Where to put a laundry rm in a 2-story house? - Page 2

[clane]

Originally Posted by mama kate

We discussed this a lot when we aere designing a house -0 the only think dh (an engineer) was paranoid about was if the washer became disconnected, a hose broke whatever and no one was home what a huge mess it could turn in to with possibly ending up with damage on the floors upstairs then damage on the lower level ceiling. I think it totally is preference though - it would be nice to have it where most of the bathrooms/bedroom are. also think about if this is your "final" house is your master suite up or down? if down then you deal with having to haul it all upstairs. just a thought.

One of the DIY/Home shows had a segment recently where they installed a water sensor/breaker switch to cut off in case of overflow, leaking, etc. So that worry can be aleviated, but the laundry basket up and down is always going to be the pits. IMO.

[CountryMom2e]

We live in a 200 year old house, so our situation is a little odd. Our washer is in the kitchen, our dryer in the attached garage, and I have clotheslines outside and inside (for winter months). We're planning on redoing the kitchen and adding a master bedroom above it, and we could put a laundry room upstairs.

BUT my preference is to have a laundry room on the first floor. I like doing laundry near the children. I do one load a day, fold it in the family room, and then take it upstairs to put away. If I had a laundry room out of the way of the traffic flow, I'd not really use it because I would still want to fold clothes in the kitchen or family room around others.

Just my 2c.

[zeldabee]

I'll be the weirdo...I'd want it downstairs. All we do in our bedrooms is sleep. My laundry is near the kitchen, which is near the living room, which is near the bathroom, which is near the bedrooms...ok, my house is small, and all on one level. But if I had a 2 story, I'd much rather the laundry were on the floor where I spend most of my time. Maybe a laundry chute would be nice...

Besides, I fold clothes while watching tv.: Only tv is in the living room.

[Lady Madonna]

I would *kill* to have the laundry upstairs. KILL. Even though mine is on the first floor - no basement - the hauling up and down is such a PITA.

Unfortunately, since I've sworn that I'm never moving again, I'm still trying to figure out how to get a laundry chute in; a dumbwaiter would be even better!

My brother's new house (new to them, about 5-6 years old) has laundry hook-ups upstairs and in the basement. They put their old washer/dryer in the basement for shop rags from his work and other ick things, and got a new set for upstairs. Now *that* would be the bee's knees!

You know, I used to dream about travel, writing ... now I fantasize about more convenient laundry.

[Jennisee]

As a clothesline advocate, I vote downstairs.

However, I also had a friend point that since she spends most of her day downstairs, she would have to constantly run upstairs to start and change over loads. If you spend most of your day downstairs, a downstairs laundry room is probably more convenient.

[dis]

I think my first choice would be to have it in a mudroom off of the kitchen (since we spend all day downstairs, running up and down to deal with the laundry would be a bit of a pain - much easier to keep an eye on the laundry when it's next to the kitchen/family room). My second choice would be upstairs with the bedrooms, but only if I had a fairly quiet washer and dryer, and a good drain in the floor. I know someone with upstairs laundry and she ALWAYS turns off the water to the washer when it's not in use - that way if a hose springs a leak the water is off and won't go everywhere until you turn the water back on and you'll be standing right there to see that it's leaking. I think that's a good idea.

My last choice would be what I have now - down in the furnace room in the basement with the spiders and the cat litter!

[phatchristy]

My cousins designed their house and their laundry room is between all of their bedrooms. It works great for them, their three kids just walk nextdoor and put their dirty clothes into a laundry sorter. It works MUCH better and is more efficient than their last home with a first floor laundry.

Here, we're in a ranch, so no choice LOL.