# How do I "pause" my windchimes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 6, 2008, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-pause-my-windchimes/475998 "2008-12-06T15:17:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kapntoad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/82dd89/32.png) [@kapntoad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kapntoad)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-pause-my-windchimes/475998/1 "2008-12-06T15:17:06Z")
It’s a bit blustery out and my windchimes are especially spirited this morning. Given the late night I had last night I’m in no mood to listen to them. So I want to turn them off, but only temporarily. However: - They’re about six feet from the doorway. - It’s cold and snowy out there. - I’m in shorts and barefoot. So now I’m curious if there’s something around the house which could be used to dampen the sound from a distance. I considered throwing a blob of peanut butter at the wooden clanger, but that would be a pain to undampen. Ideas? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-pause-my-windchimes/475998/2 "2008-12-06T15:18:37Z")
Take 'em down? ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-pause-my-windchimes/475998/3 "2008-12-06T15:41:18Z")
Get in bed and cover your head with a couple pillows. Other than that if you want them quiet you’re going to have to go out there. Or you could drown them out with some Christmas music, after a few hours of that then you’ll want to listen to the windchimes again. ---
**Author:** ![Fetchund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b2d939/32.png) [@Fetchund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fetchund)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-pause-my-windchimes/475998/4 "2008-12-06T15:42:57Z")
Got a six-foot long shepherd’s crook? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-pause-my-windchimes/475998/5 "2008-12-06T15:44:48Z")
Cold and snowy, eh? The answer is clear, then: squirt gun or spray bottle. They’ll be quiet until the ice melts. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-pause-my-windchimes/475998/6 "2008-12-06T15:52:36Z")
> [@Q.E.D](#): > > Cold and snowy, eh? The answer is clear, then: squirt gun or spray bottle. They’ll be quiet until the ice melts. How much time would that take? ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-pause-my-windchimes/475998/7 "2008-12-06T16:29:16Z")
Clothespegs. You can attach them to the main body of each chime to dampen the sound. Or you can attach them to the ‘bell’ (I forget the correct word) and lock them to the body of the chime to stop the sound altogether. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-pause-my-windchimes/475998/8 "2008-12-06T16:37:28Z")
Just walk out barefooted and rip em down. Are you a noobie to MN that you can’t handle short walks onto the porch? ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-pause-my-windchimes/475998/9 "2008-12-06T16:43:35Z")
Put on some clothes and take them down. Quit being a sissy. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![kapntoad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/82dd89/32.png) [@kapntoad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kapntoad)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-pause-my-windchimes/475998/10 "2008-12-06T18:46:49Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > Just walk out barefooted and rip em down. Are you a noobie to MN that you can’t handle short walks onto the porch? > [@Hockey\_Monkey](#): > > Put on some clothes and take them down. Quit being a sissy. 😛 Actually, I already have. And I’m Minnesotan born and bred. But I’m always in search of a better way… like silly string. I’ll be purchasing some silly string and reinstalling the chimes shortly to perform some testing in the ongoing quest for knowledge. ---
**Author:** ![DfrntBreign](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f6c823/32.png) [@DfrntBreign](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DfrntBreign)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-pause-my-windchimes/475998/11 "2008-12-06T19:09:31Z")
Not exactly the answer you need(ed), but I keep a rubber band on the top of the chimes. When I want them to STFU!!!, I pull the band down around the bars. (You have to be telekinetic to do it from inside, though.) ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-pause-my-windchimes/475998/12 "2008-12-06T21:01:52Z")
I tell my chimes to “put a sock in it.” 😛 I have a huge windchime with big “copper” pipes and a wooden centerpiece they clang on. When it gets excessively windy, I wrap a tube sock around the wooden part, and fasten it with a clothes pin. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-pause-my-windchimes/475998/13 "2008-12-06T21:03:37Z")
Close your windows and put on some soft music or white noise? ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-pause-my-windchimes/475998/14 "2008-12-06T21:10:51Z")
C’mon people! This is a job for the SHOTGUN! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![CAT\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@CAT\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CAT_1)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-pause-my-windchimes/475998/15 "2008-12-06T21:18:23Z")
Earplugs, or get over your case of lazyitis. They are just going to keep blowing away all winter. My mother takes hers(she has a dozen of them on a porch) down for the winter. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-pause-my-windchimes/475998/16 "2008-12-06T21:18:28Z")
> [@Eats\_Crayons](#): > > How much time would that take? Depends on how cold it is and how thin a layer of water gets deposited with each squirt. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-pause-my-windchimes/475998/17 "2008-12-06T21:18:46Z")
Build a large geodesic dome over your house. Or rubber bands or bungie cords tied around them. Just taking them down isn’t rully that hard. You could always build a motorized pulley system to bring them next to the house. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-pause-my-windchimes/475998/18 "2008-12-06T21:25:17Z")
> [@kapntoad](#): > > It’s a bit blustery out and my windchimes are especially spirited this morning. Given the late night I had last night I’m in no mood to listen to them. So I want to turn them off, but only temporarily. As a neighbor to someone with wind chimes, I applaud your decision to take them down (belated as it is). I don’t care how you do it, just get it done. Oh, and that _only temporarily_ – we neighbors won’t hold you to that – feel free to make it permanent! ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-pause-my-windchimes/475998/19 "2008-12-06T21:27:30Z")
All you “take them down” people seem to have entirely missed the point of the OP. ---
**Author:** ![CAT\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@CAT\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CAT_1)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-pause-my-windchimes/475998/20 "2008-12-06T21:35:49Z")
> [@Q.E.D](#): > > All you “take them down” people seem to have entirely missed the point of the OP. Ok, I will play along. Although I did suggest earplugs before I said, “take them down”. Squirt a can of something foamy on them. Shaving cream, whipped cream, silly string, “[great stuff](http://greatstuff.dow.com/greatstuff/diy/index.htm)”… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-pause-my-windchimes/475998.md?page=2)