Basement laundry if I could have 2 washers and dryers?

[ksr5377]

What do you think?  We live in a 2 story house with basement.  Laundry is currently on the first floor. For a whole host of reasons DH and I hate the currently location and the only way to fix it is to move it and the only place we can move it without a major and expensive renovation is the basement.  However, everyone I ever bring this up with practically screams in horror at the idea of moving laundry further from bedrooms - such a strong reaction from everyone that it's made me think they know something I don't so I have left it.  DH, who really wants it in the basement, just offered the idea that if we did move it we would have room for 2 sets.  This would give me the ability to get all of our laundry done in one big day, my preferred method.  At this point I get most done, but still have to do a load a day the rest of the week simply because of the time the machines take.  Also, I would have room down there to air dry delicates, fold etc.  There is no workspace in its current location and so drying racks either go up in the kitchen or I drag all the wet clothes upstairs to dry them in my bedroom.

[Grace Hopper]

If I could have The Laundry Room of My Dreams, I’d move it to the basement. Two prerequisites: a laundry chute from any level with bedrooms, with  enough clearance for a sizeable rolling hamper to park underneath; and, a requirement that folks come downstairs to claim their own clean laundry. 
 

In my dreams this would be a brightly lit room large enough to hold two sets of large capacity w/d, a couple of rolling garment racks, lots of shelves, cabinets, and a Pinterest worthy laundry basket system. 

[kbutton]

It's not unreasonable. Are you planning on eliminating the current hookup or leaving it for future use? If you're leaving it, I think it's totally reasonable to move it. If you ever sell the house, then you can move a set back to where it is now. 

I have a basement laundry. It's fine. I wish I had better lighting down there, but I do like that the drying racks can be spread out down there--we dry a lot of things on a rack. We would like to move it to the main floor eventually, but that's more about aging in place. 

[shawthorne44]

Anyway to put in a butler-thingy to get the laundry to the upper floor(s)  

[Grace Hopper]

I guess I’m saying, make it desirable enough that if you needed to resale your home, potential buyers would want it just for the laundry room! Overcoming any objections to it being in the basement. If you only do laundry one day a week, the stairs probably wouldn’t be so bad. As your kids get older, they’ll do their own (mine did, anyway). 
 

If your basement is dark and otherwise not a place you’d hang out, maybe not?

[Selkie]

Our laundry room is in the basement and I like it. Our basement is a walk out basement, so not like a dark and scary dungeon. Plus, we have a laundry chute that goes from the top floor of the house where the bedrooms are. We still have to carry clean laundry back up, but that is no big deal.

[BusyMom5]

I have two.  One on main floor and one in the basement.  I love it!  Neither room is overrunning with clothes.  There are times of hauling laundry up or down the stairs,  but with such a big family,  I'm glad we have 2!  I have certain laundry rules- i don't mix everything together.  I have 3 'sets' of laundry loads.  3 big girls- they wash their own, but it only belongs to 2-3 people.  Me, little one, and DH nice clothes- I do this set.  Boys and DH farm clothes- boys and DH do this set.  Then there are towels- done by the bathroom that they belong in, plus kitchen.  I found out a long time ago that part of laundry stress was too many places/people to deliver to.  If I have larger stacks going to just 2-3 places,  they are much more likely to be put away.  Loads are sorted as they are dirty,  in their bathrooms.  

[Scarlett]

41 minutes ago, Grace Hopper said:

If I could have The Laundry Room of My Dreams, I’d move it to the basement. Two prerequisites: a laundry chute from any level with bedrooms, with  enough clearance for a sizeable rolling hamper to park underneath; and, a requirement that folks come downstairs to claim their own clean laundry. 
 

In my dreams this would be a brightly lit room large enough to hold two sets of large capacity w/d, a couple of rolling garment racks, lots of shelves, cabinets, and a Pinterest worthy laundry basket system. 

This sounds wonderful 

[Jaybee]

Maybe @Grace Hopper's setup would be okay, but I have really really NOT liked having the laundry area in the basement the times we have been in a home with it there. Part of it is that I am older now, and part of it is that I am clumsy. I don't like walking up and down the stairs with clothes baskets. Just one good fall could make a huge difference.

[katilac]

38 minutes ago, Grace Hopper said:

 Overcoming any objections to it being in the basement.  

Unless they literally build something in front of the original hookups, new owners could always move it back. Even if you walled it in, that's easy to take down. 

[kristin0713]

My last two houses had the washer and dryer in the basement. It was fine. Our new house will have a mudroom/laundry room coming in from the garage, which is my ideal. I had the option to put the laundry room on the second floor but my first choice is the main floor. I'm not sure that I would feel the need to get two washing machines. Two dryers would be nice because often it takes double the amount of time to dry a load than to wash it. Make sure you have the electrical set up to handle it, though. 

[prairiewindmomma]

For me, I wouldn’t be happy. My knees like carrying baskets up and down stairs less these days. I really want my laundry on the same floor as the bedrooms.

If you are already carrying baskets of wet clothes, I see why this may appeal to you. Personally, I would be looking for a wall mount drying rack that folds down when not in use for your current setup. I don’t care about people seeing my drying laundry, but I have lived abroad where that is more the norm so YMMV.

[HomeAgain]

I enjoyed our basement laundry room.  It was well ventilated, had a deep washing sink, drain in the floor, and room for drying racks.  It was wonderful.

Our laundry room here is on the top floor.  It's fine.  The original homeowners relocated it from a laundry closet on the first floor to the closet directly above it on the second.  There's no sink, no room for drying racks, and the laundry baskets are always in the hallway waiting for a turn. 

I think I'd rather have the basement room.  I don't mind walking up the flights of stairs and I felt better about the possibility of an overflow (we do have a pan that drains into a wall pipe, but still).

 

[wintermom]

Our laundry room has always been in the basement and our bedrooms are on the second floor. I've dreamed about it being on the main level or even upstairs, but dh is worried about flooding. The current laundry room isn't pretty, there are no racks for hanging clothes, but there is a big sink for cleaning our painting supplies (that seems to be all we use it for).

As it stands, the dc all do their own laundy, we can all climb stairs carrying our own baskets and it's good exercise. If we were to resell, the location of the laundry will be overshadowed by a host of more important factors, so that's no motivation to change the laundry. 

 

[Ellie]

If having the laundry on "near the bedrooms" means upstairs, then no thanks.

Sounds like the basement is your best bet. Do it.

[Drama Llama]

We moved the laundry in our current house to the first floor when I had a kid I couldn't leave alone on a floor, even asleep.  In that situation, it made sense to have it upstairs.  But otherwise?  I like having it in the basement. Yeah, the stairs are a pain, but I like having the stuff down there and out of sight.  I like that I don't have to freak out about the kids doing something wrong and water ending up on the floor.  I like that the noise is down there. 

The one thing I didn't like about it in the basement in my house is that it's in the same space as some things I didn't want the kids to have access to until recently, like the exercise equipment and the power tools.  My older kid could do the laundry by himself, before I trusted my younger kid with those spaces unlocked.  So, that was annoying that I couldn't just say "run downstairs and . . . " But your house might be set up differently.  

 

[Frances]

3 hours ago, Selkie said:

Our laundry room is in the basement and I like it. Our basement is a walk out basement, so not like a dark and scary dungeon. Plus, we have a laundry chute that goes from the top floor of the house where the bedrooms are. We still have to carry clean laundry back up, but that is no big deal.

Ours is the same. One advantage of laundry in the basement is that my husband’s dirty project clothes never leave the basement until they are clean. We also have a mudroom and if we ever moved the laundry upstairs, that is where it would go. My husband always has some project or another going on and his clothes get filthy. Personally, I have no desire to have my laundry stuff in the main part of our house. 

[Spryte]

I think this really depends on the set up and the family.

For me, we had a decent basement laundry setup, and there was work space, a family room to hang in while folding and doing whatever. Not Pinterest worthy, but inspired, and well planned. I like any potential water issues happening in the basement, too. We didn’t do a chute because my sister’s was always getting clogged up and we couldn’t put a wide enough one in. It wasn’t a bad set up, though!

But still I hated it, for us. It was the lugging up and down that got to me. It was fine, really, when I was healthy. But I got hit with some health issues that are painful and fatiguing, and the ups and downs became undoable.

We have laundry upstairs near all bedrooms now. ❤️

One story: our neighbors moved their laundry to the basement about a year ago. Awesome set up, beautiful basement. They were so excited! About six months later, maybe nine, they both ended up with Covid. Nothing but regret about the basement laundry since then. Boo.

So it seems like it’s ok as long as everyone is healthy or you have willing people to do the lugging.

[kbutton]

For people with 2nd story laundry or just concerned about water emergencies, there are a lot of options for automatically stopping a leak. This Old House runs segments on this fairly often. There are whole house options and options for just washers (or hot water heaters, etc.). It's on our long to-do list to get around to installing some kind of system, but here are some of the options (and probably not all of what they have covered):

https://www.thisoldhouse.com/smart-homes/21124781/future-house-smart-water-valve

 

 

https://www.thisoldhouse.com/plumbing/21017348/how-to-install-an-automatic-washing-machine-shutoff-valve

[ksr5377]

Moving it to the 2nd floor would be my dream!  However, that's much more of a project.  We live in the house DH's grandparents built on a farm, so there is absolutely no concern about selling it.  If at some point that happens someone is going to be purchasing it for the farm, not the house.  My youngest is 8, so at this point everyone is able to contribute quite a bit to doing their own laundry.  I like the idea of everyone else carrying it back up 🙂  And yes, it would be a large space and nice and bright.  I think we would leave the current hookups just in case, for later in life.  

[SKL]

I think it's fine to have the laundry in the basement.  My folks have always had theirs in the basement, including while they've lived in a two-story house.

I recently offered to bankroll a project moving the laundry to a 1st floor space, to make it easier for my mom, who is 78 and nearly blind with severe scoliosis.  She said no!  She wants it in the basement because there's more space down there.  She can spread out and not have to hide things when people come over.  I also think she likes that it gives her a reason to do exercise that she wouldn't otherwise do.

I have my laundry on the 1st floor - that's how my house came.  It's fine, but the laundry room is pretty small, so I have to be creative with a lot of things.  Among other things, I have to put stuff away ASAP, especially if anyone might be coming over to our house.

My only question about putting your laundry in the basement is, are you sure about the below-ground drainage situation - especially, can two washers drain at the same time without causing any problems?  Is the design of your drain pipes such that gravity will work with you or against you?

[amyx4]

I have a washer and two dryers in the basement. Only myself & dh are on the second floor. Teens are on the first floor. This house came with a laundry chute on the first floor. I cannot hear the basement machines when they're done so I use a kitchen timer.

You didn't ask the question but if you're open to advice....that many loads makes me think you have more than two kiddos? I want to encourage you to get the kids doing their own laundry. By puberty, each kid generates a load a week. Clothes are bigger cause the kids are bigger 🙂 They each have a hamper for their dirty clothes. On their "laundry day" they dump laundry down the chute and do their own laundry. It eliminates the sorting problem because it's one kid per day. At the start of each semester and the start of the summer, they figure out their own "laundry day" schedules and post it on the door to the chute.

On the topic of laundry chutes, some cities/towns/counties do not allow them in the building codes. Some homeowners insurances change more.

Edited May 10, 2022 by amyx4

[prairiewindmomma]

3 hours ago, wintermom said:

Our laundry room has always been in the basement and our bedrooms are on the second floor. I've dreamed about it being on the main level or even upstairs, but dh is worried about flooding. The current laundry room isn't pretty, there are no racks for hanging clothes, but there is a big sink for cleaning our painting supplies (that seems to be all we use it for).

As it stands, the dc all do their own laundy, we can all climb stairs carrying our own baskets and it's good exercise. If we were to resell, the location of the laundry will be overshadowed by a host of more important factors, so that's no motivation to change the laundry. 

 

We have a pan under our washer and an auto alarm that does water shutoff. We test it yearly. A single drop of water causes it to alarm and shut off the water supply.  I think we paid $150 for our alarm from amazon? We have it plugged in and it has a battery backup. It's showing currently at $182. https://www.amazon.com/Floodstop-Washing-Machines-FS-4-H90/dp/B00PM9A3TC/ref=sr_1_3?crid=F79WVQMMZEQ7&keywords=washing+machine+alarm&qid=1652219298&sprefix=washing+machine+alarm%2Caps%2C149&sr=8-3

[TechWife]

I think you should do whatever works for your family. If it doesn't work out for you over time, you can always move it back up.

[Longtime Lurker]

We have a laundry room on the main floor and a laundry area in the basement. DS (autism, cognitive delays) is incontinent and we do massive amounts of laundry. We do all of his in the basement and all of ours on the main floor. It was life-changing when we added the second laundry area. It is also handy when one of the washers or dryers breaks down.

[J-rap]

Both my parents and my dh's parents had a large laundry area in the basement.  It was great!  You can have a big table and take your time to sort through things, fold them, etc.  Both homes had laundry chutes from the second floor where the bedrooms and main bathroom was.  I wonder if you could add one of those?  

[Melissa in Australia]

My laundry is in a building separate from the house. The clothes line is on the opposer side of the house to the washing machine. Helps with the step count 🙃

I don’t own a dryer. People mostly line dry here in Australia. Culturally here in Australia   People who use a dryer  year round are considered extremely lazy. 

[KungFuPanda]

For us, a big benefit to basement laundry is that I can run the machines late at night without disturbing anyone. That’s tough to do when they’re near the bedrooms. For me, no matter where the laundry room is located, I’m going to haul the baskets to the living room to fold in front of the TV. It’s too boring to finish otherwise. 

[Calm37]

I love the space I have in my basement laundry - a large sorting table and a long hanging pole along the ceiling. The stairs really are becoming a problem, though, for my knees. Since you already have a first floor hookup for when you're as old as me, you are golden! The only option I have is the garage, and it would be quite an expense to get hookups out there.

[Clemsondana]

Before kids, and when my kids were young, I mostly did a big laundry day once a week.  Now that I have teens, laundry is often daily because there is a constant stack of stuff that needs to be washed to wear again the next day -  baseball and volleyball uniforms, practice uniforms, karate and jiu jitsu uniforms...  I'm frequently starting a load of laundry at night after the game/practice - I can move practice uniforms to the dryer but the game and jiu jutsu uniforms have to hang to air dry overnight.  Depending on the schedule, it's either no problem or I"m moving laundry around at a time I'd rather be in bed.  Sometimes I"m in bed reading until it's time to run move the laundry.  

In my weekly big load of laundry days, the basement would have been fine.  During these sporty years, I'm glad that I'm not running up and down multiple fights of stairs at 11 pm.  

Edited May 11, 2022 by Clemsondana

[shawthorne44]

15 hours ago, SKL said:

I also think she likes that it gives her a reason to do exercise that she wouldn't otherwise do.

I used to know a doctor for the elderly.   He said he wished all his patients had second floor bedrooms because those that had to use stairs were noticeably healthier.   Basements aren't a thing where I live because there really isn't a frost line.  
 

[lmrich]

Just don't remove the hookups from the current location and you can sell it later with two laundry rooms. OR have both. If you are ever on crutches laundry is so hard to manage; I can't imagine doing it with two sets of stairs. 

I have a friend who put a small washer dryer combo in her bedroom closet -  that is living the dream!

[shawthorne44]

For dream laundry room, mine would be like some friends of ours with lots of kids.   They built out their house inside a giant metal building.   They have a large room that is a combo family closet and laundry.  So everyone brings their dirties to the family closet, and when they dress they go in and grab their clothes.   When stuff is washed putting it away is easy since it is already in the same room.  

My second favorite laundry situation is mine.   I like to hang up my clothes.  So, there is a lonnnggg clothing bar that goes from the laundry room into the master closet.   Then down low is another clothing bar just to return hangers.  
 

[dsmith]

We have our laundry in our basement, in the unfinished area. We have two washers and two dryers, although one washing machine is out of service at the moment. I like it down here because I spend most of my day in the basement. We have a rec room down here, as well as my husband's office and my office nook off the rec room. The only downside is that we will run loads during the day and drape the clothes over the back of the couch, as we are both working. By the time we are finished working (do we ever finish?), cooking dinner, running errands, etc. we don't always get to the folding part, so there may be laundry draped over the couch at any time.😳 Also, our bedroom is on the third floor, and three flights of stairs to bring up laundry got to be too much, especially after a severe MS flare a few years ago. We have two recessed areas with small windows at the top and a bench at the bottom, so we bought storage cubes to put in there for our clothes, and covered them with heavy curtains. Nobody knows our clothes are there and it saves us from dragging our clean laundry up to the attic. Some people think this is very weird, but it works for us.

[Lecka]

I had a basement laundry room with a large table and it was amazing for me.

For me having a large space to spread out clean clothes and make stacks is amazing.  
 

However it was a finished basement so I was down there anyways and it was easy to grab a nice stack of clothes from the table when I was going up and down anyways.

 

It was nothing fancy in the laundry room but it was a pleasant space and I didn’t mind being in there at all, I liked the big table.  
 

My tendency with laundry though is to fold as soon as things get out of the drier (and set an alarm on my phone if I won’t hear the drier), but then take time to get the stacks put away.   So a nice, out-of-the-way place for the stacks was wonderful.

If I know I’m doing a second load I don’t want to put away the stacks from the first load, but then they are sitting somewhere — where I fold laundry now, it’s better to put away stacks quickly but it doesn’t always happen.  Then once it’s already sat out nobody cares to get it done.  But with the laundry table it didn’t matter, that was a fine place for clean stacks of clothes to stay for a day or two or longer.