Whether you live in a residential house or share a home with several people, chances are you’ve felt the need to soundproof your room a couple of times. You’re not alone. Most people living in a shared house have to deal with loud music and loud conversations, among other things. And the worst part is that soundproofing can be quite expensive. But what if there was a DIY way to fix the problem once and for all?
Is there a way to make your room soundproof with egg cartons? Unfortunately, egg cartons are not the best option for soundproofing rooms. While they do an excellent job of getting rid of echoes and eliminating noise, they will not soundproof your room entirely. However, the following items are great for soundproofing:
- Door seals
- Acoustic flooring options
- Acoustic curtains
- Acoustic panels
- Moving blankets
This article is going to explore egg cartons for soundproofing, tell you what they can and can’t do, and give you a list of affordable soundproofing alternatives to ensure you never have to deal with noise again.
Is It Possible to Soundproof a Room with Egg Cartons?
If you’ve been dealing with excessive noise in your room and are sick of it, then you’ve probably taken to researching ways to soundproof your room and found suggestions of using egg cartons, which is exciting because egg cartons are readily available. But you can’t help but wonder if it’s possible.
The main reason why egg cartons are believed to have soundproofing properties is the fact that most acoustic panels mimic the shape of egg cartons.
If you do try to use egg cartons to soundproof your room, you will notice a difference in the noise levels. However, you can’t rely on egg cartons for a noise-free experience.
It’s All in the Shape
The main reason why most people believe egg cartons can make excellent soundproofing tools is the fact that they’re shaped like most soundproofing materials. This isn’t a mistake. Manufacturers choose the convoluted shape for a reason – it helps absorb sound better.
How? Because of the uneven surfaces, the soundproofing materials can scatter sound at different frequencies, which reduces sound waves in the room. The fact that they can absorb sound means you can reduce noise significantly.
Egg cartons are different. The cartons do an excellent job of breaking down and scattering sound into multiple frequencies, which reduces the noise and echoes in your room.However, soundproofing with egg cartons isn’t possible because the cartons don’t absorb sound. They only scatter them in different directions.
Therefore, while you may notice a significant reduction in echoes, you may still have to deal with noises. (Source: Soundproof Cow)
What Can You Do with Egg Cartons?
Egg Cartons is an excellent application if you have a music studio, or you’ve not been enjoying clear sound quality from your home theatre caused by echoes. You can use the egg cartons on ceilings or walls to fix this problem. [Source: Sciencing]
If you decide to use egg cartons to reduce echoes in your room, you’ll need to stick them to a wall. To do this, you’ll need the following:
- Something to hold the cartons firmly on the wall: You can use superglue, nails, thumbtacks, duct tape, or an industrial spray adhesive
- Egg cartons: The number will depend on how big your wall is and how many walls you want to soundproof. Also, it’s best to go for foam crates because they’re easier to clean.
Process
- Begin by cleaning the crates to ensure there is no dirt on them when you begin. If it is only dust and debris, use a dry cloth to wipe the crates clean. If you must, use a wet cloth to remove stuck material, ensure the crates are dry before proceeding to the next step.
- Once your crates are clean and dry, stick a few of them together with your adhesive of choice at the edges to make one big piece. It is best to stick about four pieces because more crates may be harder to handle when you want to stick them to the wall.
- Next, add the adhesive on the back of the crates and a bit on the surface you intend to place the crates. If you are using mounting tape, all you need to do is to apply the tape on the crates and remove the seal to reveal the sticky part that will go on the wall. For duct tape, you may need to have the tape go over crates and onto the wall for a firm hold.
- If you used an adhesive spray or super glue in step 3, place the crates on the surface and apply some pressure to enable the crates to stick. Hold onto the crates for a few minutes and ensure they are firmly in place before applying the other crates.
- Repeat steps one to four until your entire wall is covered with the crates.
- You can leave the crates in their original appearance or paint over them to improve aesthetic appeal. This step is optional.
Egg Carton Soundproofing Alternatives
Even after using egg cartons to get rid of echoes, you’ll still have one more problem – noise pollution. As you already know by now, egg cartons won’t do a good job when it comes to soundproofing. Fortunately, several DIY alternatives will help you soundproof your room. Here’s what to do.
First Things First, Eliminate Noise at the Source
The first thing that comes to mind for most people dealing with noise in a room is to soundproof the room. Rarely do people think that they should deal with the source of the noise.
It’s crucial to identify the source of the noise first before trying any DIY soundproofing process. This way, you’ll be in a better position to choose the best solution for the problem. For instance, if you’re continually dealing with hammer blows, an excellent solution would be to try carpeting instead of wood or tiled floors, which are notorious for amplifying sound.
If the noise is coming from a household appliance, consider moving the appliance before trying soundproofing techniques. If you live with a roommate who prefers to work out during your downtime, find a solution that gets both of you what you need. For example, they can work out in another room further from yours – win-win!
If you decide to evaluate the source of the noise before seeking soundproofing solutions, you may find that you don’t need to soundproof your room. However, if there are still annoying sounds, even after eliminating the source of the noise, you can try the following tips.
Get Rid of Noise Pollution with Door Seals
One of the major culprits of noise leakage in a room is cracks and gaps on the door. Even after using soundproofing materials on your walls, you may still hear noises leaking into your room if there are gaps and cracks in the doorway.
Therefore, before you decide to invest in soundproofing material for your walls, ensure no sound is leaking through the doorway. Fortunately, this is easy to do.
To determine if your door has cracks or gaps, follow these steps:
- Wait until it’s dark outside.
- Turn off the lights in the room.
- Have someone light a flashlight or light in the next room.
- Observe while inside the room which parts of the door allow light to come inside.
The parts of the door that allow light to get into the room are the ones you need to seal to soundproof the room. Fortunately, sealing door gaps is a hassle-free process. All you need is an insulating sealant like the Big Gap Filler.
With this product, you can fill gaps up to 1-inch big. The best part is that it’s paintable. Therefore, you can paint over the sealant in the same color as the door to maintain aesthetic appeal. However, if the gaps are smaller, you may need a product like Foam & Fill Small Gaps and Cracks.
If you suspect that the noises may be coming from the gap just below the door, weatherstripping is an excellent alternative. Although this method is mostly meant to soundproof garage doors and prevent dust and debris from getting inside the house, it’s also a good soundproofing solution. The Duck Weatherstrip Seal is an excellent product for this.
Just make sure you put enough pressure onto the tape when applying it to ensure there’s proper adhesion to the door for maximum effectiveness. Check out our article on how to interior doors here.
Acoustic Flooring Options and Puzzle Mats
One man’s ceiling is often another man’s floor. If this is your case and the kind of noise you’re dealing with is from footsteps, a rug or carpet can go a long way in reducing noises. One of the most affordable ways to reduce impact noise coming from an upper floor is by using puzzle mats.
These mats are excellent for soundproofing because they have sound-absorbing properties. Not to mention, they’re effortless to install. All you need to do is to place the first piece on the corner of the room and keep attaching the rest until you’ve covered the entire floor space.
You should do this on the room above yours so that when the floor impact noises are absorbed by the carpets and don’t get to your room. This is an excellent solution if it’s a kids’ room. [Source]
Alternatively, if you prefer a more mature solution, you can choose an acoustic floor underlayment. This is a thin layer of insulation that’s designed to be placed under the carpet. All you need to do is to unroll the underlayment until it covers the entire floor and place a carpet over it. This is a perfect solution if you have vinyl or hardwood floors.
Invest in Acoustic Curtains
Another alternative to using egg cartons is using soundproof curtains. The best thing about using acoustic curtains is the fact that they’re much easier to install compared to egg cartons. All you need to do is to hang them up, and you’re good to go.
Soundproofing curtains are made of unique soundproofing material that absorbs sound, thereby providing soundproofing benefits for both outgoing and incoming noises. (Source: Soundstop.co.uk)
For the best results, you also need to ensure that the curtains are covering as much of the windows as possible. They should reach close to the ceiling and touch the floors for maximum sound reduction. Also, ensure there’s very little space between the curtains and the wall for even further noise reduction.
The Thermal 100% Blackout Grommet Curtain is an excellent acoustic curtain. It comes in a variety of colors; it’s affordable and long enough to cover your window space. Besides, it’s machine washable and a fantastic blackout curtain as well.
[Related Article : 5 Best Sound Deadening Curtains For Your House]Soundproof and Maintain Aesthetic Appeal with Acoustic Panels
Soundproofing a door or wall will also go a long way in reducing the amount of noise in your room. One way to do this is to use acoustic panels. Acoustic panels are an excellent solution for soundproofing because they look amazing, and they’re easy to apply. Not to mention, you can have them customized to any design you want, which makes it easy for you to maintain your interior design with the panels.
However, if you decide to use acoustic panels on your door or wall, make sure you use command strips to hold them in place instead of nails. This way, you won’t cause any damage to your door, which especially beneficial if you’re living in a rental apartment.
If you don’t care for aesthetics or the room you’re trying to soundproof is rarely used, you can use sound-absorbing foam panels instead. They work the same as acoustic panels. The only difference is that they don’t look appealing on the door. However, they’re a much more affordable choice.
Grab a Moving Blanket or Two
However, before you purchase some moving blankets, you need to decide what level of noise reduction you need. There are different strengths of moving blankets: lightweight, medium, and heavy-duty, which gives you the best noise reduction. You may also like to check out How To Soundproof A Room With Acoustic Blankets here.
Deal with the Noise Effectively
To conclude, egg cartons are not the best solution for soundproofing because they are not made of soundproofing materials. However, if you have issues with echoes, you can rely on egg cartons to eliminate the echoes.
For proper soundproofing, you can try the DIY solutions we’ve provided in this article. Don’t be afraid to try two or more methods if one doesn’t yield the results you’re expecting. Also, do not forget to troubleshoot the source of the noise before trying any soundproofing solution. The solution may be something as simple as moving the object or source of the noise.
