, bought by mistake as the next one would’ve sufficed,) 2 floors down on its spin, but then…it’s for 5-10 mins 4 times/week. You can reduce vibration by putting it on a heavy pad (Google it). Get a front-loader: less water, less soap, easier on your clothes. What’s not to love? Don’t get a combined stackable unit, just units that can be stacked. Possibly stacking would increase n/v. If I do it, I would build a separate a few inches above the washer & place the dryer there. Then you can buy non-matching units if you want. Also makes it easier to service, which believe me, the washer will need!

anotherposter | 9 years and 11 months ago

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We have stackables on our garden level where the floor is old subfloor and most loads through the wash can be heard throughout all floors of the building and it sounds like the entire house is about to launch. I can’t imagine how bad it would be higher up, but maybe on more level floor it would walk around less. It can move the entire stack a foot a load. Ours is so loud that I try not to run late at night because I’m sure the neighbors must be able to hear it.

kcc414 | 9 years and 11 months ago

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Thank you for the replies! i feel nervous that it would indeed be too loud, and now I even wonder about the side by side units??

daveinbedstuy | 9 years and 11 months ago

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I had sid by side full size units on the top floor which was directly above the kitchen and TV room many years ago and can’t remember them ever being a problem.

CarmenR | 9 years and 11 months ago

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We had our stackable units right next to our bedroom.in our old place and barely heard them. We will put them on the top floor near our bedroom for the new place too. I don’t have much concern about the noise, but our units are new so they don’t hop around a lot.

anotherposter | 9 years and 11 months ago

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Our units aren’t very old, but the floor is very wobbly where they are. I think that if you have a very solid surface for them, that would help a lot. And I’d probably add one of those mats cmu mentioned just to be safe.

snowman2 | 9 years and 11 months ago

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I tiled the floor on a mud job in my not quite 4’x5′ laundry closet on my 3rd floor bedroom floor. Stacked front loader. It doesn’t walk and when the door is closed I don’t hear it in the bedrooms. Oddly I can hear it vibrate during the spin cycle on the parlor floor (the floor below the laundry) in the room about 15′ away from the laundry closet. Must be some weird way it’s being transmitted. It’s not disturbing.