Dynamat (well budget brand) a dishwasher success.

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So I have a ~20 year old GE Nautilus builders grade edition dishwasher in my condo that was installed when the place was built in 2000. The dishwasher is a beast and (knock on wood) I have not had any issues with it in the 2 years I have lived here. It along with the multiple Nautilus dishwashers I experienced over the years (they were apparently an early 2000's apartment complex favorite) have always cleaned exceptionally well but were always incredibly noisy. Well I finally figured out why when I pulled my current machine door apart to clean out a gunked up rinse aid dispenser - ZERO insulation or sound deadening mat in the front door, just the plastic inner door panel and the thin sheet metal exterior.

So ordered a box of Noico 80 mil sound deadening mat designed for cars (much cheaper version of Dynamat) for $12.99 on Amazon and a $6.99 roller meant to buff the mat onto the mating surface and went to work once it was delivered. Took me ~1 hour to do the full panel of the sheet metal door and ~65% of the plastic interior door, glad I did not get 2 boxes because I would have had a lot of excess.

So here are the noise measurements I took before and after using a app called NIOSH SLM on my iPhone. Both were empty loads when it is loudest, can't wait to see how quiet it is with a full load.

Top at latch:

Before:
Phone at latch - 77 db
1' away from latch - 64 db

After:
~1" latch - 74 db (3db reduction)
1' away from latch - 60 db (4db reduction)

Mid way down center of door:

Before:
~1" from sheet metal - 69 db
1' away from sheet metal - 67 db

After:
~1" from sheet metal - 64 db (5db reduction)
1' away from sheet metal - 62 db (5db reduction).

Bottom at door and motor cover plate gap:

Before:
~1" from panel gap - 73 db
1' away from panel gap - 70 db

After:
~1" from panel gap - 68 db. (5 db reduction)
1' away from panel gap - 66 db (4db reduction)

Overall:

This was probably the best $20 I have spent to limp this dishwasher along until I can gut and remodel my kitchen which is still 1-2 years down the road. I could probably get some further noise reduction replacing the quite expensive ($52+$10 shipping) perimeter door seal that is hard as a rock but it does not leak so I'm good with the noise reduction the sound deadening mat.

Anyhow just wanted to share my experience, was not sure what to expect going into this project but ended up quite pleased.
 
Very nice. I did the same at our old house. Made a nice difference. When you look at a range of dishwashers within a brand, most of the difference between the cheapest model and the most expensive is the amount of sound deadening.
 
That high density rubber will kill attenuation but not block all frequencies …
I found a great combo is dynamat with 3M CCF stuck on top …
(also scissors and peel/stick)
 
Originally Posted by 4WD
That high density rubber will kill attenuation but not block all frequencies …
I found a great combo is dynamat with 3M CCF stuck on top …
(also scissors and peel/stick)


Thanks for the heads up - maybe a dumb question but what is 3M CCF?

I'm going to have to pull the door apart again in the near future because the rinse aid tank has a very slow leak at one of the seams so it will be wide open to add some additional sound attenuation material. Might give the 3M layer a go if its not too crazy expensive.

Thanks in advance!
 
Closed cell foam … easy to find online …
Try eBay
 
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Jeeze, are old dishwashers really that loud? I have a circa 2012 "Ikea" (Whirlpool) dishwasher and I can barely hear it running. I took the door apart a month ago to replace the latch, and I don't remember seeing any insulation or sound deadening inside. It's so quiet I've found myself walking into the kitchen, 15 feet away or so, just to see if I remembered to hit the start button.

Either way, cool project! Glad to hear it worked out.
 
Pretty much … replaced a 15 year old GE with an all stainless Maytag (inside/outside) a few months back … huge difference …
 
Originally Posted by 14Accent
Jeeze, are old dishwashers really that loud? I have a circa 2012 "Ikea" (Whirlpool) dishwasher and I can barely hear it running. I took the door apart a month ago to replace the latch, and I don't remember seeing any insulation or sound deadening inside. It's so quiet I've found myself walking into the kitchen, 15 feet away or so, just to see if I remembered to hit the start button.

Either way, cool project! Glad to hear it worked out.


Oh yeah it seems the low-mid grade dishwashers never really had any merit in the sound attenuation department until prob the late 2000's early 2010's. I think improvements in the design of the water jets was the majority of the sound reduction, stainless steel interior tubs are supposed to be a huge reduction as well vs the plastic.

My apt before my condo had a 2015ish Whirlpool that was mid-grade ($500-600) and it was like yours where you had to be basically right next to it to hear a little splashing here and there.

Just to give you reference of noise, you know the commercial grade washers in restaurants and bars? Thats about how this dishwasher sounded before the sound matting.
 
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