Who has a laundry room section in their upstairs bathroom?

zaax

Having a laundry room up stairs is great until you have to get a washing machine up the stairs, though a tumble dryer is lighter.

lostinrates

tired_dad wrote: »

UK concept of downstairs utility for laundry is crap. In a large house traipsing up and down with all the laundry is onerous. Utilities are usually attached to the kitchen. Again does not make sense to bring dirty laundry through the kitchen and clean out. Usually means that there are laundry baskets downstairs all the time esp if high occupancy house with kids.

Property sizes in UK are generally small hence it is what you usually see.

Having a laundry room upstairs is fantastic. No more carting stuff up and down the stairs. New decent machines all have timers so no need to run through the night. It's a much better way of managing laundry. However, I would not want it linked to my bathroom. Better to section off into its own room.

Your architect seems to know what he/she is doing

It really isn't [rubbish ] its lifestyle dependant.



For me, with an aversion to dryers and a large washing consideration, drying outside is sensible. My utility Is off the kitchen, has direct access to outside and an airer. It also has direct access to a covered area where our free standing airers can stand pretty much year round. Its a bonus of having a stay at home or work from home lifestyle that washing can be hung and daylight got. Dryers have uses, I am going to use Milne for a brief stint to day to dry a dress that I want to wear somewhere smart tomorrow but has a bit of dog hair on it . Best use of the dryer is as a dog hair filter.

For me, an upstairs laundry room would be less convenient as I prefer to be down stairs most of the day time and do a lot of laundry ( regrettably!). Further more with mild mobility issues going up and down more times that necessary to load washers/ dryers would be a pain. Three loads a week washer to dryer lifestyle? Perfect upstairs.......:)

Ey143,

Other things that happen in our utility room: we have a large chest freezer and that lives in there. And a sink. I do hand washing in there, and some craft type stuff, and some sort of stuff that's easier to clear up in a more confined wash down able space. We very seriously considered having a floor drain fitted to ours so it was hoedown able but decided with a hard floor ( stone) and direct access to outside it was as cleanable as we needed. I Have bath my little dog in there ( but NOT if there is laundry about! a valid concern would be mixed use. if you are not put away as you go types!) and am thinking about getting taps to make this easier to do regularly. And DH has been known to butcher some meat in there, again, NOT, while laundry is about! Our laundry is left side of the sink the 'kitchen stuff' is right side.

Its also where all cleaning stuff for the down stairs of house is kept.....down stairs vacuum, steamer, carpet cleaner, brooms etc. from the utility and kitchen I could pretty much manage the house if I had to. We have a microbusiness at home , and from these two rooms I can see my business, and yet be removed from it, get on with most household tasks bar cleaning the rest of the house, and gardening.

Easy to clean and pleasant to be in is really important to me in my utility. I am having a beautiful blind made of fabric from a house I lived in as a child. For others, its less important.

WestonDave

What I'd like is a laundry chute from somewhere upstairs to a utility space downstairs but its never going to happen in our house layout!

lessonlearned

WestonDave wrote: »

What I'd like is a laundry chute from somewhere upstairs to a utility space downstairs but its never going to happen in our house layout!

And one of those Butler lift things to take it all back upstairs again.

Oh and a maid to iron it all and put it all away nicely.

:rotfl::rotfl:

WestonDave

lessonlearned wrote: »

And one of those Butler lift things to take it all back upstairs again.

Oh and a maid to iron it all and put it all away nicely.

:rotfl::rotfl:

To be fair we never iron and carrying it back upstairs and actually putting it away isn't that hard - something that sorted and folded it would be fab though!

ic

I saw this done on an American house programme - the theory is you get changed up stairs, so why not wash and dry the clothes up stairs too, and therefore avoid the need to carry all the washing downstairs, and then back up again once washed.

Makes sense to me. In my house we dry indoors up stairs more than we do outside - if I had the room it'd be a serious consideration to move the machine upstairs.

I do agree with an earlier comment however, if you run the machine at night, be concious of how loud it might be. Perhaps you can ensure steps are taken to insulate the noise.

DigForVictory

As someone who has lugged her own washing machine into location, ground floor thankyou!

As for this "with families" bit, all the more reason. Much more laundry, so make the little dears learn to lug laundry baskets (we use the big plastic builders trugs - http://www.stadiumbuildingproducts.com/buckets-n-tubs/rhino-flexi-tubs-40litre.html) and the main issue is getting them to get the folded stuff off our bed so I can sleep in it.

Why have staff when you can train children?

If you live a more bachelor lifestyle & can sleep through the machine whirring & sloshing etc behind a closed door, arrange your home to suit yourself!

tired_dad

I think the point is that in a large house laundry/ ironing/drying/storing facilities on first floor make life easier for everyone. Concrete floors and proper walls should mean no major disturbance.

It's is the better way to do things but this only works in a large house. If you're lucky enough to live in 5000sq ft then it's great. For most uk houses it won't work because there isn't enough room and bedrooms are too close etc.

New build is the perfect opportunity to have a nice first floor laundry. If you prefer downstairs then by all means have it downstairs but ideally as a stand alone room not utility attached to kitchen. Better to use a utility as a dirty kitchen for meat prep etc.

lostinrates

tired_dad wrote: »

I think the point is that in a large house laundry/ ironing/drying/storing facilities on first floor make life easier for everyone. Concrete floors and proper walls should mean no major disturbance.

It's is the better way to do things but this only works in a large house. If you're lucky enough to live in 5000sq ft then it's great. For most uk houses it won't work because there isn't enough room and bedrooms are too close etc.

New build is the perfect opportunity to have a nice first floor laundry. If you prefer downstairs then by all means have it downstairs but ideally as a stand alone room not utility attached to kitchen. Better to use a utility as a dirty kitchen for meat prep etc.

My finished house is about that size. I still opt for down stairs. We had in bathroom in our Milan flat and I vaguely remember upstairs as a child on other continents. My point is its not easier for EVERYONE but will be easier for some. The trick is not to do what every one does but to get it right for oneself, surely? On MSE it would be foolish not to point out the costs of drying inside by default.

DRP

how are people drying their clothes upstairs?

indoor clothes horse/line? difficult in a small room.
tumble dryer? surely not for everything (expense).
outside clothes line? means you still have to traipse up and down the stairs.

Am i missing something or is it much more practical to do your washing downstairs?