Are you having to deal with noisy neighbors or any sort of unwelcomed disturbances such as car alarms, loud music, or even just chitchat outside of your window? This can not only ruin your relaxation time, but even your sleep. While some people will try to tune out noise by purchasing noise-canceling headphones or adding foam to their room, sometimes this isn’t enough. You’re going to need more effective solutions to help with the muffling noise. One excellent choice would be soundproof curtains. However, one question still lingers. Do soundproof drapes actually work? Is this the best choice for you? While being the lesser-known noise-canceling technology, these prove to be a very effective solution. So, let’s dive into to the technology behind soundproof curtains since these prove that they can work!
What are Soundproof Curtains?
Before diving into the technology of soundproof drapes, it’s first important to know what soundproof curtains are. Soundproof curtains are just like other window treatments, but these off the ability to absorb noise. Thanks to the dense material, which is highly porous such as velvet or velour, you can count on these to “soften” the noise. If you’ve ever been in a space that doesn’t have window treatments, than you may notice an echo present, especially when moving throughout the room. This is especially apparent when there isn’t any textiles in the space such as furniture or carpet to absorb the noise. To a degree, most window treatments can absorb sound, in fact, most textiles can do this. However, heavy curtains for soundproofing are going to be the most effective when it comes to reducing noise. While unwanted sounds may still be present, you’ll notice that they’ll becoming more filtered out, creating a significantly peaceful environment. In general, if you’re wanting to transform your home and lifestyle, soundproof curtains are the way to go!
Pros and Cons of Soundproof Curtains
It’s important to know the ins and outs of every window treatment. Afterall, it’s not always about aesthetics, but the functionality alone is going to affect your home, furnishings, and most of all, your lifestyle. So, if you’re on the fence, here are some advantages and disadvantages that you can expect from heavy curtains for soundproofing.
Pros
- They’re perfect if you’re wanting to be more energy efficient, as soundproofing curtains can help you save money on heating and cool.
- Double as blackout curtains, so they can help you sleep better and protect your home from UV rays.
- Perfect for providing a layer of privacy.
- You can count on a calm environment, thanks to their noise-absorption technology.
- A Soundproof curtain can be install easily. These usually don’t require a new curtain rod.
- These type of curtains are very easy to find, they’re available at many retailers, including online such as TheHues.
Cons
- Since these are often blackout curtains, these can impact your room, especially making it too dark than you may have wanted. You’ll need to get tiebacks in order to keep the curtains open the entire day.
- If they’re open, this immediately means that there is a reduction in sound-absorbing benefits.
- Could impact the aesthetics that you’re wanting in your home due to it’s heavy appearance.
Do Sound Blocking Curtains Work?
While yes, soundproof curtains work, the answer can technically vary. How? Well, it’s all based on the environment. Thick soundproof curtains for windows can work, and they do, but the absorption level can vary. So, noise reduction itself is not to effective, but sound absorption is. What this means is that thanks to the thick fabric, it can help with killing off the sounds such as echoes in the space, this lowers the vibrations. However, it cannot lower the volume of sounds that are entering the space. The Soundproofing curtain is fantastic, but don’t think of it as a magical solution to get your home completely silent, it’s not realistic. In short, yes, soundproof curtains can work, but don’t expect major results.
Which Fabric is Best for Sound Absorption?
When it comes to sound absorption from soundproof curtain, you need to consider the type of fabric too. This is also going to make an impact. The good news is, when it comes to soundproof curtains for windows, there are so many options to choose from in fabric! So, here are some of the best fabrics that you can count on for absorbing sound!
100% Blackout
Better sleep
Noise Reducing
Energy SavingBurlap
Known for it’s rustic flair, burlap can be a wonderful choice for soundproofing your home, and it’s all thanks to the open weave pattern that it provides. This allows for air and lights to come through. But this does mean that it’s going to have to be paired up with another sound blocking material. It can be effective for soundproofing but you’ll just have to double it with another fabric. Ideally, 3 layer soundproof curtains would be perfect.
Velvet
Providing a luxurious and elegant look, velvet looks nice and feels nice. On top of that, this thick material isn’t even known for it’s sound absorbing abilities, but it does offer it! You can even double it up with another layer to absorb even more sound.
Velour
While velvet is known for being very expensive, sometimes it can be a bit too far out of reach. A great budget-friendly alternative that provides that velvet-like appearance would be velour. While it’s cheaper than velvet, it doesn’t cheapen on sound-absorption. This is a high opacity fabric that makes it a great choice for sound blocking.
Wool
While wool may be commonly known for being used is carpet, this excellent soundproof-fabric can even be used for window treatments too. There are different sizes and shapes of fabric that’s being used in wool which helps it ward off various noise frequencies.
Mass-Loaded Vinyl
Mass-loaded vinyl just happens to be one of the most popular fabrics that’s used in soundproofing. It’s able to dissipate sound that’s traveling through the fabric, this means no noise will come through your walls. It’s technically not a curtain and you can’t get this in curtain form as it needs to go into the wall.
Should You Get Soundproof Curtains?
In the end, it’s going to be up to you if you’re wanting to make the decision to purchase it. Putting up blackout soundproof curtains can be an excellent choice for your bedrooms, living rooms, and home offices. Whether you’re wanting a space to work, relax, or sleep in, you can count on soundproof curtains to help you out!
