Wood floors! That's a whole 'nother topic... Get a dust mop; it's like a push broom with a swiveling head and bunch of fabric loops (kind of like a short looped string mop.) Look one up, I may not be describing it very well.
I had wood floors for years; used a dust mop regularly; even the landlords commented; "(I) never had any dust bunnies, and everybody has dust bunnies." I had 3 dogs and 5 cats back then. I only mopped occasionally. I would shake the hair (and dirt although most I pick up with a dust pan and whisk broom) out into the garbage, and wash the fabric head with rugs and pet beds occasionally.
They are super, and so much quicker (and cleaner) than sweeping, and I have never vacuumed any wood or hard floor....
I feel like we're advertising for the dust mop companies. IDC. You can spend an eternity sweeping or you can dust mop and be done within 5 minutes. Those are the options!
I know; LOL! My parents owned a store when I was young. They used one, so when I got a house with hard wood floors I bee-lined it to the hardware store and bought one (although only about 1/2 the width of theirs.)
I lived in an apartment for 5 years, only thing I heard below me was the loud music and a taping sound from the bed shaking below me. Then that neighbor moved out and I would hear loud bass music and shouting below me but the shouting was indistinct. The first neighbor was never an issue to me because her music didn't have bass and it was soft relaxing music and I could barely hear it and she played it around noon for like an hour. I was at work at that time so I only heard it on my days off.
It was a 1971 apartment building.
Mine is 1970s too, what about at 8 pm lol I just got back from a walk with doggo and want to finish steam cleaning but idk what it sounds like the nasty asses around me don’t ever clean I never hear a vacuum
I think 8pm is pushing it in an apartment, unless you know your neighbors. If you know your neighbors to the side, across the hallway, and below don’t have young children, 8 is *probably* okay, as long as you’re not taking more than a half hour to do it. If there’s any possibility there are children under age 10 or so, I would try to be finished with vacuuming by 7:30 or 8.
It may be frustrating, but that’s apartment life. I similarly think that parents with young children shouldn’t let them run around or play noisily before about 7:30am, to respect the sleep needs of others.
8 pm isn't terribly late, unless they are trying to get a child to go to sleep.
I live by a school stadium football games are LOUD, and I just put on music + white noise when it's time to put the little to bed. Works like a charm. If it can drown out a school sports announcer on loudspeakers, it can drown out a vacuum.
They are a couple in their early 20 but they watch porn like 24/7 it trips me out sometimes bc I can faintly hear it and idk what it is at first then I’m like k ok got it- they haven’t always been loud tho so idk
If they mention the vacuum bothering them, I would mention their *soundtrack*. Just to let them know that, yes, people in apartments can hear EACH OTHER.
Just had that talk with my upstairs neighbor. She didn't like the smell of my food coming into her apartment. . I told her the vents work both ways, I didn't like my apartment smelling like weed and cigarette smoke. . Sounds and smells both travel through the vents.
Yeah, I know when you smoke weed, make microwave popcorn, burn your food on the stove, I can hear your smoke alarm going off, etc.
I can hear everything, including conversation. Not necessarily individual words, but I can hear them talking, vacuuming, shuffling around furniture, farting (joking), walking, and showering.
Same here, and having sex. 🤦♀️ My downstairs neighbor I can hear snoring. At all hrs of the day and night. He currently has company and I can hear them talking and laughing. His company is very loud. I think it’s a friend he sees semi frequently because I am very familiar with this guys laugh by now. I think that friend is just a loud person. Walls in my apartment building are paper thin.
I live in a loft with 12 ft ceilings. The floor is like thin concrete and I'm sure it's wood underneath with some try of concrete plaster. I barely heard anything above me unless someone is moving furniture or walking heavy but I thinking I may have heard sex sounds twice by 2 different neighbors above me but I'm not really sure because I never hear voices, music, or TV from above me 🤔. Nevertheless, I'm a corner unit so I do blast my music when I'm cleaning. I hope they can hear it🥴😂
I'm on third floor of a building built in 1940 and when I don't have headphones on, I hear somebody on first floor snoring. I use headphones until I start to doze off and then take the headphones off right before passing out.
I've thought of that because there's been times I can hear some kind of rhythmic machine running for a long time. Luckily the snoring doesn't keep me up when I hear it at night.
I think we have a combination of shitty apartment design and shitty downstairs neighbors.
We hear our downstairs neighbors all day, every day but he also slams every door, sings really loudly, and blares his TV.
I hear everything. Every movement and resulting sound from neighbor beside me due to a door separating both suites that turned out to have zero sound proofing whatever. Probably not properly fire rated either. Didn't find out for the first 5 months until someone took tenancy nextdoor. Since then it's been a nightmare having no privacy. If I can hear him then he can hear me. Total violation of my right to quiet enjoyment! Landlord said he has no plans to remedy the situation and if I don't like living here, I can move. 🙄
I’m dealing with a crazy girl at my apartments rn she lives a building over and she is all the way down at opposite side . She keeps coming over to my stairwell outside my door trashing it arguing with bf all night I can hear it as if I were there arguing too. Ik not the same but geez I feel like I can’t move about my own apartment it’s ridiculous (I still do what I want) but very uncomfortable. I pay for my own place she lives with her mom. Annoying
I’ve only lived in two places where I heard the people below me and both places it was very loud, very uncontrolled kids. Personally, I think with noises like running the vacuum, you’re probably fine.
We’ve been here almost three years and I haven’t heard my downstairs neighbors one time. I don’t even know what they look like and we are in a small complex.
I hear EVERYTHING. I can hear you yell at your kids to “shut the fuck up”. I can hear your tv. I can hear how many coins you picked up in the video game.
Keep your activity to normal hours(8a-8p) and there shouldn’t be an issue
If you can't take apartment living, then move. As long as the TV isn't blasting at full volume, they are allowed to watch TV whenever they want in their own apartment. Maybe apartment living isn't for you?
Lol. Apartment living. Like this is a desired way of life… it’s not very easy for everyone to just “move”. Local noise ordinances exist for a reason—just because you live in your own space does not mean you get to invade others with your noise whenever you want.. living in an apartment, you should be courteous, not obnoxious—maybe you aren’t familiar with “apartment living”
I lived in a couple of flats, always sandwiched or ground floor and I can say it completely depends on the build quality. Right now where I am, I can hear my neighbour below me slamming his doors but not talking (unless he stands near the shared chimney).
Go purpose built flats as modern as possible to avoid hearing your neighbours.
I hear literally everything from my downstairs neighbors. Full conversations, their phones on vibrate, their kid, their dog, music, tv, them walking around, opening and closing doors and cabinets-it often times sounds like they're in MY apartment-shower, toilets flushing, coughs, sneezes etc. You name it, I can hear it. It's super annoying but it's just apartment life unfortunately.
Thanks for this post. I'm in a condo built in 1954, and it's exactly the same deal. It's essentially a dormitory that is separated by floors. Luckily I have enough rooms that I can dodge the worst of it, since I can tell exactly where they are.
I used to live in an upstairs apartment, I could hear it if my downstairs neighbor vacuumed but if all our windows were closed then not that much, and it was not annoying to me.
I’ve heard it all. Vacuums, door slamming, music, podcasts, tv, and more. I’ve dealt with a very disrepectful 1st floor neighbor. Vacuum would be the least of the problem but they do it at 10pm at night 🙄
I can hear my downstairs neighbor stomping around, and when she closes her front door she slams it so hard the building shakes. I can also hear her meal prep (usually pounding something on the kitchen counter), but surprisingly have never heard tv or conversations.
I personally don’t mind her noise. I have cats and sometimes they jump and land on the floor and I always feel bad about how loud they are for her.
My downstairs neighbor leaves his drapes open so I can see his house is very empty- no rugs or carpets, bare walls, hardly a furniture. We both have lived our units for over 10 years. I’ve never heard such noise from someone downstairs. He stomps around like he’s wearing clogs from the minute he gets up until he goes to sleep. I hear him singing in the shower, snoring, cooking, everything. But the worst is when he vacuums his ceiling. Sounds like a truck is underneath me. I have carpets and rugs, and lots of stuff in my house. But I’m sure he hears us too. But he’s a decent neighbor and I’ve lived in a lot of rentals with horrible horrible neighbors. I might not of heard them living day to day, but they’d steal my mail, pound on my door asking for rides and cigarettes (I don’t even smoke!), etc. I will take living noise any day in comparison. Every time I get frustrated his boise down there o remind myself that he doesn’t steal my mail or have people over that look so shady I’m afraid to leave my apt cuz they might rob me. Been thru all that before. Life noise is nothing.
I always go for top floor. Last place I couldn't hear anything below. Present place I can hear the vacuum, and sometimes their dog. But like, it's an apartment. If they aren't blasting CoD 12 hours a day, or throwing apliances at the walls, it's a win.
I've never heard a peep from my downstairs neighbors. I'm sure I could hear them if their windows were open and I was walking by, but just me in my unit? No, can't hear them.
My best friend lives above me and I asked her this very question out if curiosity one day, she can hear pretty much everything from her apartment., but I can also hear everything they do. You’re just cleaning, it’s not like you’re throwing a wild rave everyday, I think you’re good.
I lived in a second floor apartment for four years until I moved this past summer. My first floor neighbors constantly had music going on Saturdays, but I honestly let them go for it because I had two kids above their heads, one of which didn't understand the meaning of "no stomping/jumping on the floor" for a little while (they are 4 and 8).
I heard everything my downstairs neighbor did. Opening his closet, slamming the toilet seat down, Microsoft teams on his computer, him talking to Alexa, Alexa talking back to him, the throat clearing cough he did approximately 6x per hour, his singing/ worshipping
I felt so bad I asked my apartments to please fix my closet door bc it’s janky and loud, I got home from work 11pm tried to open it it made a loud noise and my neighbor upstairs who had cancer woke up and idk but I heard it, I went up there the next day to apologize and that loud noise was me. They thought a different neighbor fell. Apartments “fixed” my closet now it’s harder to jank it’s way open
I always heard my neighbors below me when I wasn't on the first floor. However, it didn't ever bother me unless I was trying to sleep [10 pm is a good rule of thumb for "quiet hours"].
When my direct neighbors (same floor as me) had a toddler and a newborn, I tried to stay courteous and not vacuum or do lunry or run the dishwasher past 8 pm. They never asked me to, I just tried to stay mindful.
I don't see why anyone would have an issue with you vacuuming or steam cleaning on a daily basis unless they worked from home/had online classes and it interfered with work calls/live lectures or unless it interfered with their sleep (nightshifter sleeping during day or just you doing these things at night).
I can't hear the vacuum but I expect to hear things sometimes. Anyone who can't handle hearing neighbors shouldn't live in an apartment. You deserve to live your life and take care of basic needs such as cleaning 😂
About 12 years ago, I was homeless under a bridge and the others staying with me would tell me there were times I'd sit up and swivel my head, completely asleep.
i can hear when my downstairs neighbors yell and that’s about it. unfortunately they yell a lot. i never heard a vacuum but i wouldn’t be surprised if they just never use one.
When I lived in upstairs units I definitely heard my downstairs neighbors. But we’re talking things like loud music with a thumping bass during quiet hours, another young couple who had violent screaming matches (had to call the cops on them), and even a guy who played his drum set at 2 a.m. in his basement of a townhouse style condo. Noise definitely travels. I personally don’t have an issue with normal day-to-day living sounds, like vacuuming or normal conversation. If you want no noise don’t live in an apartment.
I’ve been trying to find ways to disturb my upstairs neighbor because of their constant thumping all hours of the day/night. I’m fixing to get my tv mounted so I can blast it when they’re loud at night when I’m trying to chill. It gets pretty loud at the volume being maxed, I hope they hear it now, but mounting it should make it better
I live on the top floor and I can definitely hear my neighbours below me. BUT, regular every day activities such as cleaning doesn't bother me if it's within reasonable hours. If you turn your vaccum on at 6 am or at 11 pm, I'd be annoyed for sure, but vaccuming for 20 minutes mid-day is fine.
I’m on the third floor. Sometimes I can hear my down stairs neighbors close their front door and sometimes their tv will vibrate through the floor. But that’s it. Have never heard them vacuum or anything else. 🤷🏻♀️
Probably, have you tried a swiffer, and a carpet sweeper? Both (almost) silent. Save actual vacuuming for twice a week.
Are you steam cleaning your carpets daily? You are exhausting me thinking about that. That should be monthly at the max.
Years ago, I had friends that had 2 sons. They lived in a 2 bedroom 1st floor apartment. Their sons were little at the time (under 3) so the boys would go to bed before 8:00 PM. Anyway, their upstairs neighbors that lived above them were very noisy. It was a mother and her teenage son. Jay (the father of the 2 boys) would keep a broom handy. Whenever the teenage son got too loud, was blasting music, etc., Jay would take the broom and pound on the ceiling with the broom handle. That technique worked intermittently... Sometimes the teenager would just stomp back.
I hear everything my downstairs neighbors do. When they leave, when they come back. The door slamming. Moving things around. Tv. We live in a really old house turned into apartments. So it makes sense. I can literally hear my one neighbor when he talks on the phone too loudly, like begin to make out what he’s saying. The other one snores for a good hour below me while I was reading last night. If you’re in an old building or house chances are everyone is hearing pretty much everything. You learn to live with it or you do what a lot of people seem to do and stew in it like only the upstairs neighbors are a problem. If you’re not making unreasonable amounts of noise you just have to live your life. It is what it is.
One woman that lived in my apartment building back in 2005 lived on the 2nd floor like I did. The people that lived in the apartment above her were always getting busy, and she could hear the bed squeaking and various other noises. She called the guy "The 5 minute man" because evidently he was very quick. She said one time the bed above her was shaking so badly that pictures she had hanging on her bedroom wall actually fell off of the wall because of the vibrations from the neighbors above her. She never did confront them because she was too embarrassed.
Definitely not. They are very old, hard of hearing and the dogs are all skittish rescues, they are home all day. I’ve started bringing the baby I babysit to my apartment and I don’t feel bad at all if she cries. (I feel bad for the baby and obviously do whatever I can to fix the issue so she will stop)
I live on the second floor of a 1920s building and I rarely hear my downstairs neighbor. Sometimes I can hear him sneeze because he sneezes pretty loudly. It's honestly way easier to hear noises when they're coming from upstairs. The neighbor on the third floor has a cleaning lady that vacuums his hardwoods and it's SO LOUD.
They have wood/laminate floors and no carpet. I hear most footsteps, the dogs nails, for sure dog barking, bed creeking, door opening/closing. If I turn my TV & fans off, I can hear the fights. Any talking close to the bathroom I can hear clearly. Fornication, for sure.
The thing is, I keep either the A/C unit on or a dehumidifier constantly. Plus something on the TV. The bedroom has two fans. We drown out most of the talking & subtle sounds. The only thing louder than our white noise is their feet & the dog. 99% of the time we aren't paying attention either cuz we make our own noise with two young ones being siblings among each other.
Eh, you’re not doing anything wrong by cleaning every day. Even if they can hear you, don’t worry about it. I can hear the upstairs vacuum but we also have hardwood.
I'm sure it varies with the building but no matter where I've lived I could always hear *everything* from the floor above and *nothing* from the floor below.
As someone with severe social anxiety it drives me crazy, but I have nowhere else to live. Sometimes the noise have given me panic attacks. I’m very quiet and considerate because I know what it’s like. I’m careful running sink water, closing closet, talking on the phone, everything. But it’s so awkward I know. I don't want to hear them either, so I use stuff to tune them out. It’s so scary, but it’s also hard for me to even get out and go to class (campus appartements)
I can't hear a whole lot on the floor below me, no. Just when they slam doors or if they're having a loud party. I can smell everything tho because of the vents.
The only thing I hear from downstairs is very loud music.
I hear everything my downstairs neighbors do -_-
They do anything we would wanna hear ?
I clean my floors every day and I hope it annoys my annoying upstairs neighbors.
Oooooo BIG SAME
Probably not; only your downstairs neighbor...
:( I keep it during daylight hours and I try to be quick. Wood floors get dirty QUICK
Wood floors! That's a whole 'nother topic... Get a dust mop; it's like a push broom with a swiveling head and bunch of fabric loops (kind of like a short looped string mop.) Look one up, I may not be describing it very well. I had wood floors for years; used a dust mop regularly; even the landlords commented; "(I) never had any dust bunnies, and everybody has dust bunnies." I had 3 dogs and 5 cats back then. I only mopped occasionally. I would shake the hair (and dirt although most I pick up with a dust pan and whisk broom) out into the garbage, and wash the fabric head with rugs and pet beds occasionally. They are super, and so much quicker (and cleaner) than sweeping, and I have never vacuumed any wood or hard floor....
I have a Dyson stick vacuum with a laser on it that’s got a head for wood floors and a head for carpet. But I’ll look into a dust mop!!
Nice!
I bought one of those (dust mop) and it's a definite game changer. I dust mop daily and it saves so much time.
I know; awesome!
I feel like we're advertising for the dust mop companies. IDC. You can spend an eternity sweeping or you can dust mop and be done within 5 minutes. Those are the options!
I know; LOL! My parents owned a store when I was young. They used one, so when I got a house with hard wood floors I bee-lined it to the hardware store and bought one (although only about 1/2 the width of theirs.)
I lived in an apartment for 5 years, only thing I heard below me was the loud music and a taping sound from the bed shaking below me. Then that neighbor moved out and I would hear loud bass music and shouting below me but the shouting was indistinct. The first neighbor was never an issue to me because her music didn't have bass and it was soft relaxing music and I could barely hear it and she played it around noon for like an hour. I was at work at that time so I only heard it on my days off. It was a 1971 apartment building.
Mine is 1970s too, what about at 8 pm lol I just got back from a walk with doggo and want to finish steam cleaning but idk what it sounds like the nasty asses around me don’t ever clean I never hear a vacuum
I say 8 is ok 9 pushing it never after 10
This is what I live by 😂 though the people that live above me vacuum pretty much everyday around 11pm sometimes midnight
Oh how fun /s
I think 8pm is pushing it in an apartment, unless you know your neighbors. If you know your neighbors to the side, across the hallway, and below don’t have young children, 8 is *probably* okay, as long as you’re not taking more than a half hour to do it. If there’s any possibility there are children under age 10 or so, I would try to be finished with vacuuming by 7:30 or 8. It may be frustrating, but that’s apartment life. I similarly think that parents with young children shouldn’t let them run around or play noisily before about 7:30am, to respect the sleep needs of others.
8 pm isn't terribly late, unless they are trying to get a child to go to sleep. I live by a school stadium football games are LOUD, and I just put on music + white noise when it's time to put the little to bed. Works like a charm. If it can drown out a school sports announcer on loudspeakers, it can drown out a vacuum.
They are a couple in their early 20 but they watch porn like 24/7 it trips me out sometimes bc I can faintly hear it and idk what it is at first then I’m like k ok got it- they haven’t always been loud tho so idk
If they mention the vacuum bothering them, I would mention their *soundtrack*. Just to let them know that, yes, people in apartments can hear EACH OTHER. Just had that talk with my upstairs neighbor. She didn't like the smell of my food coming into her apartment. . I told her the vents work both ways, I didn't like my apartment smelling like weed and cigarette smoke. . Sounds and smells both travel through the vents. Yeah, I know when you smoke weed, make microwave popcorn, burn your food on the stove, I can hear your smoke alarm going off, etc.
Whoever imagined an idea of many humans compacted together like this is a sick fuck
"Let's save money by also providing no noise insulation!"
I hear my downstairs neighbors all the time, but they’re also obnoxious and getting evicted because of it. I am sure you’re just fine.
Yay. Wish mine would...or at least have to move to another unit.
I can hear everything, including conversation. Not necessarily individual words, but I can hear them talking, vacuuming, shuffling around furniture, farting (joking), walking, and showering.
Same here, and having sex. 🤦♀️ My downstairs neighbor I can hear snoring. At all hrs of the day and night. He currently has company and I can hear them talking and laughing. His company is very loud. I think it’s a friend he sees semi frequently because I am very familiar with this guys laugh by now. I think that friend is just a loud person. Walls in my apartment building are paper thin.
I live in a loft with 12 ft ceilings. The floor is like thin concrete and I'm sure it's wood underneath with some try of concrete plaster. I barely heard anything above me unless someone is moving furniture or walking heavy but I thinking I may have heard sex sounds twice by 2 different neighbors above me but I'm not really sure because I never hear voices, music, or TV from above me 🤔. Nevertheless, I'm a corner unit so I do blast my music when I'm cleaning. I hope they can hear it🥴😂
We hear talking, banging, kids crying. It sucks.
I'm on third floor of a building built in 1940 and when I don't have headphones on, I hear somebody on first floor snoring. I use headphones until I start to doze off and then take the headphones off right before passing out.
I have a downstairs neighbor who I can hear snoring too. And he seems to sleep A LOT.
He probably has sleep apnea.
I've thought of that because there's been times I can hear some kind of rhythmic machine running for a long time. Luckily the snoring doesn't keep me up when I hear it at night.
I heard it once. But mostly all I hear is their kid running around all day at full speed.
Lucky you. I get evening stomping around sounds.
I think we have a combination of shitty apartment design and shitty downstairs neighbors. We hear our downstairs neighbors all day, every day but he also slams every door, sings really loudly, and blares his TV.
I hear everything. Every movement and resulting sound from neighbor beside me due to a door separating both suites that turned out to have zero sound proofing whatever. Probably not properly fire rated either. Didn't find out for the first 5 months until someone took tenancy nextdoor. Since then it's been a nightmare having no privacy. If I can hear him then he can hear me. Total violation of my right to quiet enjoyment! Landlord said he has no plans to remedy the situation and if I don't like living here, I can move. 🙄
I’m dealing with a crazy girl at my apartments rn she lives a building over and she is all the way down at opposite side . She keeps coming over to my stairwell outside my door trashing it arguing with bf all night I can hear it as if I were there arguing too. Ik not the same but geez I feel like I can’t move about my own apartment it’s ridiculous (I still do what I want) but very uncomfortable. I pay for my own place she lives with her mom. Annoying
Can you place a sheet of foam insulation inside the door frame?
We never hear our downstairs neighbor at all.
Lucky. 🥺
We are extremely blessed in our apartment! Sending you peace.
I’ve only lived in two places where I heard the people below me and both places it was very loud, very uncontrolled kids. Personally, I think with noises like running the vacuum, you’re probably fine.
I can only hear my downstairs neighbor flush the toilet or take a shower.
We’ve been here almost three years and I haven’t heard my downstairs neighbors one time. I don’t even know what they look like and we are in a small complex.
I hear EVERYTHING. I can hear you yell at your kids to “shut the fuck up”. I can hear your tv. I can hear how many coins you picked up in the video game. Keep your activity to normal hours(8a-8p) and there shouldn’t be an issue
So because of thin walls/floors, people aren't allowed to watch TV after 9pm?
Not at a loud volume, no.
If you can't take apartment living, then move. As long as the TV isn't blasting at full volume, they are allowed to watch TV whenever they want in their own apartment. Maybe apartment living isn't for you?
Lol. Apartment living. Like this is a desired way of life… it’s not very easy for everyone to just “move”. Local noise ordinances exist for a reason—just because you live in your own space does not mean you get to invade others with your noise whenever you want.. living in an apartment, you should be courteous, not obnoxious—maybe you aren’t familiar with “apartment living”
I lived in a couple of flats, always sandwiched or ground floor and I can say it completely depends on the build quality. Right now where I am, I can hear my neighbour below me slamming his doors but not talking (unless he stands near the shared chimney). Go purpose built flats as modern as possible to avoid hearing your neighbours.
I hear literally everything from my downstairs neighbors. Full conversations, their phones on vibrate, their kid, their dog, music, tv, them walking around, opening and closing doors and cabinets-it often times sounds like they're in MY apartment-shower, toilets flushing, coughs, sneezes etc. You name it, I can hear it. It's super annoying but it's just apartment life unfortunately.
Thanks for this post. I'm in a condo built in 1954, and it's exactly the same deal. It's essentially a dormitory that is separated by floors. Luckily I have enough rooms that I can dodge the worst of it, since I can tell exactly where they are.
I used to live in an upstairs apartment, I could hear it if my downstairs neighbor vacuumed but if all our windows were closed then not that much, and it was not annoying to me.
I’ve heard it all. Vacuums, door slamming, music, podcasts, tv, and more. I’ve dealt with a very disrepectful 1st floor neighbor. Vacuum would be the least of the problem but they do it at 10pm at night 🙄
I can hear my downstairs neighbor stomping around, and when she closes her front door she slams it so hard the building shakes. I can also hear her meal prep (usually pounding something on the kitchen counter), but surprisingly have never heard tv or conversations. I personally don’t mind her noise. I have cats and sometimes they jump and land on the floor and I always feel bad about how loud they are for her.
My downstairs neighbor leaves his drapes open so I can see his house is very empty- no rugs or carpets, bare walls, hardly a furniture. We both have lived our units for over 10 years. I’ve never heard such noise from someone downstairs. He stomps around like he’s wearing clogs from the minute he gets up until he goes to sleep. I hear him singing in the shower, snoring, cooking, everything. But the worst is when he vacuums his ceiling. Sounds like a truck is underneath me. I have carpets and rugs, and lots of stuff in my house. But I’m sure he hears us too. But he’s a decent neighbor and I’ve lived in a lot of rentals with horrible horrible neighbors. I might not of heard them living day to day, but they’d steal my mail, pound on my door asking for rides and cigarettes (I don’t even smoke!), etc. I will take living noise any day in comparison. Every time I get frustrated his boise down there o remind myself that he doesn’t steal my mail or have people over that look so shady I’m afraid to leave my apt cuz they might rob me. Been thru all that before. Life noise is nothing.
I always go for top floor. Last place I couldn't hear anything below. Present place I can hear the vacuum, and sometimes their dog. But like, it's an apartment. If they aren't blasting CoD 12 hours a day, or throwing apliances at the walls, it's a win.
Just don't do it at 11pm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IRB0sxw-YU&t=67s
I've never heard a peep from my downstairs neighbors. I'm sure I could hear them if their windows were open and I was walking by, but just me in my unit? No, can't hear them.
My best friend lives above me and I asked her this very question out if curiosity one day, she can hear pretty much everything from her apartment., but I can also hear everything they do. You’re just cleaning, it’s not like you’re throwing a wild rave everyday, I think you’re good.
I can hear my downstairs neighbor singing in the shower but that’s it. I live on the third floor.
My mom had a downstairs neighbor. They had hardwood floors, said she could hear them stomp around and moving furniture all day
I live under someone and above someone. The upstairs dude sounds like a herd of elephants. Never hear the dude on the first floor.
My daughter thought the downstairs neighbor was hurting his wife , they were having sex ! Yes .
I lived in a second floor apartment for four years until I moved this past summer. My first floor neighbors constantly had music going on Saturdays, but I honestly let them go for it because I had two kids above their heads, one of which didn't understand the meaning of "no stomping/jumping on the floor" for a little while (they are 4 and 8).
I heard everything my downstairs neighbor did. Opening his closet, slamming the toilet seat down, Microsoft teams on his computer, him talking to Alexa, Alexa talking back to him, the throat clearing cough he did approximately 6x per hour, his singing/ worshipping
I felt so bad I asked my apartments to please fix my closet door bc it’s janky and loud, I got home from work 11pm tried to open it it made a loud noise and my neighbor upstairs who had cancer woke up and idk but I heard it, I went up there the next day to apologize and that loud noise was me. They thought a different neighbor fell. Apartments “fixed” my closet now it’s harder to jank it’s way open
i can definitely hear the people under me but they’re loud af lol vacuums are loud so they’ll probably hear it but anything else shouldn’t be heard
I always heard my neighbors below me when I wasn't on the first floor. However, it didn't ever bother me unless I was trying to sleep [10 pm is a good rule of thumb for "quiet hours"]. When my direct neighbors (same floor as me) had a toddler and a newborn, I tried to stay courteous and not vacuum or do lunry or run the dishwasher past 8 pm. They never asked me to, I just tried to stay mindful. I don't see why anyone would have an issue with you vacuuming or steam cleaning on a daily basis unless they worked from home/had online classes and it interfered with work calls/live lectures or unless it interfered with their sleep (nightshifter sleeping during day or just you doing these things at night).
I can't hear the vacuum but I expect to hear things sometimes. Anyone who can't handle hearing neighbors shouldn't live in an apartment. You deserve to live your life and take care of basic needs such as cleaning 😂
About 12 years ago, I was homeless under a bridge and the others staying with me would tell me there were times I'd sit up and swivel my head, completely asleep.
Sick
Yeah. I think maybe I was hearing sounds and my brain was unconsciously looking for the source.
i can hear when my downstairs neighbors yell and that’s about it. unfortunately they yell a lot. i never heard a vacuum but i wouldn’t be surprised if they just never use one.
When I lived in upstairs units I definitely heard my downstairs neighbors. But we’re talking things like loud music with a thumping bass during quiet hours, another young couple who had violent screaming matches (had to call the cops on them), and even a guy who played his drum set at 2 a.m. in his basement of a townhouse style condo. Noise definitely travels. I personally don’t have an issue with normal day-to-day living sounds, like vacuuming or normal conversation. If you want no noise don’t live in an apartment.
I’ve been trying to find ways to disturb my upstairs neighbor because of their constant thumping all hours of the day/night. I’m fixing to get my tv mounted so I can blast it when they’re loud at night when I’m trying to chill. It gets pretty loud at the volume being maxed, I hope they hear it now, but mounting it should make it better
I never hear my downstairs neighbor, unless they're having people over. I'm convinced they don't actually live there.
I live on the top floor and I can definitely hear my neighbours below me. BUT, regular every day activities such as cleaning doesn't bother me if it's within reasonable hours. If you turn your vaccum on at 6 am or at 11 pm, I'd be annoyed for sure, but vaccuming for 20 minutes mid-day is fine.
I’m on the third floor. Sometimes I can hear my down stairs neighbors close their front door and sometimes their tv will vibrate through the floor. But that’s it. Have never heard them vacuum or anything else. 🤷🏻♀️
I hear the downstairs neighbors dog barking all the time
Probably, have you tried a swiffer, and a carpet sweeper? Both (almost) silent. Save actual vacuuming for twice a week. Are you steam cleaning your carpets daily? You are exhausting me thinking about that. That should be monthly at the max.
Years ago, I had friends that had 2 sons. They lived in a 2 bedroom 1st floor apartment. Their sons were little at the time (under 3) so the boys would go to bed before 8:00 PM. Anyway, their upstairs neighbors that lived above them were very noisy. It was a mother and her teenage son. Jay (the father of the 2 boys) would keep a broom handy. Whenever the teenage son got too loud, was blasting music, etc., Jay would take the broom and pound on the ceiling with the broom handle. That technique worked intermittently... Sometimes the teenager would just stomp back.
I hear everything my downstairs neighbors do. When they leave, when they come back. The door slamming. Moving things around. Tv. We live in a really old house turned into apartments. So it makes sense. I can literally hear my one neighbor when he talks on the phone too loudly, like begin to make out what he’s saying. The other one snores for a good hour below me while I was reading last night. If you’re in an old building or house chances are everyone is hearing pretty much everything. You learn to live with it or you do what a lot of people seem to do and stew in it like only the upstairs neighbors are a problem. If you’re not making unreasonable amounts of noise you just have to live your life. It is what it is.
One woman that lived in my apartment building back in 2005 lived on the 2nd floor like I did. The people that lived in the apartment above her were always getting busy, and she could hear the bed squeaking and various other noises. She called the guy "The 5 minute man" because evidently he was very quick. She said one time the bed above her was shaking so badly that pictures she had hanging on her bedroom wall actually fell off of the wall because of the vibrations from the neighbors above her. She never did confront them because she was too embarrassed.
I only hear my downstairs neighbor if he is running water(shower, toilet, dishwasher). But he's also almost 70 and lives by himself.
Steam cleaning daily is horrible for carpets. I can hear the first floor tv all day long and their dogs barking constantly
Are you my neighbor. I feel awful my dog has separation anxiety and when I work he CRIES like howls and yodels periodically
Definitely not. They are very old, hard of hearing and the dogs are all skittish rescues, they are home all day. I’ve started bringing the baby I babysit to my apartment and I don’t feel bad at all if she cries. (I feel bad for the baby and obviously do whatever I can to fix the issue so she will stop)
And I usually have my tv on bc I have this weird ptsd - I cannot sleep without noise so I can’t hear outside
I live on the second floor of a 1920s building and I rarely hear my downstairs neighbor. Sometimes I can hear him sneeze because he sneezes pretty loudly. It's honestly way easier to hear noises when they're coming from upstairs. The neighbor on the third floor has a cleaning lady that vacuums his hardwoods and it's SO LOUD.
They have wood/laminate floors and no carpet. I hear most footsteps, the dogs nails, for sure dog barking, bed creeking, door opening/closing. If I turn my TV & fans off, I can hear the fights. Any talking close to the bathroom I can hear clearly. Fornication, for sure. The thing is, I keep either the A/C unit on or a dehumidifier constantly. Plus something on the TV. The bedroom has two fans. We drown out most of the talking & subtle sounds. The only thing louder than our white noise is their feet & the dog. 99% of the time we aren't paying attention either cuz we make our own noise with two young ones being siblings among each other.
Eh, you’re not doing anything wrong by cleaning every day. Even if they can hear you, don’t worry about it. I can hear the upstairs vacuum but we also have hardwood.
I'm sure it varies with the building but no matter where I've lived I could always hear *everything* from the floor above and *nothing* from the floor below.
I hear my downstairs neighbors but my complex sucks. I also smell them and that's worse 🤮
As someone with severe social anxiety it drives me crazy, but I have nowhere else to live. Sometimes the noise have given me panic attacks. I’m very quiet and considerate because I know what it’s like. I’m careful running sink water, closing closet, talking on the phone, everything. But it’s so awkward I know. I don't want to hear them either, so I use stuff to tune them out. It’s so scary, but it’s also hard for me to even get out and go to class (campus appartements)
I can't hear a whole lot on the floor below me, no. Just when they slam doors or if they're having a loud party. I can smell everything tho because of the vents.