Ever wondered when it’s too late or too early to crank up that vacuum cleaner in your apartment? I recently had this intriguing question thrown my way.
Here’s the scoop – there’s no one-size-fits-all rule, and it largely depends on your neighbors and your apartment’s rules.
In this post, we’re diving into the unspoken etiquette of vacuuming hours. We’ll find that sweet spot where cleanliness meets respect for those around us. Whether you’re an early bird or a night owl, let’s navigate the world of apartment vacuuming with harmony in mind!
Late Night Vacuum Time Limit
How late you can vacuum cleaner your apartment depends on various factors, including building regulations, local noise ordinances, and considerate neighborly behavior.
While there may not be a universally defined cutoff time, a general rule of thumb is to avoid vacuuming during the late evening or early morning hours, when people are more likely to be resting or sleeping. As a courteous guideline, it is advisable to finish vacuuming by 9 or 10 PM and to wait until after 8 AM to resume cleaning activities.
Many states and counties have a rule or noise ordinance of 11 PM to 7 AM where you must keep a lower volume, so people can sleep.
Get To Know Your Neighbors
The best way to about this is to talk and get to know your neighbors.
Find out if they work different hours than you and take into consideration their sleep schedule. Not everyone works the same hours, especially in apartment living.
If it’s your neighbors who are being loud, let them know about the issue. If they don’t stop or try to help out, contact the apartment management. Depending on the hours and your local laws, police can be called for excessive noise. Besides moving, you could always wear ear plugs when you sleep.
Note: A survey found that only 25% of people thought it was rude to vacuum after 9PM.
How To Vacuum Quieter
Most vacuum cleaners are loud, but sometimes they’re louder than they need to be for several reasons.
Below is a list of things that could be making your vacuum cleaner louder than it needs to be, and fixing it can make the situation better for off-hour vacuuming.
- Vacuum cleaner maintenance: It’s best you maintain your vacuum cleaner, this means cleaning the filter, replacing worn out beater brushes, and fixing clogs. Any form of restricted airflow will cause a vacuum cleaner to have a higher pitch, which will annoy your neighbors.
- Turn off beater brushes: Most vacuum cleaners have a beater brush or bar, it’s the spinning bristles under the vacuum cleaner. These brushes add to the noise, and many vacuum cleaners allow you to turn them off. If you’re mostly vacuuming hard floors, you don’t need them.
- Get more carpet or rugs: Carpet and rugs muffle a lot of the noise, and having more of them will help to quiet the vacuum cleaner noises.
- Use better vacuum cleaners: Not what everyone wants to hear, but the more expensive the vacuum cleaner, the better and more quiet it is at cleaning.
- Consider a robot vacuum: A robot vacuum runs quieter than most vacuum cleaners, or at least most can be adjusted in the app. You can even set it to run normal hours, so it’s a non-issue.
- Be quick: Most neighbors won’t mind that you vacuum your apartment, especially if you’re quick about it. If you’re spending hours vacuuming, then yes, that can be annoying, but 15 minutes is nothing. If you have to, split up the vacuuming and do small sections each time.
- Close doors and windows: Before vacuuming, make sure to close doors and windows in the area you are cleaning. This can help contain the noise within your apartment and prevent it from disturbing your neighbors.
- Choose the right vacuuming technique: Opt for slower, deliberate movements while vacuuming. Quick and aggressive back-and-forth movements tend to generate more noise. The less you move your feet, the better, as that is more annoying than the sound of vacuuming to the people below you.
- Hire a maid service: If you can’t clean at the best times, you can always hire someone to do it for you. If you work at odd hours and sleep odd hours, let the maid know and they can work around you.
Check Apartment Lease
If vacuuming late or early has been a problem, the apartment my have rules in place in when you can vacuum.
Not following these rules can cause you to be kicked out of the apartment, or at least get a few nasty letters. Every apartment is different, I’ve lived in a few that only sent out passively aggressive emails and others that will kick you out for looking at them wrong.
Just make sure to follow the paper you signed to stay on the right track.
Sunday
Depending on the culture and religion of the region, some may find vacuuming on Sunday to not be desired.
Sunday is treated as a day of rest, and while not illegal to vacuum on Sunday in most places, it’s just frowned upon in a few places.
Overall, I would not stress about it, especially if it’s the only day you can vacuum as it’s your only time off. I’ve been there and so have many others, just don’t be a jerk about it and things will be fine.