Whirlpool LTG5243DQB washer/dryer on the second floor

So, I live on the second floor of a old building where I am actually fortunate to have a washer and dryer.

It's whirlpool combo "Thin Twin" washer/gas dryer model LTG5243DQB.  Which is part of the LTG5243DQ line of whirlpool combo units. I'm not sure what the "B" at the end of the model is for.

Whirlpool LTG5243DQ

You may come across a problem with having a washer on the second floor. Going with the theme of this blog, you are probably searching for ways to solve some issues that arise from having a washer in the second floor of your crappy home with wood floors.  Having neighbors below you probably makes it a problem you can't ignore.

The problem I had was that because I have a neighbor downstairs, he has complained about

•     Loud noise no matter how much you level it (the heavier the clothing, the louder)
•     Vibrations that reverberate throughout the home and especially to your neighbors

Normally when it's general noise from just living in the unit, i can tell the neighbor "tough luck" because he chose to buy a 1st floor unit. It's never going to be as good as living in your own detached house and until we are rich enough one day to do so, this is the sacrifices we make that impacts our quality of life (i hate my home, i should have stayed as a renter in some modern apartment building).

There is an unspoken acceptable/unacceptable amount of noise between our units.   In this particular case, i believe the complaint was valid.  So what to do besides using the washer during normal daytime hours when they tend not to be home?

Researching into this, I have discovered that aside from the exceptions (everything has an exception) of a few unique models, the choice of having a top loading washer was correct (instead of front loading).  Has to do with the amount of force that flows out of the machine during the spin cycle and that it's better to direct it sideways (as long as the machine is not against the wall) rather than downwards into the floor.

Now if you are like me, you are not going to rip up the wooden floors and install concrete slabs and basically redo your floors.  Get the hell out of here.  I also have shelves above the washer that I would have to redo so really get the hell outta here.  What a pain in the ass. After some research, i stumbled across vibration pads.  It was some article that mentioned the manufacturers are starting to silently recommend them or integrate them because they reached the limit of how quiet they can make their machines but they dont want to state it's any kind of "problem".

Naturally my first indication was to go to Home Depot/Lowes.  Unless I'm buying something with high probability that I will keep, i generally buy from brick and mortar stores so that it's easy to make returns when needed. At Home Depot, they had the GE Anti-Vibration Pads (4-Piece).  These were basically very hard pieces of tire-like rubber that you put under the legs of the washer to prevent it from walking (moving on it's own during spin cycles on generally smooth tile floors) as well as absorb vibrations/reduce sounds.

It's the same claim that every brand of the 20 different variations out there made. I was wary of them.  I felt like, i could just get 4 pieces of "soft" blocks of wood and put those under the washer at this point.  After much deliberation and google searches at home depot itself, i decided to walk away. There just wasnt enough positive reviews to go on that made it definitive one way or the other. I think there's no doubt that it works because anything that creates a disconnect between the level washer and the floor has to buffer a limited amount of the energy, but i wanted a product that works well. 

Eventually i bought the Anti-walk Silent Feet - Anti-vibration Pads for Washing Machines and Dryers from Amazon. Made by The Vibration Solution company.  It had good enough reviews both on amazon and other blogs.

I bought the red package one.  You can research what the difference is with the green and red or you can just Quickly Get the bottom  line here.  Basically in the green package, 2 of the pads "slide" so that you can pull out and push in your washer.  I had enough to space to tilt the washer one way or the other so i opted for the red one.

The difference between this and the GE set from Home Depot was that this one, instead of being all hard rubber, was half hard and half soft rubber.  The bottom part that goes on the floor was soft rubber, that vibrated with the vibrations of the washer so that it appears to buffer the floor from the washer.  The top part of the pads was hard rubber and this is where the washer legs stand on.

I recommend it. That's the bottom line.  It works enough as intended. The washer still makes loud banging noises especially with heavy loads like towels, but that's a separate issue.  In terms of finding something to buffer the vibrations from the washer to the floor, mission accomplished.

Link:
Anti-walk Silent Feet - Anti-vibration Pads for Washing Machines and Dryers