We have a small open closet in the kitchen where the clothes washing machine is located. I just replaced the old one with a Kenmore. This made a lot of noise. After speaking with the store clerk, she suggested we swap it out for another one of the same model to see if the original was a dud. At the price we paid, the clerk said it should not be making this much noise.
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Here is some commercial sound deadening material you can cut to size/shape and put under the corners of the machine. You may also try some other foam materials you have on hand first to see how satisfactory the sound reduction is. For example, if you have a foam mattress topper, cut out some triangles from areas that won't be noticed, such as on the sides not in the middle and see what those will do under the corners.
My dad's oxygen generator made enough noise to keep everybody awake at night. The technician who did monthly maintenence said put a piece of carpet under it. We did and the difference was unbelieve! So I do think putting something under the washer would help.
I agree, something underneath would help, by dampening the vibrations some. Also you mention you cannot use doors. There are these accordion-pleated contraptions you can buy, places like Home Depot or Lowe's should have them. They come in various sizes, and with tracks, which you install at the top and bottom (or just the top) of the opening. There is a small knob or handle you use to slide this screen open and closed, and it practically disappears to one side when it is open.
You could "Google in" sound deadening materials. I know for a fact that, denim insulation (made out of recycled denim jeans) is an awesome sound deadener and insulater as well! It is a bit more expensive than fiberglass though. The down side is, you'd have to tear out the drywall and attach it between the studs of the walls. If you have an unfinished basement ceiling(or drop ceiling) or crawlspace under your laundry room, you could staple the insulation under it as well.
carpet underneath the washer and dryer, and also you could use cardboard egg cartons to line the walls. Professional sound studios used to use egg cartons all the time.
I recently added to an existing laundry hook up and faced a similar situation. I didn't want to "build anything so I went to home depot and got the best underlay they had available for underneath laminate flooring $35. When I installed it I used four layers instead of just one. and glued "soundboard" in two layers and sheet rock screws inch 1/4 length. and then inch 1/2 sheet rock to finish it off with the same adhesive and 2 inch sheet rock screws to sandwich it all together. Lastly I remounted the outlets and covered the outlet boxes with a foam ductwork tape. Works great and the material were relatively cheap. I still can use a sound deadening mat but the neighbors downstairs say they can only hear the water drain!
Not a timely response I know, just stumbled across your question. I am a trained Commercial Carpenter, & am currently helping a friend build a soundproof room for studio recording.
You can get soundproofing mat blocks that can be set underneath the washer. Also, soundproofing the walls in the laundry room (as mentioned above) with Natural Cotton Fiber Insulation (recycled denim) provides superior soundproofing over regular fiberglass insulation, with the added benefit of being more healthy than fiberglass, still fire retardent, and "Green". Ultratouch is the name of the denim insulation product.
You can also purchase antivibration products to prevent the shaking washing machine/dryer from transmitting vibration/noise through the floor & walls.
One place I've found that you can get both of those items is SoundAway.com
Bonded Logic's UltraTouch is a denim insulation manufactured in Arizona. Their R-13 has an STC of 45, the R-19 a 57 - almost double the sound deadening of traditional insulation. You can find the products' latest outreach effort at www.deniminsulation.net/video.html
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