DIY Dishwasher Soundproofing

Few people can tolerate the constant noise from household appliances in their apartments. For example, a dishwasher, which you turn on almost every day, can be annoying and, worse, disrupt your and your children's sleep. When buying appliances, you don't often think about this, and sometimes you don't even want to pay extra for good soundproofing, only to regret it later. So what can you do? One option is to soundproof your dishwasher yourself. Read on to find out how.

Selecting materials

The main question that DIYers have is: how can I soundproof a dishwasher? To answer this, you need to understand what you're planning to do. Dishwashers generally produce noise due to strong vibration. Therefore, when choosing a material, you need to pay attention to its properties. You can choose one of the following types of insulation for your dishwasher:

• vibration-insulating material – is the main layer for soundproofing equipment, absorbing vibrations from the walls, and can be foil-coated or non-foil-coated;

Please note! It's best to choose vibration insulation that doesn't require heating during installation. This type of insulation won't emit unpleasant odors.

• heat and sound insulation material – a material that has a closed cellular structure, absorbing not only sound, but also the heat generated by equipment;
• Soundproofing material – a material with an open cellular structure, the most effective in combating unpleasant sounds.

For maximum effectiveness, experts recommend using two layers of insulation, one for vibration and one for sound insulation. Here's a brief overview of these materials:

• StP Silver is a 3 mm thick vibration-absorbing material covered with a layer of aluminum foil, which can withstand temperatures from -45 to +100 degrees C;
• TermoZvukoIzol – absorbs heat, vibration, and noise, consists of layered fiberglass and polypropylene, has a thickness of 8 to 14 mm, and withstands temperatures from -45 to +120⁰C, reduces impact noise up to 30 dB;
• Shumanet-100 is a sound-insulating, vibration-absorbing material, no more than 3 mm thick, that does not lose its properties at extremely low and high temperatures, is multi-purpose and extremely effective.
• Soft Wave 15 is a professional self-adhesive soundproofing material that effectively absorbs vibration and noise and is resistant to moderate temperatures up to +90⁰C, thickness 15 mm.

Quite often, Soft Wave 15 is used for soundproofing the “home assistant”. Firstly, it adheres perfectly to the body of the device, making it very easy to apply. Secondly, it easily conforms to the shape of the device, without warping or peeling off. Thirdly, it does its job perfectly, reducing the noise level of the device while in operation to 26 dB. The result is stunning.

In addition to the soundproofing material itself, you'll need heat-resistant glue. After all, the car body will get hot. You'll also need a long ruler and a knife to cut the soundproofing material. That's all there is to it; we're ready to get started.

Stages of work

It's not difficult to achieve good soundproofing for a dishwasher at home, especially if you have good soundproofing material on hand. When choosing soundproofing, match its thickness to the gap left between the machine body and the walls of the niche where it's installed. If the insulation layer is too thick, the machine won't fit. Let's get started.

1. We turn off and remove the dishwasher from the niche.
2. We take measurements and cut strips of soundproofing material so that they completely cover the side walls of the case, the bottom, the top, and the back wall.

Thin sound insulation (3 mm) can be glued overlapping, and thick sound insulation can be glued end to end.

3. We apply glue to the soundproofing material and glue it to the car body so that there are no gaps between the strips. There is no need to climb on the door, as this may interfere with opening and closing the dishwasher.
4. We remove the door panel and glue a layer of insulation underneath. If you're using soundproofing thicker than 8 mm, this "trick" may not work. For example,Bosch SMV23AX00R dishwasher the gap between the door frame and the furniture front is no more than 6 mm.
5. We check how well the soundproofing has adhered, wait for the glue to dry, and then put the car back in place. It's done.

So, we've figured out how to soundproof a dishwasher and how to do it correctly. Don't try to cover your dishwasher with untested materials. Firstly, it's dangerous, and secondly, it might not produce the desired results, and you'll just be wasting your time. Follow our advice, and you'll succeed. Good luck!

   

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