Poll: Laundry up or down?

Where do you prefer the laundry room?

  • Upstairs

    Votes: 32 74.4%

  • Downstairs

    Votes: 10 23.3%

  • In the garage (old school)

    Votes: 1 2.3%

  • Other (laundromat)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    43
irvinehomeowner

irvinehomeowner

Well-known member
Kpop time!

So, where do you prefer the laundry room?

Newer homes have them upstairs but there are still some plans that have them downstairs... does it matter to you?
 
I think people who have not had laundry rooms upstairs don't realize how convenient they are (like 3-car wide garages).

Our first home had the laundry in the garage... but that was fine because it was a 1-story house. When we moved into a home with an upstairs laundry, it was like someone invented the microwave... it changed things for us. Then we moved into a home with the laundry downstairs and it was like we got thrown into the Stone Age... and worse, our laundry room was the pass-thru between the garage and the house so if we had guests over... we always had to make sure we put away our "dirty laundry".

And I'm the kind of person who gets my clothes AFTER I shower so if there is nothing clean in our closet or drawers... I'm going to the laundry room. Not very fun if you're in your bathrobe, towel (or birthday suit) having to travel downstairs to get some clothes.
 
Agreed, upstairs...  I mean it's bad enough to have to cart your laundry down/up a flight of stairs, but to have to cross through the living areas with it? Nah. 

That was one thing I hated about the 3-story models of San Carlos Court.  There's a bedroom on every floor but the laundry room is on the ground floor.  I'd need a chute/dumbwaiter installed!
 
Neither. Just pull a "Camille."

If your Camille from The Housewives of Beverly Hills it doesn't matter because you have four nannies for two children so they can deal with humping the laundry up the stairs. Heck, she doesn't even need a washing machine with four nannies, they could just hand wash everything on some stones by the river with all that downtime.  ;)

The stuff you learn from your wife's favorite shows...
 
downstairs, in  this sequence -> garage -> laundry room -> stairs..  so when I enter from the garage, take outer layer of clothing off, run upstairs in my skivvies.. and shower.  We're germaphobes and happen to work in the healthfield..  dirty clothes should not get piled up where we sleep..
 
ps99472 said:
dirty clothes should not get piled up where we sleep..
Click to expand...
The laundry room isn't in your bedroom.

You can always just leave a hamper in the garage as I'm sure not all your clothes are contaminated with the zombie virus.
 
I would like my laundry room to be between the kitchen and the mudroom or garage if attached.  And I would like a laundry chute from the second floor to it.

 
For the people who prefers upstairs, any problems with leaks/floods?  What was ur solution? Damage to house?
 
irvinehomeowner said:
And I'm the kind of person who gets my clothes AFTER I shower so if there is nothing clean in our closet or drawers... I'm going to the laundry room. Not very fun if you're in your bathrobe, towel (or birthday suit) having to travel downstairs to get some clothes.
Click to expand...

Please work. Please work. Please work.
200007_mib1.jpg


 
ps99472 said:
For the people who prefers upstairs, any problems with leaks/floods?  What was ur solution? Damage to house?
Click to expand...

The washer sits on a washer tray which has a drain that connects to the house drain.  This was true on all 2010 collection houses that I looked at.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_220820-131-1781_0__?productId=1166753&Ntt=washer+tray&pl=1&currentURL=%2Fpl__0__s%3FNtt%3Dwasher%2Btray
 
Irvine2Irvine said:
ps99472 said:
For the people who prefers upstairs, any problems with leaks/floods?  What was ur solution? Damage to house?
Click to expand...

The washer sits on a washer tray which has a drain that connects to the house drain.  This was true on all 2010 collection houses that I looked at.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_220820-131-1781_0__?productId=1166753&Ntt=washer+tray&pl=1&currentURL=%2Fpl__0__s%3FNtt%3Dwasher%2Btray
Click to expand...

These drains are of little use and should not be counted on. 

Physically, the aperture has frequently been found to be too small. It is unable to drain enough to cover the output of a hose bursting.  Also, with disuse, the drains are typically filled with lint and detritus that causes a blockage, anyway. Additionally, the collecting pans also are often cracked and don't direct any excess water back to the drain. It's a triple-whammy.

Best way for prevention is to change your connection hoses as recommended per manufacturer's specs.

-IR2

 
ps99472 said:
For the people who prefers upstairs, any problems with leaks/floods?  What was ur solution? Damage to house?
Click to expand...
Oooo... I have a story for this.

First week in our new home with upstairs laundry and got new washer/dryer installed by Circuit City (RIP)... but... the delivery guy forgot to put the drain hose into the drain and we didn't notice it.

Put in a load and went downstairs. Probably 20 mins later, I heard some dripping outside and went to go check, lo and behold, a pipe sticking out of the side of the house had water coming out of it and I thought... hmm... weird and went upstairs to check what the source was... opened the laundry room door and sad face. Because water wasn't leaking from the washer itself and from the drain hose, it was outside of the pan and soaking into the carpet in the hallway and the sub floor to the ceiling in the garage.

Luckily, our insurance covered it, replaced the drywall ceiling in the garage and we got brand new carpet upstairs. Since the builder had put in the cheap carpet, we got a nice upgraded berber for our $500 insurance deductible.

Since then (over 12 years now), no other issues and the convenience of the upstairs laundry overwhelmingly overshadows the risk. Others that I know have had no issues with their upstairs laundry rooms other than when having to move and how hard it is to lug a washer up/down stairs (which is why we hire movers... heh).

I think I've seen in other upstairs laundry rooms, instead of the pan, they whole room is built in a way the water will run to a drain (there is even a water stop door jamb to prevent it from going past the door).
 
I agree with +ves/-ves of both, but prefer downstairs - Less noise (wash/dry can be on while in bed), least destructive in case of leaks. Ofcourse I dont like carrying soiled clothes from Upstairs to Downstairs (<10 times a month), but hey - there is something you gotta give.
 
IrvineRealtor said:
Irvine2Irvine said:
ps99472 said:
For the people who prefers upstairs, any problems with leaks/floods?  What was ur solution? Damage to house?
Click to expand...

The washer sits on a washer tray which has a drain that connects to the house drain.  This was true on all 2010 collection houses that I looked at.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_220820-131-1781_0__?productId=1166753&Ntt=washer+tray&pl=1&currentURL=%2Fpl__0__s%3FNtt%3Dwasher%2Btray
Click to expand...

These drains are of little use and should not be counted on. 

Physically, the aperture has frequently been found to be too small. It is unable to drain enough to cover the output of a hose bursting.  Also, with disuse, the drains are typically filled with lint and detritus that causes a blockage, anyway. Additionally, the collecting pans also are often cracked and don't direct any excess water back to the drain. It's a triple-whammy.

Best way for prevention is to change your connection hoses as recommended per manufacturer's specs.

-IR2
Click to expand...

The drain is at about 2 inches in diameter.  That's a big drain that should take care of a lot of water.  If the lint is trapped there, I guess it's a different story.  However, I don't think you would normally have too much lint right under the washer where the drain is.
I do agree in changing the connection hose every few years.  Also, shut off the water valve to the washer when going on a vacation.
 
Good points, but I still haven't seen one where the pan will capture the water and send it out of the drain.

A good practice is to shut off the water main when going on vacation. There's plenty of places water can get loose; more than just the washer  :(
 
IrvineRealtor said:
Good points, but I still haven't seen one where the pan will capture the water and send it out of the drain.

A good practice is to shut off the water main when going on vacation. There's plenty of places water can get loose; more than just the washer  :(
Click to expand...

I have seen older homes that didn't even have the pan under the washer.  Even when they have the pan, there is no drain attached to the pan.  Maybe the building code changed since all the newer homes have the drain.  I paid attention to this detail while I was house shopping because my old washer overflowed due to malfunction and flooded my garage in my old house.  It was good thing that the washer was in the garage.

Yes, I agree with the shutting off the water main when going on vacation.  However, the grass may turn brown if  the sprinklers are tapped off after the water main.  I did that for a two week vacation in middle of summer and I thought I killed the grass for good when I came back.
 
bones said:
who has grass to water in irvine?
Click to expand...

I used to own an old house in Irvine with a "larger" lot, so plenty of grass there. 
As for the new house, there will not be a lawn.  One positive side is that I won't have to hire a gardner for weekly service.
 
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