How noise affects our lives and those of our children?
Walk to school, three minutes to your best friend: distances in the (big) city are short. But how can we protect our children’s health from road noise and the like?
Noise disturbs. Not only adults but also our children. Even if they are very often loud themselves – the health consequences of noise mean permanent stress for the child’s body and should not be underestimated. In fact, the constant background noise from the street noise in the city worsens our sleep, and under certain circumstances, it can even lead to heart problems.
Children mainly suffer from difficulty concentrating and learning difficulties.
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City or country?
As parents, we want the best for our children. However, a quiet -environment in the country is not always feasible or desired – apart from the lack of childcare options and a much smaller range of cultural and leisure activities. So what should we do if we want to live as centrally as possible and still don’t want to permanently expose our children to noise pollution? Very simple: we pimp our apartment. This reduces noise and is good for our health.
Set up correctly
For this purpose, it makes sense to deal with the properties of noise: Empty or half-empty rooms are always the loudest – bad news for fans of spartan rooms and a real burden on your health. This is because the sound can spread unchecked here, the walls reflect the reverberation of the sounds without obstacles.
One way to bring more peace into the apartment is to rearrange the furniture. Well-distributed boxes, (book) shelves and tables ensure that the sound is dampened and deflected. Some furniture, such as upholstered furniture, can even absorb sound, as can curtains or curtains.
Also available in beautiful: carpets
Our previous generations automatically did a lot right – later, overly lush rugs and carpeting were banned from homes in many places for aesthetic reasons. This was not always the wisest decision: carpets insulate the sound – and here above all the impact sound of the rooms above.
Carpets are now also available in subtle colors and pleasant materials – whatever you like is allowed here, with cork, virgin wool or cotton having excellent sound insulation properties. And if you can’t stand the feeling under your bare toes, we can recommend tapestries. They are also not that modern anymore, but still an alter-native to carpets on the floor.
Would you like a conversion? Retrofit sound insulation ceilings
If interior design measures no longer help at all, you can also think about putting in a soundproof ceiling. This is usually installed later, is not load-bearing and soundproofing insulation materials are filled between- the two ceilings.
They are also known as acoustic ceilings and are excellent at insulating against sound – but they have the disadvantage of not necessarily being the most cost-effective solution. In the case of a condominium, the investment is definitely worthwhile, in rental apartments it could be too high to spend, and the landlord must also agree to such a conversion.
View from the window: the soundproof curtain
Newer apartments in particular impress with large window fronts and the associated light-flooded rooms. Unfortunately, glass is an extremely sound-reflecting material. If there are many glass surfaces in a room, there is little space to absorb sound, for example from street noise; overall, the apartment becomes “louder”.
One way to counteract this is the so-called acoustic or soundproof curtain. Their material is thicker and heavier than that of conventional curtains, so they insulate sound much more effectively. In addition, they are often visual eye-catcher and also provide the privacy screen that is often useful in the city.
Living quieter means living healthier
City and street noise cause stress – even if we are often not aware of it. Children’s fine antennae often perceive noise much more strongly. In any case, it is worth making your apartment quieter. A few simple steps are often enough without high costs to keep the sound out and to turn your own four walls into an oasis of peace. Your health will thank you!
Our home is like an oasis of peace, that is, how to silence your household
We all know that – a washing machine, tumble dryer or dishwasher is a great and indispensable help in the household, but unfortunately the noise they make disturbs you from relaxing or watching TV.
There are several tricks to eliminate the annoying noises in the household. Do you know how? Learn how to mute your home. Sometimes really little is enough.
Insulation of doors
Soundproof doors are the best way to get rid of the surrounding noise. However, it is not always possible to replace old doors. It is much easier to attenuate sounds with acoustic curtains that provide a pleasant atmosphere in the rooms and can attenuate ambient noise from the street or an adjoining room by up to 35 dB. They can also be used for darkening. They are available in a wide range of colours, so anyone can choose the one that best suits their interior – at home and at work.
Noise from the dining room and kitchen? Easy to eliminate
Apparent little things help make the noise that accompanies these activities while serving or cooking. Felt pads or under cups and glasses are great because they don’t hit the table and also muffle sounds that can wake up sleepers in the next room, for example. During the reconstruction of the kitchen, it is advisable to implement the even quieter operation of drawers or cabinets.
These aren’t really silencers, but they protect parts of the kitchen from wear and tear.
Warmth and silence on the floor
If you live in an apartment building, the floor may already be soundproofed. A quality, thicker fiber rug is best, but if you don’t like rugs too much, choose soft vinyl.
With a quality floor, you can attenuate up to 20 dB of sound, so you can enjoy pleasant peace of mind even in a noisy house.
In addition, gluing the chairs with self-adhesive pads from below will prevent the unpleasant sound caused by pushing the chairs and avoid the risk of recesses remaining on the ground. Sometimes you just have to take care of the little things that can ultimately help you enjoy your daily activities and time spent in the most popular place – at home.