I have a question I’d rather ask anonymously. It’s about my neighbour upstairs, whose bed seems to be up against the radiator. Since central heating pipes carry sound very well, I am sometimes kept awake at night by the ‘rhythmic banging’ of the bed against the radiator. How can I mention this to my neighbour without being too explicit? Student S. (full name known to the editor)
Joke
‘I can imagine that you want to stay on good terms with your upstairs neighbour. Instead of raising it directly, you could make a light-hearted, apparently naïve comment. Say how impressed you are by his musical talent on the radiator. That way you break the ice from the start. Then you could jokingly ask whether he could tone down his drumming practice and avoid practising after bedtime.’
Janneke Elzinga – PhD Microbiology
Raise it
‘This is quite a common problem. But I would suggest raising it carefully with your neighbour. I know from experience that housemates nearly always respond well. If you can’t face raising it, you could get in touch with the caretaker of your complex. He could talk to the guy upstairs about the nightly banging noises.’
Eugene van Meteren – Idealis caretaker
Fight back
‘Quite an embarrassing situation. If you know who’s living upstairs, you could say something when you run into them: ‘I often hear your bed banging against the radiator. Great that you’re having such a good time, but maybe you could move your bed so I can get some sleep?’ If you say it good-humouredly, the person is sure not to mind. And if that doesn’t work, you can always start banging on the radiator yourself to make clear how noisy it is.’
Kim Hartman – online editor
Drop hints
‘This is a common problem in shared accommodation. We had a couple in our house too who made love exuberantly, sometimes in the middle of the night so they woke people up. After we’d dropped numerous subtle hints about how sound carried in an old house, it calmed down. It can sometimes help just to knock on the door if you’re bothered by what you are hearing late in the evening. They might not realize they are so audible and they would probably like to know themselves if their private moment is not totally private.’
C. (WUR staff member, full name known to the editor)
Read this mag
‘No one likes finding out they’ve been audible during intimate moments. Maybe this feature is the most indirect way of letting your upstairs neighbour know. So, students: check whether your bed is next to a radiator. If it is, push it out a bit and put a soft pillow between your bed and the radiator. S, if the noise goes on, just knock on your neighbour’s door and say the knocking against the radiator is bothering you. It’s nicer for them if their intimate moments are just between the two of them.’
Steven Bernsen – student of Agrotechnology
Next WURrie
It’s nearly Christmas and many of our international colleagues can’t go home, for example because they would have to go into quarantine there for two weeks first. Who has tips for international WUR staff and how we can help one another this Christmas? Guido Camps, researcher in the Nutrition & Health group and OnePlanet Research Centre.
Do you have advice or tips for this Wurrier? Email us (max. 100 words) before 8 December at resource@wur.nl with subject ‘noWURries #8’. Need some advice yourself? Email your problem (max. 100 words) to resource@wur.nl with subject ‘noWURries’.