The Chinese Feng Shui legend says, “wind chimes are bearers of cure and good luck.” The harmonious chimes are believed to cure a place of malice and evil, replacing them with good energies. Even if you find yourself too mature and realistic to believe in the ancient folklore, the delicate tinkling of wind chimes is still soothing to hear – but perhaps, not to most.
On windy nights, their soulful melodies get irritatingly noisy due to the constant clanking of the breezy air. If you are losing your well-needed night’s sleep over them, your neighbors could be worse off. Whether you want to soften their tunes or downright silence them, we’ve got some reliable solutions to quiet wind chimes.
If you want to quiet your wind chimes, start by relocating them to a sheltered spot with a minimum wind threshold. To reduce the loud clanking, wrap the clapper with a cloth and infuse padding. Infusing wool and cotton balls into wind chimes’ tubes also helps soften the noise. If you still can’t achieve the desirable silence, purchase a quieter wind chime.
Why Is Silencing Wind Chimes Important Than Your Think?
The magic of wind chimes is not limited to the sound alone; their visual aspect is just as much a sight to behold. No wonder most people prefer hanging wind chimes as decorative details on their front porches. When coupled with the low-paced tingling sound, they give reassurance of peace and tranquility, but to the right ears, of course.
Not everyone finds the high-pitched sound so delicate. Just like the way people have varied tastes in music. The relaxing wind chimes might be putting you to sleep on one side; they could be driving your neighbors crazy on the other. And who knows, their constant chiming may start annoying you after some time.
Here are some reasons that might compel you to reduce the sound of your wind chimes:
The Threat of Noise Pollution
With the increasing number of street noises in the form of loud exhausts, blaring sirens, and car horns, you don’t want anything else contributing to the ruckus. No matter how shrill the sound might be, there’s no guarantee it would soothe other’s minds and ears as well.
If you live in suburban vicinities with relatively peaceful neighborhoods, the sound of tinkling wind chimes could sometimes feel like blaring sirens. Before you feel helpless to shut the non-stop resounding in the middle of the night, make arrangements to quell the noise.
Unexpected Weather Conditions
As you must’ve guessed by the name, Wind is the central factor determining how your wind chimes sound. They produce sweet melodious tunes unless it’s a windy outfield. The more intensely the wind blows, the more forcefully the chimes will flutter against each other, resulting in a loud clanging noise.
On stormy days, this loud clang will be your biggest concern. You can either unhook them at first sight of a dark cloud or a weather forecast, or adopt the easier route and quiet wind chimes and never worry about noise again. Either way, you need to be prepared before the weather gets rough.
The Pitch Is Too Shrill, and Sharp
Sometimes, it’s not the intense winds but the sound of the chimes themselves that bother you. Wind chimes are known to produce a high-pitched shrill sound that chugs down your peace instead of restoring it. The pitch of the sound mainly depends on the structure, material, and shape of the wind chimes.
Wind chimes made of wood or bamboo are far less noisy and low-pitched than those made from glass or metal beads. So, before you set out to buy wind chimes, pay closer attention to their material and shape; or the sharp tinkling will drive you crazy.
Risking Your Relationship With Neighbors
The tinkling wind chimes may sound therapeutic, but you can’t be certain about your neighbors. People calling on their neighbors for loud wind chimes is not some new-fangled phenomenon.
If you hear the jingling of wind chimes from your bedroom window and are annoyed, remember that your neighbors might be struggling with the same. Before your neighbors call in on you for the on-and-off nuisance, you should consider looking for a wind chime silencer.
Techniques to Quiet Wind Chimes
Wind chimes are meant to hang loosely to tinkle with the slow-moving breeze freely. Considering the unprecedented wind fluctuations, the tinkling sound would soon turn into a loud racket unless you adopt ways to quiet the chimes.
While you can unclasp the wind chimes every night or at the sight of a possible storm, not everyone is as dutiful and dedicated to heeding the routine. This leaves us with the following options:
Shift the Wind Chimes to Sheltered Spot
If you’ve hung your wind chimes in the middle of your front porch – a spot where winds hit the most brutal under extreme weather scenarios – they are bound to be noisy. Before you explore sound-deadening solutions, perhaps an easier way to silence the wind chimes is to shift them to a sheltered or possibly secluded spot.
Look for a place beside your porch or backyard that’s shielded from the direct and incoming airflow, even during windy conditions. If you are fond of the tranquil tingling tones, this could be the way to keep them buzzing around your house.
Infuse Padding as Wind Chime Silencers
With their shrill tunes, most wind chimes sound soothing at first, but the constant dose of high-pitched sound is never pleasing. Since the sharp clinking is produced when the clapper hits against your wind chimes, padding the chime tubes and the clapper itself will muffle the noise.
You can use a standard fabric, bubble wrap, or the leftovers from the foam padding to cushion the wind chimes. A cushioned clapper will not produce resounding noises when hit with the tubes, keeping your bells harmonious and lovely.
Cover the Clappers
Even if relocating your wind chimes to a low-breeze spot doesn’t tone down the noise, you should consider applying sound-deadening solutions, which begin with wrapping the clapper.
For starters, wrap the clapper with a piece of cloth or a thick thread to prevent it from striking the chime tubes and soften the hit as much as possible. You can also freeze the clapper in place using a rubber band, but after all, it’s a temporary solution.
The thing about wind chimes is that although you can muffle the sound, you can’t overcome it completely. If you are a fan of its visual appeal, try installing a hanging ornament instead. While it looks and appears the same as wind chimes, these décor items lack the aural impact.
Attach Wool or Cotton Balls
While it may not silence the noise completely, using wool and cotton balls on your wind chime will stifle the sharp shrill noises into a peaceful melody. Cotton balls can soak up impact vibrations, softening the noise and keeping it from traveling far enough.
The process entails stuffing the openings of chime tubes with wool or cotton balls to minimize the resonance and shrillness of the noise. The plugged pipes block off the soundwaves traveling inwards, acting as wind chime silencers. While creating your DIY wind chime silencers, make sure to stuff the cotton balls deep enough, so they don’t malign the décor elements of the wind chimes.
4 Most Peaceful Wind Chimes to Buy
Whether you hang them on your front porch or beside the door to your backyard, silencing wind chimes beyond a certain limit seems prerogative. If their tinkling sound is nothing but a sweet melody to you, let’s not overlook the idea for fear of disturbing your neighbors. We have rounded up some of the quietest wind chimes to buy:
1. Coconut Shell Wind Chimes
If you are bored of listening to the sharp metal clanking in your backyard, the coconut shell wind chimes might uplift your mood. Apart from its blissful and soft assonance, its visual appeal is not something you’d want to miss. With the 35 coconut shell pieces structure, these wind chimes ornate any place you hang them in.
2. Beach Glass & Driftwood Wind Chimes
With the sound of crashing waves, rifting sand, and howling driftwood, beaches leave a lasting impact on your aural senses. These beach glass and driftwood wind chimes offer a perfect way to bring natural beach sounds to your porch. As air flutters past the glass chimes, they create a soothing tune that never overpowers your senses.
3. Bamboo Ring Wind Chimes
Unlike glass and metal chimes, wood and bamboo are known for their soft and mellow sound. While they are high on echo and resonance, bamboo ring chimes produce a low-pitched sound that never feels stingy or sharp. Besides the relaxing tones, bamboo chimes add an earthy element to an outdoor space.
4. Purple Capiz Wind Chimes
If you’ve ever gone exploring on the beach, you’d know how magical it feels to listen to the sound of sea waves hitting and toppling over seashells at the beach. The purple capiz wind chimes enact the same harmony using the delicate capiz shells.
People Also Asked
As we discussed in the previous paragraphs, wind chimes cannot be completely quietened. Here are a few quick answers to questions people generally ask:
Can I silence a wind chime completely?
Wind chimes are fluttering musical pieces you can’t silence completely unless you break them into pieces. However, damping or quieting a wind chime is very much possible, especially by using cotton balls.
Can my neighbor call me in for loud wind chimes?
Your neighbors can call you in for the loud wind chimes, and they could be rightful to do so; however, they cannot lodge a complaint against you. So, you either respect their preference and take it down or use effective methods to muffle the sound.