My house is vibrating. What do I do?
Posted by herefromthere@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 35 comments
I live in a terraced house and it feels like one of my neighbours has left a washer/dryer on, but it can't be that because it's been on at all hours of the day and night for about a week now. It woke me up at 3am and it is currently making me feel unwell.
-Hi-Reddit@reddit
You can get audio analyser apps for your phone, and you might be able to find it that way.
If your phone mic isn't cut out for the job you could always plug something more powerful into it.
I have a USB dac with a big 48v microphone plugged into it and studio headphones, and it works just fine plugged into my phone, no setup needed, seamless.
herefromthere@reddit (OP)
I got the best rated app on google play, which is showing what I am experiencing, but I need to do a bit of research into what it means. Reading the graphs etc. It's more or less the same through the whole house and I can feel it right at the end of the garden (though not as strongly). Will have a wander down the lane, see what I see.
Thanks for the helpful suggestion.
-Hi-Reddit@reddit
Best of luck!
Vectis01983@reddit
'The buzzing of the fridge and lights bothers me'
Which does tend to suggest that the problem is with you rather than anyone else?
herefromthere@reddit (OP)
I don't have any annoying lights in my home, and it's still a thing when the lights are off. The fridge doesn't make a constant noise, and I can hear it. It's not that, it's different. Just because it's bothering me doesn't mean it's a physical issue with me. It's also something my husband notices, if his attention is drawn to it. I've got one of those sound monitor apps and it is observable there, so it isn't in my head.
Regular_Situation_55@reddit
Speak to your neighbor
PromotionLoose2143@reddit
Could it be a child's rock tumbler? They go day and night. We have ours in the shed
SonOfGreebo@reddit
My comment is a bit far out, but I’ll go for it. You say you’re feeling unwell - do you feel queasy, sick, like being travel-sick? In which case, you may possibly be experiencing an infection of the inner ear.
herefromthere@reddit (OP)
I do feel queasy but only when I'm in the house, and my husband can feel the vibration too (it just doesn't bother him, guess he resonates differently).
Came4tipz@reddit
Try turning your water off at the main stop tap. Does the vibration stop/can you feel vibration on the stop tap itself?
I had an outside water meter fail; the seal went and sucked air into the system. Caused a vibration from the street into my terraced house. The vibration was amplified in the pipes in the house which weren't fully secured and fluctated based in the water demand on the area.
theyknewit2@reddit
Try to locate the source so as you have a better understanding of what is happening and where it might be coming from. Once you’ve done that get someone you trust to verify your right so you know it’s not in your head or you are being overly sensitive. Then contact the persons/neighbours to see what is making the buzzing sound. Could be a fridge too close to the wall or any electrical device. Always go with your gut. Good luckx
herefromthere@reddit (OP)
It's not in my head, my husband can feel it as well. He says he's an insensitive dolt, because he can kind of hear it and it doesn't bother him so much. I've ruled out the neighbour on one side and haven't had the opportunity to check on the other side. I've tried to triangulate it by popping over to the neighbour a few doors down on the other side, but we keep missing each other. The vibration comes and goes like it's on a spin cycle.
-Hi-Reddit@reddit
It might be an air conditioner or a boiler.
theyknewit2@reddit
Ok. Work it out then. Turn off the mains on the box. Does it still buzz. No. Then it’s that. Yes, it’s not. Start there. Eliminate stuff. What’s left is the thing. Also, you might be more sensitive as your man is ok with it. My wife feels things differently to me. She cuts the tags out of her clothes because she feels them on her skin. I don’t. We see the world from different angles. I love this about her.x
herefromthere@reddit (OP)
I am more sensitive than my husband. The buzzing of the fridge and lights bothers me sometimes. I know it isn't anything in my own house. If it is my neighbour one or two doors down, is it reasonable to tell them it's bothering me?
theyknewit2@reddit
Get it done but go in without verbal weapons. People don’t want to hear you complain about them or listen to your problems. Really, really good advice is never start arguments with neighbours. If you do talk to them about your feelings on what you want. Apologise and bring a gift. Be nice. You catch more bees with honey.
herefromthere@reddit (OP)
I'm not an aggressive sort and am friendly with my neighbours. I've got to ask, but it's tricky because the two houses down are both shift workers and I don't want to disturb them. I used to have their numbers but my phone broke and it wasn't backed up. So I've been waiting to catch them at the door.
terahurts@reddit
Get a screwdriver, place the pointy end against the wall where you think the vibration is coming from, then press your ear against the end of the handle. It'll amplify any noise on the the other side and might help you pinpoint what part of the other house it's coming from.
/u/Muttywango's comment about cannabis grows just reminded me that, in our last house, we had an extractor fan near a party wall. All we could hear was the fan noise when it was running but, after we left it on overnight, our neighbour complained because she could hear it humming through the wall.
bertiebasit@reddit
Could be a dehumidifier
Winter_Scar_7280@reddit
Cannabis farm fans?
GuybrushFunkwood@reddit
Check your wife's side cabinet drawer. She may have left her 'ThrustMaster 4000' on.
weregonnamakit@reddit
Lol!
Mossy-Mori@reddit
Get an acoustician to come out. They'll measure the sound, the volume and I bet they'll know what it is. That way if it is something dodgy you don't have to approach yourself and can get the police if the Acoustician can pinpoint the source. Good luck. I've suggered something similar (a drip) and it honestly drove me fkn insane for 2 years.
thekitchenislife@reddit
Any neighbors had an air source heat pump installed? Or air conditioning? Apparently they can be loud ish and intermittent depending on usage. https://rehis.com/news/heat-pumps-too-loud-for-home-study-says/
Heypisshands@reddit
Water leak is a possibility.
Muttywango@reddit
Any houses in your terrace which may be in use as a cannabis grow? They use pumps and fans which, if not properly fixed down or isolated, could produce vibrations. These solid old houses can resonate really well.
herefromthere@reddit (OP)
There are families with pets in every house, and I can't smell anything of that sort.
Muttywango@reddit
Fair enough. Filters are used for the smell. Next-door-but-one to me had around 60 plants, nobody knew a thing until they stopped paying the landlord and he got a locksmith in.
SnooSnooSnuSnu@reddit
If you vibrate in time with it, you might not notice.
herefromthere@reddit (OP)
If my heartrate matched the vibration I would be dead now. That's why it is making me uncomfortable, it feels like a panic attack.
CanCompetitive8497@reddit
Start a dance party, obviously! But seriously, might wanna check if it's construction nearby, or maybe an unhappy washing machine. If all else fails, call Ghostbusters or maybe just a handyman.
herefromthere@reddit (OP)
I like a dance but not sure I could keep it up 24/7! :)
No construction within half a mile, and it's too consistent for that. I could only think it's one of the neighbours having a dodgy washing machine. I've asked next door in both directions, one is working away this week and the other is a shift worker but 3am laundry is not something she would normally do. No one has that much laundry to be doing this all the time.
terahurts@reddit
Could be roadworks nearby, they sometimes run overnight so they can close a road completely and not affect the traffic so much during the day. Try the Live Map link here: https://one.network/
herefromthere@reddit (OP)
Thank you. I don't think that will be it, because there doesn't appear to be anything within half a mile.
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