Cloakroom or Utility Room?

coachman12

davidmcn said:

lincroft1710 said:

Well, there's no such advice in my (Hotpoint) washer/dryer manual.

I'm not surprised !

AskAsk

coachman12 said:

AskAsk said:

couriervanman said:

Downstairs loo every time......the older you get the more handy they are

for me, i don't like people going upstairs to use the toilet when they visit as i feel upstairs is private space so having a downstairs toilet gives me more privacy.

i don't mind having the washing machine in the kitchen as it is only one appliance, so it does seem a bit excessive to have a whole room just for the washing machine.  we had a utitlity room at our previous home.  it only had a washing machine in it!

there was a downstairs toilet off the utitlity room, but it made the toilet not so inviting, having it in the utility room.  where we live now, the downstairs toilet is a proper room and it makes it more welcoming for guests.

Another posting that does not seem to make much sense. You produce so many. Why do you need more privacy upstairs when no-one is going to be coming up to your bathroom if you're in there ? How can you say "upstairs is private place" but "having a downstairs toilet gives me more privacy".
And you only had one appliance in a utility room ( but you don't have a utility room now----not surprising if you only have one appliance------what happened to freezers, dishwasher, tumble drier, CH boiler if appropriate, and all the space needed for ironing, drying clothes sometimes, keeping cleaning equipment and dirty boots etc ?
And it must have been a funny house to have a toilet off the utility room.
And now you have no appliances, no utility room but complete privacy on your lavatory instead of sharing it with strangers from downstairs.
And shouldn't the downstairs toilet should always be a "proper room" ? Whether it's inviting for guests depends on whether you have this problem 
  

when people go upstairs to the toilet, they go past the bedrooms and so i don't like people looking into the bedrooms when they go past as we leave all bedroom doors open.  that is how i feel so you needn't be so rude.  it is my home so i can do what i want.

lots of people are suggesting that the OP has a toilet and the utility room together so it is not that odd.  you obviously don't know what you are talking about.  my in laws also have a utility room that leads to a downstairs toilet.

all the other appliances were in the kitchen.  it is better to have the freezer, the dishwasher in the kitchen near to where the food is prepared and the dishes are rinsed.  and where the dry dishes are kept.  the boiler was in the kitchen, which is where they are normally located.

we did have a dryer but i never used it and sold it as i prefer to hang clothes outside on the washing line then dry it indoors on a clothes hanger in the spare bedroom.

we had a conservatory, so that was the boot room.  we used the spare bedroom for the ironing.

lincroft1710

davidmcn said:

lincroft1710 said:

AnotherJoe said:

lincroft1710 said:

AnotherJoe said:

Just buy quieter kitchen appliances if its that troubling. Or put them on when you are asleep or out. 

You shouldn't leave washing machines or tumble dryers on while you are out.

Assuming its because they may burst into flame, then presumably the reasoning is, better to burst into flame whilst you are in the house ? Possibly asleep (what with all the emphasis is on using appliances at times energy is cheap) ?

Yep, not getting that ........

If it bursts into flames while you are there and awake, you have the opportunity to call the fire service, before the fire spreads. If you are out, and it catches fire, could cause a lot more damage.

And I am only repeating what WM and TD manufacturers advise (or was it Dept of H & S)

Well, there's no such advice in my (Hotpoint) washer/dryer manual.

David, this article comes from a source quite local to you.

https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/edinburgh-news/you-should-never-leave-your-15984857

Bonniepurple

Downstairs toilet for me.  In fact, that is one of the deal breakers for our next house.  It must have at least 2 toilets, one upstairs and one downstairs.  Utility room- nice, but I’m not fussed.

AskAsk

Bonniepurple said:

Downstairs toilet for me.  In fact, that is one of the deal breakers for our next house.  It must have at least 2 toilets, one upstairs and one downstairs.  Utility room- nice, but I’m not fussed.

i think it is very important to have two toilets in the house as i have lived in a property before, where there is only one toilet, and it was murder waiting for the person to get out of the toilet when you are desperate!  especially if the other person tends to spend a long time in the toilet normally.

having the toilet downstairs is good as it means you don't always have to make a trip upstairs.  a utility room is never a must, especially if you have a large kitchen where all the appliances can go in very easily and can be built in so they can be hidden if you don't like the look of appliances.  however, a lack of a second toilet can not be got round in any way.

zagubov

One of the best features of zagubov towers is that in addition to a bath/shower room upstairs there's an additional toilet  under the stairs but also includes a shower using an inaccessible corner taken out of the kitchen.
In our first house the utility room was upstairs and was amazingly convenient.
Don't fully understand why people think they belong on the ground floor.

Teapot55

There’s been some brilliant answers to my question & a few issues raised I hadn’t thought of. My relative has ended up with a combined utility and cloakroom in the new place and already there’s plans afoot to split them by extending. That’s what I’d do too. 

On balance I agree that needing more than one toilet in a house trumps the need for a utility room.

I started this thread after reading a very civilised & informative thread on a related subject on a different section of the forum. 

(There’s a need btw to avoid rudeness on any threads of mine. I don’t care what the history is: be polite. You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry 😳 )

Teapot55

zagubov said:

One of the best features of zagubov towers is that in addition to a bath/shower room upstairs there's an additional toilet  under the stairs but also includes a shower using an inaccessible corner taken out of the kitchen.
In our first house the utility room was upstairs and was amazingly convenient.
Don't fully understand why people think they belong on the ground floor.

Actually, the beauty of an upstairs utility room is that you could leave stuff around and not be concerned about visitors seeing your mess. That’s assuming that the visitors use the downstairs toilet 😉

NaughtiusMaximus

zagubov said:

One of the best features of zagubov towers is that in addition to a bath/shower room upstairs there's an additional toilet  under the stairs but also includes a shower using an inaccessible corner taken out of the kitchen.
In our first house the utility room was upstairs and was amazingly convenient.
Don't fully understand why people think they belong on the ground floor.

Because a lot of people hang their washing outside in the summer, carrying a basket full of damp washing down the stairs would be a PITA.

Teapot55

getmore4less said:

When space is an issue  for laundry you can stack machines into a tiny area anywhere you can get plumbing/electric.
Size of a single wardrobe. 

Utility rooms don't solve the dishwasher issue as the sensible place for that is still in the kitchen space.

Not many houses have clean and dirty area multiple sinks for food based activities and dinnerware storage. 

Walk in pantry is a useful addition, loads of storage and can cut back on expensive cabinets

Don’t think people generally want a pantry or a larder but my parents had one in their fifties-built house and so when I was having a new kitchen I paid not too much to have a smallish one constructed (stud partition) in one corner next to the outside wall and on the end of a run of units. Like you said, you can store masses in it. What is more, you can find stuff because the shelves are narrow and numerous. I’d love to have a pantry again!