Is your Kitchen Noisy?

Is Kitchen noise disturbing your sleep/

Is your kitchen noisy? Do your family member complain how the noises from kitchen disturbs their nap time? The clatter of dishes and silverware is frequently cited in professional literature as a source of annoyance by many. “many of my male friends believe that their wives torture them deliberately by needlessly banging doors, pots and pans in the kitchen.” I had often thought that my wife, otherwise the gentlest of souls, seemed to be uncharacteristically rough with her kitchen utensils. Couldn’t she just handle them more carefully?

Rude Awakening

I was at oblivious to the noises from kitchen ... till the kitchen noise got highlighted by my daughter. She had just returned from the college and was enjoying the peaceful tranquility (?) of her university residence. By sheer coincidence, her room happens to be the closest to the kitchen. I got up in the morning at 6 am as usual and went straight to the kitchen making myself a genuine cup of Indian Tea - ginger, elaichi, and my own blend of tea leaves from Assam and Darjeeling. Asian Games field hockey game was live on the family room TV right next to the kitchen and I was in a rush to make the tea and go back to the India-Pakistan game.

My morning cup of tea

Suddenly I received a barrage of text messages from my daughter, "Can whoever is in the kitchen stop slamming things please ... you guys just woke me up" then a second message. "I can hear you from the kitchen .. I'm hearing dishes and trash can slamming." followed by another one, "STOP please".

Why are you disturbing my sleep?

 I stopped in my tracks .... being extra careful how I pick up and put down the tea pot, open kitchen cupboard for cups and how I throw the used leaves back in trash can. I was being accused of disturbing the tranquility of the home

So, How Noisy are Kitchen Noises?

Just how loud are those irritating sounds? I searched for information on everyday noises from the kitchen but data on “dishes, pots, and pans” family of noise-makers appears to be not available. Then finally, I found an article written by someone who was so bothered from the noises coming from his kitchen that he measured each noises using a digital oscilloscope.

The following table separates the sounds according to whether they were measured at the 9-foot distance or at the kitchen sink location adjacent to the noise sources:

Kitchen sink area (appr. 2 ft. distance)	Peak SPL (dB)	Range (dB)
Close cupboard door	84	78-89
Set salt shaker on counter	87	84-94
Set lid on 6-inch pot	104	101-107
Set plate in sink	91	90-93
Put silverware in sink	87	83-93
Pots and pans in cupboard	89	88-94
Drop pot lid 3 inches to counter	102	100-105
Drop fork 1 inch to plate	104	101-107
Set soup spoon in bowl	103	98-107
Tap spoon on glass (attention)	97	94-101
Tap spoon on cup (attention)	104	102-105
Fingernail clippers in action	111	108-114
In breakfast noisy? (9 ft. distance)
Dishes to cupboard	90	84-95
Close cupboard door	82	80-86
Set jar on counter	84	80-86
Drop teaspoon on tile floor	84	80-86
Put lid on frying pan	91	85-95

What does this data tell us?

The Environmental Protection Agency labels noises (dBs) in the 90s as “very annoying” and Mean uncomfortable level (UCL) occurs in about 90-110 dB.

The anecdotal evidence of annoyance caused by kitchen-related sounds are high enough to momentarily drive nearly qualify the “noisy dishes irritant syndrome,”

In conclusion, my research validates my daughters annoyance with the kitchen noises. My objective next will be how to reduce these noises .. your suggestions are welcome.