We got a Waring Pro blender for Christmas last year, it's surprisingly quiet and works really well. Or you could get a plexiglass box to cover your blender to muffle the sound like they have at Jamba Juice!

I think if it is something like a blender that runs for a relatively short period of time, I wouldn't be bothered, but a vacuum, definitely. We're most annoyed by our apartment complex deciding to mow the grass at 8AM and then use the leaf blower right outside our bedroom window...ON A SATURDAY!!

A blender makes too much noise for your neighbors? I think it's time to move. I can hear my neighbor's TV's and stereos, dogs that bark at the doors, but kitchen appliances? Washer/dryer? Really?? I got to bed with my dishwasher on. (for the record I live in a loft with no walls).

Might be time to consider a more modern building with newer construction practices.

Chris M: lofts are going to have industrial construction from the floor up compared to most apartments, which will help dampen noise from inside and out, so these issues are more recognizable for those of us who dwell in smaller spaces and older buildings.

"A blender makes too much noise for your neighbors? I think it's time to move."

I think it's more a reminder I need to purchase a better blender (a Target special). It's louder than any other appliance in the apartment.

The unofficial rule I use in my house is the same with calling friends who's schedule I don't know. 10:00 am to 10:00 pm. Now granted, I've had charade parties that gotten out of hand but my neighbors know its more rare than common that someone is impersonating Mae West in their living room...;)

Wow, I got quoted. Nice. :)

Sometimes there are county/city rules that come into play. My county says there should basically a tenant should not have any music, appliances, or what have you, that can be audible outside their apartment between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., and at other times depending on the nature and frequency of the noises. That is, between 11 and 7, your neighbor shouldn't even be able to tell that you are home. The county follows this for construction, so at 7:01 a.m. every morning last year, construction workers across the street from me would start up their generators and such. EVEN ON SATURDAY! UGH!

Those hours are ridiculous, though, i.e. the window is too narrow. Not everyone sleeps 11-7. Many children (of which there are a LOT in my building) are in bed by 8:00 p.m., especially on school nights, and many people, adults and children alike, aren't awake until 8:00 a.m. on weekdays and even later on weekends. Fortunately for me, my apartment management has tighter rules. And I have a great way to reach out to neighbors: The management. The management folks have said that they do NOT want us to deal with our neighbors ourselves, because you can avoid the battles that can happen over noise if the management steps in as an objective third party.

But another part of why I think those hours are too narrow is that people don't only want/need quiet for sleeping alone. People also need quiet for studying, reading, relaxing, and what not. And you need time to wind down before sleeping anyway. If someone were vacuuming in the apartment above me at 10:59 p.m., I'd have a very hard time winding down to get to bed at 11:00.

Even blenders, garbage disposals, etc., should be curbed somewhat in the late evening because all it takes is one loud noise to wake a person up and ruin their night's sleep. Now, 8:00 p.m. would be early for curbing kitchen equipment entirely,g since some people eat late, but I would probably still keep kitchen noises to shorter use then. I wouldn't use the blender for minutes on end chopping ice for daiquiris at 9:00 on a Thursday, for instance, if I knew that there were children in the apartment next to me who were going to school the next day.

And @"A blender makes too much noise for your neighbors? I think it's time to move." Well, how nice it would be if that were an option for all of us.

I concur with the 10-10 rule. Sometimes I wait for the cool part of the day to vacuum, but never earlier/later than 10.

On the other hand, contractors seem pretty unanimously determined to start at 8:00 AM, ah well.

I feel like 8 AM on weekdays and 10 AM on weekends is reasonable. But if, say, one's downstairs neighbor rages until 3 AM on a regular basis, 6-7AM vacuuming is practically required.

Edward doesn't sleep. Know your vampires. Geez.

We used to live in a dharma community of about 2500 people where everyone practiced silence from after dinner until after breakfast. (We also ate as a community, so everyone began/ended the silence together.) It was wonderful. Society would be drastically different if we practiced something like this as a cultural norm.

Of course, now it is a few years later and I get totally annoyed when my neighbors begin construction before 8 am! :)

Trust me... my loft is not built any different from an apartment. The only difference are higher ceilings (2 feet). I actually added cork to one side to help with a loud entertainment unit on the other side (it didn't work).

I don't remember hearing my neighbors when I lived in a 30 year old apartment either. Perhaps, it has more to do with my location and hurricane requirements (cinder blocks), than the age of the building or the style.

I can understand construction and loud entertainment units, but am surprised about blenders and dishwashers.

Under my espresso machine I have a square of half-inch camping foam pad. It prevents sound transmission through the cabinets to the suite below. Plus it is quieter for me. I use the machine at 6 am.
In my wood-frame building the washing machines and dishwashers transmit down, and the dryers and bath fans transmit up.
I can barely hear the vacuum cleaner from above.