Downstairs neighbor keeps leaving sticky notes on resident's door to complain about their dishwasher noise, leaving resident no choice but to confront them: ‘I bought my own pack of sticky notes’

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Jun 3, 2026 1:00 PM EDT

Have you ever knocked on your neighbors' door and asked them to stop whatever it is they are doing?

Anyone who has ever dealt with extremely loud neighbors knows what I'm talking about. It doesn't even have to be people who talk loudly, or people who stomp their feet until it sounds like they are tap dancing up there… Even the little, everyday things that your neighbor does can turn out to be really loud and annoying to the residents around them, including you.

For example, my apartment is directly below an 85-year-old man who lives alone. Every day, he turns on his TV at 6:00 AM and keeps it on until 11:00 PM at night. Theoretically, having his TV on is his right, and it shouldn't bother someone who lives a whole floor below him. However, since this guy is quite old, he can't hear very well, so he sets the volume of his TV to be so loud that you can hear it from 5 floors down, including my bedroom, and everyone who lives around him has to suffer.

I've obviously knocked on his door a few times and asked him to turn the volume down, but every morning, it's the same old story, and I have simply accepted my fate.

It seems like the neighbors in this story, shared on a Reddit community, are not willing to accept their fate as I do. They claim that their upstairs neighbor's dishwasher is too loud for them, so they keep leaving sticky notes on their front door demanding to mind the hours the dishwasher is on. According to them, any time past 9:00 PM is too late, even by just a few minutes.

As much as I understand the struggle of a neighbor with a loud facility, I'm not sure if I support these neighbors' actions, and it seems like the upstairs resident has also had enough of their demands.

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  • 01
    Dishwasher in Modern Blue Kitchen and a sticky note that says “Please do not disturb.”
    via Proxima Studio

    Dishwasher in Modern Blue Kitchen and a sticky note that says "Please do not disturb."

  • 02

    My downstairs neighbor leaves a sticky note on my door every time I run my dishwasher

    My building doesn't have quiet hours listed anywhere and my lease doesn't say anything about running appliances after a certain time.
    via Proud_Associate5268
  • 03
    The dishwasher is also pretty quiet. I've stood in the hallway and downstairs to test it and you can hear it a little but it's not loud per se. A few months ago, I got a sticky note on my
    via Proud_Associate5268
  • 04
    door that said: please be considerate of your neighbors 2B which is fair enough. I felt bad so I started trying to run the dishwasher earlier when I could. Some nights I get home
    via Proud_Associate5268
  • 05
    late, eat something standing over the sink, spend time on my phone just to decompress, and by the time I think about the dishwasher it's already
    via Proud_Associate5268
  • 06
    past 9. One night in February I ran it at 9:40pm and the next morning there was another note:9:40pm is late
    via Proud_Associate5268
  • 07
    Since then, it has escalated and now I get a sticky note every single time I run it after 9pm even if it's only by a few minutes.
    via Proud_Associate5268
  • 08
    Last week's said: 9:07pm fyi notice. Tuesday's said: 9:14pm you know what you did. we
    via Proud_Associate5268
  • 09
    Yesterday morning there were two sticky notes on my door. Both were just the exact times I had turned it on just written separately like I was being
    via Proud_Associate5268
  • 10
    audited I have never spoken to this person. I bought my own pack of sticky notes yesterday, which feels like either problem-solving or the beginning of a villain arc.
    via Proud_Associate5268
  • 11
    Man (Model) Knocking on Apartment Door, Closeup View
    via Africa images

    Man (Model) Knocking on Apartment Door, Closeup View

  • 12
    MonkeyChoker80 Leave your own sticky note on the door: "I know when I run my own dishwasher. Any more of your passive-aggressive little notes, and it'll be 2am when I'm running it."
    via MonkeyChoker80
  • 13
    louisianefille You might consider looping in your landlord/property manager before they escalate to a formal complaint. Tell the landlord you feel harassed just for running your dishwasher and that you don't want any more notes on your door from them.
    via louisianefille
  • 14
    Selkior01 I'm sure everyone is aware that utility companies highly recommend running dishwashers (as well as laundry equipment) at night.
    via Selkior01
  • 15
    ICreditReddit Get ahead of the game, write a note for your door: "9:07, ran the dishwasher. Thought I'd save you a trip."
    via ICreditReddit
  • 16
    Add another one too dated tomorrow, stick it to the door and run the dishwasher as per the details
    via ICreditReddit
  • 17
    RobThree03 Disagree with almost everyone here who says your neighbors are being difficult. They're telling you that your dishwasher is noisy - for them. You have control over it and they are helpless to change
    via RobThree03
  • 18
    anything except by asking. They could do better by being more explicit as to what time would be okay, but they've made it pretty clear that the 9pm hour is disturbing. IDK if they're trying to watch a show, go to sleep, put
    via RobThree03
  • 19
    the kids to bed, or what but the dishwasher is so intrusive in their lives that they keep asking you to not do it. Maybe waiting for midnight is the answer. Maybe 6am. You have the right to make their lives miserable by running it at 9pm,
    via RobThree03
  • 20
    but why would you if you don't have to? It really feels like a face to face conversation would be a great place to start.
    via RobThree03

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dishwasher privacy landlord neighbors bad neighbors noise entitled building resident entitled people apartment
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