How to Soundproof Your Bathroom (3 Easy Steps)
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There are a few reasons why you need to soundproof your bathroom. For instance, showering or flushing the toilet can be distracting if you have guests or your bathroom is near your dining area.
Here are some methods to soundproof your bathroom:
- Install a thicker door
- Use weather stripping on the door frame
- Add soft-surface bathroom-related items that can absorb noise
For a comprehensive guide on soundproofing the door in your bathroom, check out my article.
Soundproofing can be an excellent solution for your noisy bathroom. However, you also need to fix the parts of your bathroom that you think are making noise to ensure that soundproofing can be more effective.
How to Soundproof Your Bathroom
Your bathroom amplifies noise because of the primary materials used to build it. Your sink, tub, and toilet come in either porcelain or ceramic.
These materials do not absorb many soundwaves. That means the sound you make while you are inside your shower room can freely bounce off the materials.
In addition, bathrooms do not have any soft surfaces that can absorb sound waves. For this reason, the sound can pass through your thin, hollow door.
Here are the methods that you can do to soundproof your bathroom:
1. Replace your door with a thicker one
Door replacement is an easy fix for your noisy bathroom. It only requires you to remove your old, thin door from the hinges and install a new thicker door.
A thin door will allow sound to travel freely outside your bathroom. The reason is that it is not dense enough to deaden and absorb noises. So, if you want to trap noise inside your bathroom, you need to install a thick door.
Most of the time, bathroom doors are light and hollow-core. The best replacement for such a door type is a solid wood slab filled with cardboard honeycomb materials.
Replacing your door will significantly reduce the transmission of sound from your bathroom to its neighboring areas.
However, it would help if you noted that solid doors are heavier than your bathroom’s hollow-core door. For this reason, you may need to replace the screws of your hinges with longer and sturdier ones.
Solid doors are also more expensive than hollow-core doors.
2. Install weatherstrippings
When you install your bathroom door, there will be gaps between it and the door frame. These gaps are a good place for soundwaves to escape. Weatherstripping can solve this problem.
Apart from blocking noise from escaping out of your bathroom, weatherstripping also provides excellent insulation.
To weatherstrip your door, you will need:
- Sponge
- Tape measure
- Drill or driver
- Door sweep
- Scissors
- Weatherstripping
Weatherstripping your door is a relatively straightforward process. You need to ensure that your measurements are correct. This way, the weatherstripping will be effective.
It is also vital that you clean the area to install your foam weatherstrip to ensure that it will adhere firmly. After pressing the weatherstripping into place, put pressure on it for at least 30 seconds. Such will help the adhesive stick to your door frame.
In addition, installing a door sweep will make your door more soundproof. However, you need to screw the door sweep, so it seals tightly against the bottom of your door.
3. Fill your bathroom with soft-surface materials.
Soundwaves and vibrations cannot bounce off soft materials. Without anything to absorb them, they will freely bounce off of your bathroom’s walls, door, sink, and floor.
Soft materials such as bath towels, bathrobes, and rugs are suitable for sound absorption. Even a stack of towels and a hamper can absorb soundwaves. For this reason, adding them to your bathroom can dampen the noises.
The reason is that soft materials catch the sound, preventing them from bouncing off of hard surfaces. Such significantly deadens the noise. As a result, the sound of your open shower or toilet flush will no longer be audible outside your bathroom.
How to Have a Quiet Bathroom
The primary source of noise in your bathroom is the exhaust fan. While its loud sound can mask the noise, you make when you use your bathroom, it can also be downright annoying.
What is even worse is that your bathroom fan may be old enough that it can no longer do its job of moving air. If that happens, your bathroom will have mildew and mold growth.
Fortunately, there are some steps that you can follow to reduce the noise that your exhaust fan makes.
Perform an exhaust fan maintenance
One of the most common reasons your bathroom fan is so loud is that it has dirt buildup. In the long run, the dust gets trapped on the blades, vents, and motor. The dirtier your bathroom fan gets, the louder it will become.
That said, you should clean your bathroom fan now and then for it to operate excellently. However, it is essential to note that you should never use compressed air.
Here are the steps to follow for cleaning a dirty bathroom fan:
- Turn the power supply to the exhaust fan off.
- Remove the fan’s cover.
- Clean the vent and blades using a mixture of warm water and soap.
- Use a handheld vacuum to remove the specks of dust stuck on hard-to-reach areas.
- Allow the parts to dry before turning the power supply back on.
After cleaning the exhaust fan, you will see that it is a lot quieter than before.
However, if the fan is still loud, then there might be something wrong with the motor. If such is the case, then you may need to replace your entire exhaust fan.
Replace your exhaust fan
One thing worth noting about replacing your exhaust fan is that the more powerful its motor is, the quieter it will become.
Additionally, the “one size fits all” saying does not apply to bath fans. That means you need to calculate the size of your bathroom for you to find a suitable exhaust fan.
After getting the measurements of your bathroom, multiple the room’s lengths to the width and height (l x w x h). Next, multiply the result by .13.
Finally, round up the result to the nearest ten, and that would be the bath fan size you need for your bathroom. For instance, if the product you get is 107, you need a 110 cubic feet per minute (CFM) exhaust fan.
Now that you have a suitable exhaust fan for your bathroom, you can replace the old one.
First, turn off the power source of your old unit.
After making sure that no electricity is running through your fan, locate the joists using a stud finder. Mark the location of every joist that you found.
Moreover, most exhaust fans have a ceiling joist with duct running parallel to it. Find the direction of the ceiling joist and locate the damper. This process may require you to remove the blade and fan motor from the housing.
Next, enlarge the fan opening on your ceiling.
Now that the opening is more significant than disconnecting the old duct, housing, and electrical cable. You may need to clean the installation area before installing the new fan.
Finally, install the new mounting frame and connect the electrical cable with the new housing. After connecting it properly, snap the housing into the frame so that the duct opening is facing the exit duct.
To finish the installation process, use aluminum duct tape to connect the damper, duct, and flange. Additionally, connect the power wires and ground to the electrical box that comes with the package.
After finishing all the connections, slide the fan into the housing and install the muffler and grille. Test if your new unit is working correctly. If it is, the last thing you need to do is to apply fire-resistant caulk around the fan. Such will prevent moisture from getting through the attic.
Sources
- Magdalene Taylor, Can You Soundproof Your Bathroom?, Dollar Shave Club, https://www.dollarshaveclub.com/content/story/can-you-soundproof-your-bathroom/
- Lee Wallender, Soundproof Interior Doors: What to Know Before You, The Spruce, https://www.thespruce.com/soundproof-with-solid-doors-3972508/
- Michael Franco and Bob Vila, How To: Weatherstrip a Door the Right Way, Bob Vila, https://www.bobvila.com/articles/door-weather-stripping/
- Joseph Truini, How to Soundproof a Room, Popular Mechanics, https://www.popularmechanics.com/home/interior-projects/how-to/g2470/soundproofing-a-room/
- Fix a Noisy Bathroom Fan, Family Handyman, https://www.familyhandyman.com/project/fix-a-noisy-bathroom-fan/
