How do I deal w tenant above using washer/dryer at 1:30 am?

mha3484

Mon, Mar 20 2023, 9:23 am

I'm an not a night owl, I have well controlled ADHD but my boys have school on Sunday, Shabbos ends after 8 and I did at least 2 loads of laundry motzei shabbos. They needed pants. I have never had an in unit washer/dryer but if someone told me it was making too much noise, I would at least try to troubleshoot a solution. Its just being a nice person.

amother

Peony

Mon, Mar 20 2023, 9:28 am

watergirl wrote:

I think mine knew. He told me something along the lines of "And I am a dayan at the local beis din so if you have issues with me, you can't do anything about it"... after we signed the lease. I had a few (frum) local repair people (licensed and legal) come to fix things and they all offered to go to bat for us if we had to take them to civil court, as the piping and electricity was all illegal and very far away from being in code.

The landlord KNEW what he was doing.

Horrible. Oh they know what they're doing for sure, I think they just don't know the extent of the suffering it causes. It's minimized in their little heads.

amother

Mintcream

Mon, Mar 20 2023, 9:38 am

mha3484 wrote:

Exactly.

Op needs to have a NON-JUDGMENTAL conversation with the tenant. She already said tenant is a nice person. I doubt tenant wants to keep landlord awake. She will probably be mortified.

Just giving op a heads up not to hurt tenants feelings by accusing her of being not normal and having lack of midos (done several times on this thread). Just state how her schedule is casing problems.

amother

Emerald

Mon, Mar 20 2023, 10:38 am

This thread is so interesting to me, since almost everyone is on the "she is allowed to live her life, and no landlord has the right to demand otherwise" bandwagon. Is this an echo chamber playing out in real life? OF COURSE noise demands can be made within night time hours. Any loud noise-making activity should be curtailed during night hours, which goes for both landlord and tenant.

I have been a tenant for 10 years in various living arrangements. We now own our own home (BH) although I've never been a landlord. As a tenant, I would never run a loud machine in middle of the night, just like I would not use my treadmill or anything else. All those comments about landlords demanding tenants not flush toilets or use showers or use toilet paper (!) are straw men arguments here, as if to say "if you have ANY noise demands, you may as well be as unreasonable as that landlord that didn't allow toilet flushing!" Please. Refraining from running a noisy machine in the dead of the night is a most reasonable request. I'm pretty sure the law (plus basic menchlacheit) is on the side of the individual that would like the other party to restrict the use of loud machines in middle of the night (on a regular basis). It's pretty shocking to me that everyone here is arguing otherwise.

amother

cornflower

Mon, Mar 20 2023, 11:38 am

amother Emerald wrote:

Most people are not arguing that. In my house, I don't view the washing machine as a noisy appliance on the level of a vacuum cleaner, and run it all the time even when people are sleeping. But if I heard it was bothering someone, I'd certainly restrict its use at times.

heidi

Mon, Mar 20 2023, 2:48 pm

amother Mintcream wrote:

Hi op,

You said the tenant is nice. Please no more snarky comments against her schedule until you make her aware how it is negatively impacting you. It just diminishes her in your mind. I'm pretty sure if she's a nice normal person you can come to a solution.

Night owls may be rare but we exist. In addition, I wake up early when I don't go to sleep late.. I regularly do washes at 2 am and at 530 am. I admit I am slightly embarrassed by your condescending attitude. Why do you have to make fun of us? I work 40 hours a week w a massive family and probably undiagnosed ADD as well. (Hence the late nights).

This is why I'm in a private home btw. I can't deal with this judgement.

I'm in a private home, but I do have a very large family. I'm all over my house cleaning up at night and the washer is a subtle noise and only in the adjacent rooms, you can only hear the draining downstairs.

I assure you she does not realize she's bothering you.

Please talk to her without judgement, but just clarifying your needs.

[Edit for spelling. I'm sure there are more]

I would love to know how many kids constitutes a massive family?

amother

Sun, Mar 24 2024, 11:16 pm

amother OP wrote:

OP here.

Ive been living in the same 3 fam BP house for 40+ years with different tenants. Im landlord.

Some machines make more noise and some make less, but they all make noise. This specific machine makes a rythmic, repetitive boom boom as it washes, similar to all the other machines Ive heard over the years. Then the spin cycle, is OMG and very much shakes the house, like all the other machines.. Im definitely not overly sensitive to anything. If its daytime it isnt a problem. But this is happening very regularly at 1:30-2 am.

To summarize:

If in 40 years, no one in this 3 family house, including myself, has used their washer/dryer past midnight, other than 2-3 times a year (which I assume was for emergencies), was that a coincidence, or was it their good Midos?

And now at 2:16.

I havent said a word in a year+.

If Id find a way to block the noise/vibration, I wouldnt say a word.

Whats the right thing to say?

tweety1

Mon, Mar 25 2024, 6:58 am

amother OP wrote:

And now at 2:16.

I havent said a word in a year+.

If Id find a way to block the noise/vibration, I wouldnt say a word.

Whats the right thing to say?

I think it's reasonable for you to nicely and firmly ask her to stop. 216 am is an unreasonable time to wash laundry regularly.

amother

Cerise

Mon, Mar 25 2024, 7:30 am

I didn't read the whole thread but if I was the landlord, I would have no problem telling my tenant that noise after 11pm, including but not limited to use of the washer / dryer, is not acceptable. I assume you have a lease in place which should have basic boilerplate language about reasonable expectations such a noise control, quiet hours, etc.

Reality

Mon, Mar 25 2024, 8:18 am

amother OP wrote:

And now at 2:16.

I havent said a word in a year+.

If Id find a way to block the noise/vibration, I wouldnt say a word.

Whats the right thing to say?

What happened this past year? You told her it wakes you up every night and she continues to do the laundry every night at 2 am?

amother

Ginger

Mon, Mar 25 2024, 9:14 am

If you’re not going to tell her then you have to stop complaining about it.
Trust me she doesn’t realize - I literally never thought that my washing machine might be disturbing my neighbors - I don’t view it the same way as a vacuum or a dance party the way other people are comparing it.

Just ask her if she doesn’t mind limiting the use - it will probably be extremely annoying for her to have to adjust her schedule but since you said she’s a mentch I’m sure she’ll accommodate

amother

Mintcream

Mon, Mar 25 2024, 9:54 am

amother OP wrote:

And now at 2:16.

I havent said a word in a year+.

If Id find a way to block the noise/vibration, I wouldnt say a word.

Whats the right thing to say?

(Hey! I remember this thread!)

OP, you haven't brought it up in a year or you never had the conversation?

Im reading this post as you never had the conversation everyone advised you to have.

If you had a conversation and she ignored thats a different story.

AlwaysCleaning

Mon, Mar 25 2024, 10:00 am

amother Lightgreen wrote:

Am I your upstairs neighbor? Smile

I do this and I also put up with your annoying noises... Everyone tolerates their own noises best.

But Seriously next time it happens tell her kindly.

And go get a noisemaker

As a fellow condo-liver, there is a certain amount of noise that's to be expected and within the range of normal. If a washer/dryer running makes the apt below vibrate, no amount of white noise machine can fix that. You have a responsibility to be gracious to your neighbors and not run machines in the middle of the night.

amother

Dill

Mon, Mar 25 2024, 10:21 am

amother OP wrote:

And now at 2:16.

I havent said a word in a year+.

If Id find a way to block the noise/vibration, I wouldnt say a word.

Whats the right thing to say?

As someone who kept quiet abt something for about a year until I was literally ready to explode and then reached out to the person and super nicely explained the (totally diff) situation to someone who I thought was nice and reasonable and has now been completely ignored and iced out since (other than being yelled at while husband was drunk), think very long if it's worth it to say something.

Maybe sell the house & move. ( I'm joking about that part but not the rest).

amother

Lily

Mon, Mar 25 2024, 10:26 am

Thankfully we live in our own house and can put our washing machine on at any time of day or night. And tbh I usually do do most washes late at night. Both dh and myself are night owls and will often do one or two washes starting from about 10. And it wouldn't occur to me if I was living in an apartment building or shared home that it could be too noisy. My washing machine isn't that loud, I can barely hear it in the next room, even when it's on spin. I think some are quieter washing machines than others.
If I was living somewhere that someone could be affected, then I would want that person to communicate that to me. If I don't know that it's too loud for you, why would I stop?
I think there are mats you can buy to put under the washing machine that should help stop the vibrations going through the floor.