6 Tips on How to Ask Your Roommate to Be Quiet


Have you encountered roommates who rush their projects at the last minute? If yes, then you must have searched on how to ask your roommate to be quiet. 

After a long day’s work, you want to go to your room, relax, read a book, or catch some sleep. The experience may not be smooth if you have a loud roommate. 

How to Ask Your Roommate to Be Quiet

I once had a noisy roommate who would be laughing with friends or listening to loud music at ungodly hours of the night. It was difficult for me to study or sleep. I realized that if allowed things to continue as they were, I will lose focus and probably fail at the end of the semester exam. I got so angry. I wanted to counter react. I gave the idea of confronting my roommate a second thought. If I responded while I was angry, I would have made the situation worse. Therefore, I decided to ask for advice before approaching the situation. 

My idea to open up to a third party helped me learn the following six tips to apply when you want to tell a noisy roommate to be quiet.

Speak Up Early Enough

It is easy to learn a character in the first few days of staying together. People rarely hide their traits from roommates. They expect you will understand them and accept them. 

When you find out that your roommate is the noisy type, trying to adjust to the situation will confirm to them you are comfortable with the noise. 

Do not let anyone interfere with your quiet sleep or peace of mind. Make it known to your roommate that their noise is a nuisance. Making your complaint before ey get comfortable works wonders. No wonder how bossy or rude someone is, they will think of their actions towards their new roommate, 

When you wait for long without raising the complaint, you will build anger within you. You may not be able to control your emotions if they respond negatively towards your quest. The situation may get out of hand that you end up seeking the intervention of outsiders.

When you are conducting the conversation, make your roommate understand what they are putting you through. Let them feel guilty about their actions without raising their anger. You need to apply a high level of maturity and wisdom to make them guilty of their actions.

 Address the situation at a neutral time. Approaching your roommate at the time they are noise would lead to a serious altercation. Move out to get your calm, and then tell your roommate about their displeasing behavior later. 

Even if you should not wait for long before speaking up, do not approach the situation as it is happening, you will be adding fuel to an existing fire. Therefore, you should strike a balance between reacting immediately and taking the time to address the problem. You will need to listen to your intuition and instinct

You may decide to avoid the situation altogether by talking about what you expect before you move in. You will draw boundaries that both of you are not supposed to cross. You will also be able to approach any arising situations with ease.  

Make a Legit Complaint

Noise in shares apartments is common. If you do not want noise, you can opt to rent an apartment on your own. It will not make sense of you are telling your roommate to turn off their music when it is till 8 PM, that is selfishness strongly manifesting in you. 

However, if your roommate is playing loud music at 2 AM, they need to shut that radio or whatever down. They will not only be disturbing you but the entire neighborhood.

You may not be able to discern acceptable and unacceptable noise on your own. Try to talk about the situation to trusted outsiders. Narrate the situation as it is. It will help you get a sound reply. If you have other housemates, talk to them, you might find out you are not the only one uncomfortable with the noise. 

Seeking opinions from other people will first help you ease the anger in you. You will also get tips and advice on how to approach your roommate. 

an angry man

If you come from a tranquil and calm background, it may be difficult for you to cope with other people, especially when they have vibrant lives. Try to adapt to different situations; however, you should discern when the situations are getting out of hand. Do not compromise to the point of harming your productivity. 

Involve Your Roommate to Set the House Rules

Some people are dictators; they will make rules and force them on their peers. Do not be that kind of a roommate. It is easy for anyone to comply with rules that they participated in formulating. Humans always find a reason to oppose the things done without consultation. Just as the created gave us the freedom to choose our destiny, we will want to enjoy that freedom without disruption. However, that is not possible. It is, therefore, important for interested parties to discuss things and come to a common ground. 

When formulating the rules, remember to keep undisrupted sleep at the top of the priority list. Your roommate can break the eardrums when both of you are awake, but both of you should respect the moment when the other person is sleeping. 

Try to convince your roommate to synchronize their study schedule with yours. You will find that no one will make noise for the other when is study time. 

Create a Game within a Conversation to Avoid

Games bring people from different walks of life. Everyone wants to win in a game, or at least make a considerable contribution towards the game. When you become playful with your roommate, it becomes easier to strike a conversation and arrive at favorable conclusions.

During one game night, introduce a game that will touch on house rules. Each of you will make contributions on the acceptable noise levels, the time to switch off all noise, and the steps to take to ensure roommates live in harmony, 

Review the answers to your answers together. I am sure your roommate is wise enough to realize that the game was raising awareness of noise issues and set the house rules; you will be surprised at how they will change after that incident.

Approach the situation with Positivity

When something offends you, you are likely to start blaming the other person. You will be right to blame your roommate when you lack concentration in class after a whole week of poor sleep due to their noise. I would blame them for the same. 

As a human, your roommate may retaliate against the allegations. Choose your words wisely to make the roommate find a sense without feeling the weight of the blame. It is easy for someone tom reason with you when they understand the outcome of their actions. 

Using polite words will make your roommate understand that you respect them despite their behavior. The situation will be different if you shout at them, heap all the blame to them (although they deserve), and slam the door on their faces. Maintain a calm and positive mind when solving a problem with your roommate.

Be Ready for a Compromise

Since you and your roommate are likely to pursue different courses and career paths, your schedules will always be different. Your definitions of noise will also vary. Maybe a noisy blender is okay with you but not to your roommate, or your roommate is comfortable with loud music, but on the other hand, you cannot stand it. 

For the issue of a blender, the owner will need to fix a quick smoothie for breakfast. The other person may find some solace in music after a long hectic day. Sit with your roommate and discuss what each of you can try to adjust to, and what you can avoid. There is no need to play loud music in a room when your roommate is studying or sleeping when you can use some headphones. On the other hand, there is little that you can do about blender noise. Maybe the owner can be making smoothing during the day and take an alternative kind of breakfast. 

You will find out how easy it is to solve the noise problem when both of you are open to compromise. 

an angry kid

Conclusion on How to Ask Your Roommate to Be Quiet

There are acceptable ways on how to ask your roommate to be quiet. When you apply the above tips, you will enjoy your stay with your roommate. 

However, some people are stubborn or rude. They need a different approach from the rest. When talking to them fails, consider involving other housemates or the room assistant. 

Do not live in an unfavorable environment. You can consider requesting for a room swap. The Room Assistant will get you another room. If your finances are enough, you can get an apartment; you will enjoy all the quiet you want

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