Household Items You Can Utilize for Soundproofing – How to Soundproof with Household Items

Have you ever been in a room that’s been completely emptied out, perhaps during a move or while painting? I remember when I was redoing my bedroom it was completely empty and the carpet was ripped out and I noticed there was a lot more echo. When I finally got some furniture back in there, I noticed the echo was pretty much gone. This is how I found out about soundproofing with household items.

See, if you didn’t have furniture or carpet in your house, you’d experience the same thing. While you might not know this, your furniture is already helping with the acoustics in your house by absorbing some echo and reverberation. 

Soundproofing with Household Items

Soundproofing your house doesn’t have to be a difficult or expensive process. If you’re looking to save some money you can probably find some simple items around your home that can help dampen or block excess noise. 

If you do choose to use the things already in your home to help with soundproofing and it doesn’t work as well as you thought, you may need to employ the more difficult methods. The last two methods we suggest (double-pane windows and adding a wall) are going to be more difficult and costly, but they’ll also be last resorts. 

How to Absorb & Block Sound in a Room – Acoustic or Soundproof Curtains

Heavy drapes are great for absorbing the excess sound in a room, but they won’t block noise from transferring in through a window or door. These thick drapes are great for a room where you might not have a lot of plush furniture or carpet and you’d like to get rid of any echo. The other benefits of heavy curtains is their ability to block light, so they’ll help keep a room cooler and darker. 

Remember that “acoustic” or “heavy” drapes are really intended to absorb sound, and are not STC-rated. For sound-rated soundproof curtains, check out our catalog of products which will include our AcoustiTrac, AcousticCurtain and AcoustiDoor. These are the best options if you want to block noise from coming in through the windows or transferring between rooms.

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How to Soundproof a Door with Household Items

Have you ever heard of anyone using moving blankets to cover up a door in their house? It’s actually a fairly common practice, and it’s likely that they do it to help soundproof the door. While a moving blanket is definitely thick and heavy enough to muffle sound coming through a door, it won’t do much to block that sound. 

Moving blankets can effectively block sound because sound can still move through the fabric, or absorb into it. Because of this, moving blankets are a better solution to absorb sound to get rid of echo in a room, rather than keeping sound from getting into the room. 

Although not a regular household item someone would already have, soundproofing door covers made with MLV are the ideal solution for soundproofing a door (in addition to door sweeps and seals). 

Does Sound Absorbing Furniture Work?

Soft, plush furniture can help to absorb some of the reverberation in different rooms in your house. Like I said earlier, a nice thick carpet can help with sound absorption too. 

While these are great methods to use in your house, it wouldn’t work in a larger area such as a restaurant. They often have to install sound absorbing panels to reduce reverberation so guests can hear each other better. 

Using Furnishings to Improve Acoustics in a Space

Soundproofing with Double-Paned Windows

Double-paned windows are an expensive change to make in your house, but if you already have them you might notice you hear less outside noise. These windows work so well because of the air barrier between the two glass panels. Sound waves lose more energy moving from structure to air and back to structure. The air barrier also acts as insulation to keep your home cooler, allowing you to also save money on your electric bill. 

Add an Extra Wall in Your Household

The larger a space is, the more echo there will be. For example, churches usually need some sort of acoustics treatment because they’re prime real estate for echo and reverb. While your house might not be as large or as open as a church, homes with very open floor plans can allow more reverberation than homes that are more closed off. 

Soundproofing for Open Floor Plans

My house is pretty open, so when you’re standing in the kitchen you’re also watching TV in the living room. Of course, this can get annoying when I’m trying to watch a show and someone is cooking or washing dishes pretty loudly but otherwise I don’t mind it. If this reminds you of your home and you’re especially bothered by what’s going on in the area next to you, you can add an extra wall to separate the rooms. 

In Conclusion – Soundproofing With Household Items

Together, these tips can hopefully give you the quiet environment that you have always wanted.