quieting a dishwasher even more than the factory?

imola ghost

My wife and I have a pretty decent stainless steel dishwasher and it is relatively quiet from the factory, rated at 54dB.

I've put my handy dandy sound level meter in front of the dishwasher as it was running and came back with similar results. The only thing that I wondered about was the bottom plate which the sound meter came back with some levels at around 75-80dB.

Is it OK to some how dampen the lower bottom plate in some way to quiet down the washer even more? Or is it even safe? I didn't know if something down low needed some breathing room or air to function safely.

Has anyone tweaked their dishwasher before and if you did, tell me what you did or used.

LeviDIY

Subscribing... I bought an "extra quiet" model but wondered the same thing about noise from the bottom/sides.

Thurman

I have used the foil-backed insulation material sold at Auto Supply stores, which is designed to quieten/sound proof automobiles during restoration. I don't use the sticky-backed stuff, just the roll material, and use duct tape to hold it in place. This stuff is not really cheap, but is very efficient for use on a dish washer. IF you are only concerned with the lower plate, this may not be an option. IF you might want to add this material to your existing material on your dishwasher, then the cost would be worth it. Keep in mind it will add height and width to your unit, and placing it back into the recess will be more difficult. A piece of cardboard between the cabinet edges and this material seems to help slide it in. Once it is back in, there has always been enough room for this extra material. AND-it works very good. Just a thought to help, Good Luck, David

imola ghost

Thanks Thurman, as I was thinking that the dampening material used for audio would work or the stuff used for insulating the garage door.

gregzoll

Also look at the fact, that the feet carry noise to the floor, which increases it. we dampened my parents DW by placing furniture coasters underneath that where the rubber type. They helped tremendously.

SnoBird

When we replaced the old dishwasher, I used the insulation blanket from the old unit to wrap a second layer around the new unit. Also added 4" wall blanket insulation to the back wall of cabinet. Really quiet! And cheap!

imola ghost

Great ideas guys, THANKS!