Soundproofing and Sound Absorption: What’s the Difference?

Recently, especially since I have started this blog, more and more people come to me asking for an advice. In this manner, I get a lot of questions about soundproofing and sound absorption, what is best to apply, how it can be done, but mostly regarding the difference between the two of them.

I understand that it can be confusing but there is a major difference between soundproofing and sound absorption.

Usually, when people have a problem with unwanted noise, they want the sound that is being made inside the room to keep it in the room or they want to prevent the sound from entering the room. This is commonly known as soundproofing.

On the other hand, people may want to reduce the echoing or reverberation of the sound within the room. Namely, they are looking for an installation of sound absorption.

Soundproofing Walls without Removing Drywall: A How-To Guide

Are you sick of that outdoor noise and loud traffic on a Sunday morning? Or your unpleasant neighbors’ loud talking and fighting? Or those students above your apartment that are constantly having parties?

If the answer to these questions and other similar ones is “yes” then you are in the right place.

However, if you are new to soundproofing, it must sound over complicated to you, and you might not even be sure if it is worth the effort.

But, trust me, it is.

I found out how easy it can be, and how proficiently I can soundproof our little nest with the simplest of tricks, and how cheap it can be.

Read on to find out what I did.

Bathtub Drain Gurgles when Toilet is Flushed: Noise Removal Guide

A co-worker of mine recently approached me complaining about a noise problem in her bathroom. Apparently, her bathtub drain makes a very annoying gurgling noise every time she flushes the toilet.

My co-worker came to the right person, but as knowledgeable as I am when it comes to fixing noise problems similar to this one, I wasn’t so sure what the cause of this problem might be and how she can fix it.

I had never come across this exact type of problem before. To my surprise, once I’d done some research, I realized the problems and solutions are similar to when your sink gurgles.

I wanted to share this knowledge with you and help you overcome this problem easily and without too much unnecessary work or money-spending.

Sink Gurgles When Toilet Flushes: Noise Removal Guide

Anyone who’s ever had a problem with gurgling drains will tell you to try and fix them right away and there is a very good reason behind that.

It’s very important that you know that gurgling drains can be a strong indicator of a larger plumbing problem, which is why you should investigate your plumbing system and solve this as soon as possible.

Whether you’re having trouble with the gurgling noise from your bathtub drain, toilet, or sink, don’t let it continue for too long, because there are practical solutions for all of these problems.

How to Reduce Airplane Noise in Home

I enjoy living in the suburbs. Besides more space, privacy and a peaceful life I can build with my family, privileges of living in the city center are still available and just a car ride from my home.

However, living in suburbs has its downsides too. It’s well familiar that “less crowded space” is not only good for families, but also for the aircraft industry and their tendency to position airports in open-space locations.

This directly affects all homeowners living near the flight path due to their exposure to the airplane noise, which was proven to be connected with series of health problems, including sleep disturbance, hearing impairment and heart disease.

Do Noise Canceling Headphones Protect Hearing?

If you’re an avid music listener like me, you must know how important it is to have a quality pair of headphones. The difference between listening to music with and without headphones is simply incomparable.

Once I’d gotten myself a lovely quality pair of headphones, I was shocked to find out just how different certain songs sound when you listen to them on headphones that are actually of very high quality.

I could hear these subtle nuances in the sounds and instruments that I wasn’t able to hear before, and keep in mind that these were songs that I’d listened to many, many times before and I knew most of them by heart.

Also, before I’d gotten into soundproofing, headphones always used to be my go-to solution when there was too much of external noise bothering me. I’d just put on some music and try to focus on it and ignore the annoying sounds around me.

Soundproof French Doors: 4 Simple Ways

When discussing how your home looks, often times the desire is that you have something you want to look at every day. Living in a home that has too many portions of it that downright annoy you can wear a person down really quickly, let me tell you.

Having shared a house with some roommates during college, I was treated, firsthand, to the anxiety-inducing sights of people transforming parts of the house into something unappealing.

Those parts always wore me down and made me consider living anywhere else, short of moving into a shoe box.

So, you’ll be glad to hear, now that I have my own home, I’m definitely enjoying myself far more. Especially since I can decide where things go and how, and French doors have always been something I’m fond for, so I got them.

Except one part of them isn’t even close to ideal, and you’re here today because you’ve seen or rather heard it yourself as well. The blasted noise they let through is sometimes enough to drive to tears or even thoughts of smashing them, despite how much I love them.

Despite how fancy they are, how refined my home looks thanks to them, they are really bad at ensuring a room isn’t bombarded with noise from outside. Or even keeping the noise of the room from going out in the first place.

So, let’s look at some options, from expensive and complex to simple and cheap, for resolving this issue. I will have to warn you up front that you might be out of luck if you are hoping for utter and complete soundproofing.

Soundproof Insulation for Campervan: How to Reduce Noise

Let’s make one thing clear, right off the bat. I understand perfectly the sheer controversy of even bringing this subject up.

A campervan is your baby, it’s what you use to travel around in style, see the sights of the world while not beholden to any schedules or need to stay at any hotels. Or it might be your way to earn money, to work and to live. Either way, very important.

So, obviously, I get that, as a fellow owner, I’m just one voice among many, advising this and that. Hell, I won’t even pretend my way might be the best single way for you.

There are thousands of different situations and types of campervan to consider when you give this sort of advice. What works for someone will possibly be someone else’s worst options.

That’s why I’ll do my best to give you multiple options or at least instructions that make sure you can modify them and try to make them suit your needs. The focus will be on soundproofing your campervan to avoid noise and also to insulate it, both from too much cold and too much heat.

These techniques might seem like they could be applied elsewhere, and you’d be right. There’s a bit of wisdom in borrowing methods used on houses or RVs and so on.

Overall, we’ll be focusing on soundproofing and insulation, as said before, but there will be some general tips thrown in for good measure. Let’s get started.

Bike Trainer Noise Reduction: How to Quieten Indoor Cycling

Staying fit isn’t the easiest task in today’s world. Let me tell you, being someone who writes for a living and thus works from home does not do you any favors when you start evaluating the best ways to shed a spare tire around your middle.

Hell, even just staying in generally good shape is a challenge. Who has the time, these days, to go to the gym, to take hours out of their day to devote to that?

It’s not impossible, but you tend to sacrifice a lot, and with my schedule and family obligations, it’s no mean feat. I’m sure a lot of you are in the same boat, and that’s why we all decided to get a bike trainer.

Gloriously easy and reliable, extremely effective exercise. Seriously, here’s just a few benefits:

-Cardio workouts that take care of your heart
-Weight loss and fitness gain
-Ease of use (it’s literally as easy as riding a bike)
-Accessibility (it’s in your own home. You lose not even a minute beyond the time spent exercising)

But then reality reared its ugly head. I’m sure you’ve all lived it too, it’s almost impossible to avoid.

The noise. It started right up. I’m going to be providing some general advice that I wish someone had told me when I had these problems.

reduce bike trainer noise
That way, hopefully, someone else won’t have to struggle and try to come up with solutions to these issues. Because as great as a bike trainer is, unless you pay a lot or live totally alone, in a remote house, it’s going to annoy some people with its racket.

Sewing Machine Noise Reduction: 6 Ways to Make It Quieter

Sewing has become a bit of a nice hobby these days. It used to be all the rage, back when clothes weren’t so readily available to all and when you made a lot of things by hand to use around the house.

These days, I sometimes get weird looks when I admit I like to sew. Hell, even people who do it as a job get weird looks.

So, while I do love it, it’s kind of hard to talk to people about it, without seeming old-fashioned and that, I will admit, kind of dampens my enthusiasm. But not as much as the damned noise.

You know that noise that pops up almost when you’re at your best? When you feel truly inspired and like you’re creating your masterpiece?