Average Jane Sleeps Soundly

Over the holiday break, something broke: my bedside air purifier. Now, I couldn't care less about the cleanliness of the air, I just turned the fan up to "High" and used it as white noise to cover my husband's snoring so I could sleep.

It was old. I'd had it since the early '90s and had treated it very poorly. It hadn't had a filter in it for years, and I seldom bothered to clean out all the lint and dust it collected. Not surprisingly, the motor finally went bad after 13+ years of daily use. Really, I'm impressed that it lasted that long.

I threw it away and started looking around for white noise alternatives. My husband's alarm clock seemed like a good bet. It came complete with a selection of nature sounds, including a waterfall that sounded a lot like static. For several days, I cranked up the waterfall while I slept, but the sound was harsh and it didn't really cover the snoring. I spent the last four or five mornings of my holiday sleeping on the living room couch until dawn.

Last night, I finally admitted to myself that I needed another solution. A trip to Target yielded a $24.99 air purifier model that seemed worth a try. It promised that it was "whisper quiet" at any speed, but I suspected that its high speed would be just loud enough to do the trick.

Okay, so it was a little quieter than I was used to. However, add a touch of "waterfall" along with the fan and voila! - a sleep so good that I actually overslept a bit.

I love it when things work out.

Comments

[Rozanne]

B and I got into the white noise habit when we lived in Chicago AKA Sirenville. Like you, we used an air purifier for a long time and we didn't even bother to put a filter in it. It worked great to cancel out all the middle-of-the-night ambulance, fire engine, and police sirens.

It conked out at some point and I bought one of those Homedics things with the waterfall, ocean, and rain sounds, but it just wasn't loud enough for us. Now we've got a rather expensive and massively huge real electrostatic air purifier (B had hoped that it would help control is allergies, but I don't think it does a hell of a lot, although when we clean the filter there's always an impressive amount of dust and cat fur on it). Anyway, it definitely puts out some excellent white noise.

I always love finding out that B and I aren't the only white noise enthusiasts.

[Michelle Kenobi]

That's funny. I've always been a fan of a very quiet sleeping environment. I now live with my bf though and he needs an air purifier as well. Plus, he snores. Sound familiar? I made him get a mask for his sleep apnea and he wears it long enough for me to fall asleep (most of the time). Then he usually rips it off around 3am and snores the rest of the night, but I am in a deep sleep by then.

I think I may now be dependent on white noise like you are. :-P

[mojavi]

wow i might try this.... K snores ALOT!!!!!

[Donna W]

I know several people who keep a box fan running year around for the sound of it.