We need white noise to help the kids sleep. Our Homedics spa sound machine is dying, and I don’t like using a CD because there are abrupt intervals of silence when it reaches the end and starts again.
Electronic machines are nice because they’re cheap, portable, and come with battery backup. (We get a lot of power outages in the Summer.) Drawbacks - artificial sounds, possible short life expectation, judging by this one we have, and my husband is driven nuts by our current one because the sound is a very short (maybe 10 second) loop.
I’m intrigued by the Marpac machines. They get great reviews on Amazon. But they’re pricey, and it looks like you can get a battery backup for some models, but that costs even more.
If I’m going to shell out $50-100 on a Marpac, I wonder if I should just buy another Honeywell HEPA filter. We’ve got one in our room, and it not only cleans the air, but provides great, steady white noise. Slightly more money than the Marpacs, but dual function. Drawback is no battery backup.
What are your experiences with these various devices? Any particular features or pitfalls to look out for?
I have no idea about the devices you mentioned, but I do have a friend who likes white noise when she sleeps. What she does is to set a radio very close to the upper or lower end of the FM dial. There are no stations at those extremes (at least, not in our location), and she gets the white noise she wants. It works for her, so it may be something you’d want to try–certainly sounds less expensive than the devices you mentioned.
Somebody makes a “wave machine”, tho I don’t have a link. I once had a house guest who brought her own. It had different wave sounds you could choose. Seemed silly to me, as I get natural wave sounds just by opening a window.
Can’t be any cheaper or simpler than an 8" or 10" box fan. Generally safe for kids too. Usually two or three settings, and on hot nights, I point it directly at my bed from across the room for a nice light breeze.
Our room fan has been used most nights since 1976, mainly to provide white noise.
The plastic control knob on it went missing years ago, and right now I’m using a Snap-On Tool mini vise-grip instead. So the fan control knob is now worth 10 times what the fan ever was.
I have the Marpac SleepMate (okay, I have several), and I’m completely addicted to it. We get them a bit cheaper direct from the manufacturer in Wilmington, NC, so that helps.
It’s the only noisemaker I’ve been able to find that is mechanical, rather than digital. It makes a noise similar to that of a fan, but without the breeze. On top of that, it’s hard to put a box fan or a HEPA filter into your suitcase.
I’ve been using a fan for over a decade. It started as a way to drown out new neighbors who snored and now I have difficulty falling asleep without one.
Hmm, a fan might be worth a try. I’d kind of assumed a fan wouldn’t be loud enough, but given the success people are reporting, it sounds feasible. And yeah, August in NC is a great time to have an extra fan in the house.
I’ve tried the radio thing, but I can’t find a spot on the dial that is just static. I’m also afraid to try it on the AM dial because what is staticky during the day can become crystal clear sports coverage from Boston at night.
Labrador Deceiver, thanks for the review - if a fan doesn’t work, I can always drive to Wilmington . . . (as for packing, luckily our next trip will involve two Ford Expeditions, so we may not only be packing box fans but doing crazy stuff like bringing our own crib to Orlando.)
And the glass skylight? I’m saving that for my bedroom - the kids can have the fans, I get the premium white noise (someday).
Since June our power has gone out for at least an hour about 4-5 times. Usually the weather here in the hot months is 90s and sunny till mid-to-late-afternoon, then a thunderstorm. So lots of lightning-related outages.
I have an end table next to my side of the bed that’s lower than the bed itself. On it I keep the phone, a small, battery-powered push-on light, and a full-sized box fan. When I get in bed that sucker gets turned on to medium, 365 nights a year. If it’s hot I can reach over and turn it toward me, if it’s cold I can reach over and turn it to blow away from me. If it’s really really hot I can turn it on high (though in that case I would be more likely to go turn on the Central Air).
Mmmm, white noise. Can’t sleep without it.
(Btw, the alarm clock is set far enough away so that I have to get up to turn it off)
Allow me to join the fan club. (Fan fan club?) A cool, dark room, with the fan blowing low and lightly - I’m getting drowsy just thinking about it. I don’t know how much power they use, but it doesn’t seem to be much.
Not to hijack, but can those of you who use white noise to sleep; can you sleep if you didn’t have it?
I mention this because a few years back, a friend was staying with me asked if I had a fan to use while he slept. At that time I didn’t, so the first thing we did on that visit was to go the store to get a fan.
It had become almost impossible for him to sleep without it. Kind of like sleeping pills.
I always panic when I realize we forgot to pack the noisemaker, but it really only makes me stay awake for about 10 extra minutes or so.
Noisemakers have two advantages: the noise they make, and the noise they drown out. They latter is the most important part to me, because you never know what is going to be going on outside the window of your bedroom.
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