We moved into a new home. I love the home. I love the neighbors. We saw the home was near a short side street and small shopping plaza when we looked at it. There was almost no activity on the street, as it was a Sunday when we viewed the home, and it seemed very quiet. No problem. The housing market was insane competitive at the time in our area. Overpriced houses, low inventory, multiple bidders, homes going under contract within 24 hours of being on the market, waiting for a miracle to get your offer accepted. Our offer was accepted. We bought the home. Fast forward to the first weekday I lived here. Turns out the short side street I thought was quiet is one of the the main throughways to the multitudes of neighborhoods around us. Think modified canned mufflers, wanna-be speed car sprint racers, booming bass players, garbage trucks, lawn maintenance trailers, public school buses, garbage trucks, city trolly system, motorcycles. Then to discover the loading dock across the way. Ugh. A. Major. Publix. Grocery. Store. Loading. Dock. Turns out their delivery trucks are huge. MONSTROUS. They have massive semi trucks, 18 wheeler trucks, refrigerator trucks...I have seen every kind of delivery/truck...dairy...beverages....produce... bread...chips...more breads...meats...more chips. Who knew it takes an 18 wheeler size truck delivery multiple times a week just to keep their potato chips isle stocked??! Surprise...IT DOES!! EVERY kind of delivery truck whizzing by our home, entering and exiting the dock and idling across the street at all hours day and night. It causes major noise, beeping as they back up, banging sounds when trucks let down or slam shut their loading ramps...not to mention vibrations in our walls and floors from the trucks. Then here comes the teenagers who get off work from Publix late at night booming the bass in their cars and letting it rip with their sawed off mufflers. So...we had crazy expensive triple pane laminated windows installed. This blocked out a lot of noise, but not all. Then we installed a fence around our home. I am very sensitive to traffic noise. I hate it. It feels like an intrusion in my home and it's unpredictable. The noise doesn't bother my husband, but then again he has some pre-existing hearing loss. I found the Lectrofan and am seriously thanking God because it works. I have 2 in our bedroom...(one near the window by the the outer wall and one on the interior other side of the room). I also bought one for the kitchen and one for the living room. I use fan noise #6 (attic fan) and it's very pleasant. I was told that it's a pink noise. I am not a noise color expert or anything...just in doing some investigating and my quest for peace I have heard that pink noise reduces anxiety and I increases memory...and that pink noise reduces the difference between the background hum and loud, jarring noises that jolt you out of sleep, like slamming doors, or a car horn honking. I keep the volume about halfway between the softest and loudest levels. The sound blocks the majority of the noise but blends into the background easily, so my brain acclimates and I forget about it. If I have to listen to noise, at least with this it can be on my terms. I recommend buying the Lectrofan. For high noise you may want to put 2 in the same room (placing one each on opposite sides of the room). It's well made, and small but effective...the white colored one blends easily with the lighter colors in our home. It's also compact so it fits easily in any area.
