Jeannie in NJ Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Our house has the laundry room on the main level but I have noticed that while looking at houses to buy, many of them are in a closet (not stacked but full size) up on the highest floor with the bedrooms and some are in basements. Now basements would mean taking clothes up 2 flights of stairs. But what about having the washer and dryer on the highest floor, what about possible flooding? Just curious as to what everyone prefers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer in MI Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 I wonder about this too. In our current house, the laundry is in the far corner of the basement. I don't want it on the second floor for fear of flooding. (Most houses around me were built in the 1920s - 1950s.) We are considering bumping into our garage to have it on the first floor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Is a washer more likely to cause a flood than a toilet or bath? That is my first thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 I've only ever lived in houses with the w/d in the basement. When we lived in an apartment it was so nice to have the w/d between the bedroom. So convenient. I'd love to have my w/d on the floor where the bedrooms are. I've never had a washer overflow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisamarie Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 I've had it both in the basement (2 story house) and now on the main floor (ranch style house). I MUCH prefer the main floor. It is right off the kitchen so it's easy to rotate laundry. And I don't forget to rotate the laundry anymore--can't tell you how many times that happened when the laundry was in the basement "out of sight, out of mind." I don't think I'd want it upstairs because then you are now running up the stairs to rotate laundry. I'd rather have it on the floor where I spend 90% of my awake hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardening momma Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 I would love to have first floor laundry. I've never had that in my married life. Growing up we had first floor laundry simply because they were very old homes and the basements were either dirt floor or rough cement floor and walls. Homes of that age weren't built for laundry in the basement. My in-laws have 2nd floor laundry, and I can see that would be convenient for clothing and bathroom linens. But I would rather have it on the first floor so I can do laundry (actually so I would remember to do laundry and not put it off even when I do remember) during the day while I do other things. Most of the time I just do not want to go up and down the basement steps. I have a one floor house (ranch) with basement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardening momma Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 --can't tell you how many times that happened when the laundry was in the basement "out of sight, out of mind." That happens so often to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momofsbandeg Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 main floor (where the majority of the bedrooms are). If I lived in a house with all the bedrooms upstairs I would want it up stairs. No toting laundry up or down stairs. You can purchase a mat (for lack of the right word) that fits under the washing machine in case it ever over flows.;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 With the bedrooms. We have a 2 story house. The laundry used to be downstairs. We put in a washer/dryer upstairs instead and I prefer it that way. BUT we put in a drain pan that goes directly down the drain so if it overflows (at least in a minor way) it will go down the drain instead of on the floor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarlaS Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Main floor absolutely! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whereneverever Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Mine is upstairs with the bedrooms. I honestly don't worry about it flooding, it sits in a plumbed pan so if it floods it's contained and just drains. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sahamamama Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Our W/D are in the yucky basement of our 1930s bungalow, but someday I hope to live in a house with a laundry room off the kitchen. That would be ideal for me, I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaners Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Ours is in the basement here, and it makes it very easy to put off. Our new (to us) house is only one floor. I'm hoping it gets done more often, but that's mostly optimism on my part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 I want them where I'm going to spend most of my time, which is downstairs (no basement here). I bring all the laundry downstairs in one fell swoop, wash, flip, dry, fold, and at the end of the day, take it all upstairs and put it away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 I have a fantasy about an upper floor family closet that contains all of the hanging clothes racks and drawers. It is centrally located so that each bedroom has a small door that opens into this room and serves as a clothes chute. This room contains the washer and dryer and all clothes clean and dirty. No clothes live in the bedrooms. THIS is my dream :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillametteMom Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Ours are on the second story (where our bedrooms are). I love having them there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Main floor. I had it in the basement in my old house and always "forgot" to do the laundry or turn it over plus it was a hassle to carry everything down. Now they are on my main floor and though I still have to carry laundry down, I am always on the main floor and hear it stop so turn it over right away. My husband would never have it on the 2nd floor due to flooding issues...ours in the basement did flood once when the pipe burst and the water kept running trying to fill up a washer that wasn't hooked up anymore. Ugh! 2 feet of water later we realized.:glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LBS Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 I want a washer with two dryers, so I can roll on thru the laundry. I always wanted the laundry on the top floor, to not have to carry up and down, but, now, I think I like it on the mail floor, so I can work on it, while doing other things. I think I'd be running up and down the stairs to start and stop the laundry otherwise. I like sitting in front of the TV to fold, though. I get the sofa piled so high with laundry. I even iron stuff when I have something I watch on TV, guilty payoff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissad2 Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 I have a fantasy about an upper floor family closet that contains all of the hanging clothes racks and drawers. It is centrally located so that each bedroom has a small door that opens into this room and serves as a clothes chute. This room contains the washer and dryer and all clothes clean and dirty. No clothes live in the bedrooms. THIS is my dream :-) :iagree: Oh how I love this idea...must remember for my next house! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 The main floor. It is currently on the second floor and it is much harder for me to manage throughout the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhomemaker Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 I loved,loved, loved having my washer/dryer upstairs with the bedrooms! If we ever buy another house, that is near the top on my wish list along with a gas stove (MISS my gas stove!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluemongoose Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 We designed and custom built our house. We decided to put the master and the laundry room on the main floor so that if we stay when we are old we will not have to climb stairs. Now my kids all have their rooms upstairs, so they get to haul laundry up when it is washed:tongue_smilie:, but we were nice enough to install a chute for the dirty to drop in the laundry room so they dont have to carry it back down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 We have ours in the bathroom right off of the kitchen. It's very handy, since that's where I am most of the time... that is, either in the kitchen or the dining/living room next door. Second choice would be the upstairs, however, where the bedrooms are. That's where 90% of the laundry ends up afterall. I've had it in the basement before too, and that's my last choice. We've never had any flooding, ever, from a washing machine. We've had toilets that have overflowed, and a dishwasher that flooded once, but never flooding from the washing machine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Top floor, by the bedrooms. I've had w/d in the basement and much prefer it upstairs. I've never had a flood and don't worry about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 I have a fantasy about an upper floor family closet that contains all of the hanging clothes racks and drawers. It is centrally located so that each bedroom has a small door that opens into this room and serves as a clothes chute. This room contains the washer and dryer and all clothes clean and dirty. No clothes live in the bedrooms. THIS is my dream :-) :iagree: Except in my house, the closets will also be the dryers - I hang things in them and push a button and they dry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukeswife Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 My rental house here has it on the 2nd floor. it's nice when you have to put things away, but I often tend to forget things just like when I had one in the basement because it's not on the floor I spend most of my waking hours on. I have had the drain hose pop out of the drain and that caused some issues. When I had my front loader it was horrible because the vibration made the whole house shake, not to mention it always sounded like it would come right down through the floor and land on my dining room table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureMoms Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Mine is in the basement. I hate it. I do 10+ loads a week, and have to haul every single one of them down two flights of stairs and back up two flights of stairs. Two of my children still need carrying up and down stairs, and I really hate leaving them all alone on the main floor while I run down to move the laundry. I vote for upstairs (or with the majority of bedrooms, depending on house configuration). I've had showers leak, I've had toilets leak, I can't see how a washer would be worse. That way I could forward laundry in the morning, after naps, and at bedtime. I could put things away right out of the dryer in less time than it takes me to just haul the stuff upstairs now. And I'd never have carry clothes up and down the stairs (except the small amount of kitchen laundry, I suppose). My second choice would be the main level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in NH Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Upstairs. This should have been a poll. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn in Ohio Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 My laundry room is on the second floor and I like the arrangement. My only question is why are so many second floor laundries so tiny? Putting the w/d in a small closet-sized room upstairs doesn't make any sense. I've seen that in most of the new construction I've looked at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 I want mine on the floor with the bedrooms, where ever they are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5forMe Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 My laundry room is on the main floor off of the kitchen and I love it that way. I do laundry all day and nothing sits in the washer waiting. As soon as a load is done, my washer beeps, I hear it and switch it. LOVE it! I would easily forget to switch laundry if the machines were upstairs (which is where DH has wished for us to move it). My laundry room doubles as a mud room, so there is a door to the deck which has a huge window letting in lots of sunlight. I leave the door to my front loader washing machine cracked and with the light shining in, it dries out in no time. I do not have issues with odor or mildew in my washer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeannie in NJ Posted March 14, 2012 Author Share Posted March 14, 2012 yes, Dawn, all the ones I have seen on the floor with the bedrooms are all in closets just long and wide enough to fit the washer and dryer. and Amy I don't know how to do a poll or it would have made sense to do one. Now watch it be VERY easy to set up a poll and know I will feel stupid for not doing it lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 (edited) Ours is on the main floor and I like it. It's right off the kitchen and so easy to rotate loads (and throw kitchen rags in). We are hoping/praying a home next to my parents works out for us to purchase. It has the washer/dryer in the basement. I hated the idea but now we're planning to make a nice laundry room with a family size walk in closet and off it will be a bathroom where we'll shower I hope as we finish that basement so I'm getting excited a bit. I'm thinking I might be able to just unload things right into a closet and when someone showers the fresh stuff is right there for changing. I hope it works out the way I'm dreaming it. Right now I still have to take the clothes to bedrooms (on the main floor still but down a hallway). Edited March 14, 2012 by sbgrace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfunnybunch Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 I like mine in the basement. It's quieter. Our washer did flood once, and nothing was ruined. There's more room. Our washer has a large sink right next to it, and there is storage for laundry soap and other cleaning products. It's good exercise. :tongue_smilie: In our old house, the washer was in a closet in a hallway on the main floor. It was all right, but I prefer the washer in the basement for the reasons mantioned above. Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaT Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 I have always had my washer and dryer on the main floor, until this house. Here the laundry room is in the basement, and I hate it! I much preferred it being on the main floor where I spend most of my time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyMSews Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Right now our laundry is in the basement, with the washer on one side and the dryer on the other, with the furnace and old chimney in between. HUGE pain in the.... I'm always behind on laundry. And when a family of 8 gets behind on the laundry, it's almost impossible to catch up. I would dearly love to have the laundry in a large room off the kitchen. Two of my IRL big family friends have this setup. So easy to change loads, lots of room for sorting items and hanging to dry. One friend keeps all her little children's clothes in there, so easy to change if needed during the day and it keeps the little one's rooms more tidy. Half the mess in my children's rooms at any given time is clothing. I would not like to have the laundry upstairs...our front loader vibrates and sounds like a jet taking off...I'd be ducking for cover every time it spins, and I wouldn't be able to do laundry during the night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 We live in a one story, but I would want laundry facilities on the level with the bedrooms for ease. In 13 years of marriage we have never had a washer leak or cause water damage, but two toilets have caused us to replace everything several inches off the ground in the bathroom and the room behind it, so I would not worry about flooding from the washer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hathersage Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 I prefer my washer and dryer to be on the same floor. ;) (Yes, my washing machine is the basement, and my dryer is on the enclosed back porch) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisIsTheDay Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 I prefer it in the basement. I've had it on the top floor of a two story, and my worst fears came true when the washer had (thankfully just) a small leak. It leaked onto the kitchen ceiling. I did not find the location especially more convenient even for the five years before the leak. I've had it in a big closet in the kitchen but had it moved into the basement. I changed that laundry closet into a pantry--not to mention the fact that laundry all over my kitchen floor wasn't working for me. However, both times I've had it in the basement, my bedroom was on the first floor. I don't like carrying the laundry basket up and down the stairs, but my kids are old enough now to certainly carry their own baskets (and do their own laundry). I wouldn't mind it in the garage either if I lived in a more moderate climate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
besroma Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 We've lived with all three. My least favorite was the w/d in the basement. When we had the w/d on the main floor (the house was one level), that worked great. But, my favorite by far is all of the bedrooms on the second floor and the w/d upstairs. I love all of the laundry being contained to the upstairs and the ease of putting away the clothes without lugging them up and down the stairs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukeswife Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Just wanted to say that our rental is a 10 year old house and the 2nd floor laundry room is big enough for the machines a 4 drawer dresser that I use for storage and has a linen closet in it as well. It's slightly larger than the half bathroom we have downstairs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MathGirl Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Our laundry room is upstairs by the bedrooms. I love love love having it up there. IMO, it makes my job so much easier. I've never had an issue with flooding (in the 8.5 years I've had a washer/dryer in my home). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitten18 Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Mine is upstairs with the bedrooms. I honestly don't worry about it flooding, it sits in a plumbed pan so if it floods it's contained and just drains. :iagree: I LOVE my upstairs laundry. My laundry room is right next to the homeschool room. When a load comes out, I take it to my bed to be sorted and folded. I also do the ironing in my bedroom where I can watch trashy, reality tv.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Ours are on the top floor in a closet area in the bathroom. We have stacked large capacity front loaders there. I vastly prefer having the washer on the same level most of the laundry is generated- clothes are taken on and off there, and all the bedding is there. The only things that need to go up and down the stairs are the napkins, kitchen rags and towels and the hand towels in the bathrooms downstairs. It is also easier to stay on top of the work this way as it is not a trek to the basement. That said, I do sometimes wish I could run the washer at night without having to hear it while I sleep AND worry that if there is a water leak or pipe issue is potentially a bigger deal and a bigger hassle than if it were on the ground floor. SO there are pluses to both, but for me the proximity to the bedrooms wins. Well, it wins until my washer floods. :tongue_smilie: We stay on top of maintenance and check it often though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 I prefer my washer and dryer to be on the same floor. ;) (Yes, my washing machine is the basement, and my dryer is on the enclosed back porch) Yikes! That would make me nuts. Have you been doing that long? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KatieJ Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Main Floor where I live during the day. My previous homes all had the laundry in the basement, and the 2 story house was a killer. Up and down 2 flights of stairs with laundry for a family of 6. I was glad to be rid of that! However, each time it was in the basement, my sewing room was also in the basement, and I would do laundry mostly all in one day. Often I would be doing sewing and mending on the same day. I don't think I would want it upstairs even if I had bedrooms upstairs. You still would have to run and up down the stairs to do laundry because who spends the day in their bedroom? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 :iagree: I LOVE my upstairs laundry. My laundry room is right next to the homeschool room. When a load comes out, I take it to my bed to be sorted and folded. I also do the ironing in my bedroom where I can watch trashy, reality tv.:D My bedroom (where we have no tv, btw) *and* my schoolroom are on the main floor. Only the kid bedrooms are upstairs. That is why the upstairs laundry is not working for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KS_ Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 I like it in the basement. I've had issues where there has been leaking and was very glad that it wasn't on the main floor where I had to worry about the water. Downstairs I can just mop it up and be done with it. We also don't have AC and so in the summers, having the dryer on the main floor would just add extra heat where we don't need it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 My washer and dryer are in the garage. I love it! We have had the washer leak twice and we were able to just push the water into the street. We also have severe allergies and change our clothes when we come home. Dirty clothes are kept outside. It's the perfect arrangement for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyinND Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Our laundry room was in the basement (aka the dungeon) in our first house. Didn't like it. Our current house is a ranch style & has the laundry room on the main floor. I love it! I also like the homes that have all the bedrooms, bathroom & laundry room on the upper level. Very handy to have it near the bedrooms/bathrooms. As far as the concern for flooding, I don't see it any differently than a bathroom or dishwasher on the main floor or upper level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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