Washing Machine in Kitchen

[mum]

6 hours ago, BandH said:

Do most apartments in Germany and England have balconies?  That isn’t true where I live.  

I lived in England over 20 years. Yes, washer is usually in the kitchen. Most people I knew did not own a dryer. I cloth diapered my kids and didn't own a dryer. We dried clothes and diapers on the line every day that wasn't wet. When it was wet, we dried clothes on a folding drying rack indoors, or draped clothes over the radiators. Also many bathrooms have an "airing cupboard" where the hot water heater is, and clothes that are a little damp can go in there to finish drying.

I own a dryer now in the US, and I use it about 4 times a year to dry fabric for sewing projects. Drying clothes on the line is my preferred way, it's easier on the clothes, completely free, and I enjoy hanging clothes out. 

[Acorn]

I have had this in two places in Ohio. First was a townhouse that had a full size washer and dryer in a pantry closet in kitchen. At the time, we were so glad to rent a unit that had laundry hookups after 6 years of dorms and laundry mats.Then we rented a house and had a brief tour before signing lease. I knew on paper it said washer and dryer included. I didn’t pay close attention on the tour. Imagine my shock when I went to wash curtains before hanging them on our first day of possession but we weren’t moving in yet. I went to the (1 of 4) bedrooms that had a dryer and there was no washer. It turns out that the washing machine was built in under kitchen counter. I had assumed that was a dishwasher. At the time, I had never heard of front loading washers. We only needed one bedroom, so the dryer location wasn’t a problem. I didn’t like carrying wet loads of laundry. 
 

Houses in that city were built in the 50s. I would often wonder if other houses had refitted for laundry hookups or if people had to use laundry mats.

[freesia]

12 hours ago, BandH said:

Do most apartments in Germany and England have balconies?  That isn’t true where I live.  

When I lived in Ireland—we could string the clothes out the window of our flat on a line over the small back yard. 

[maize]

22 hours ago, Chelli said:

But why not the bathroom plumbing? It makes more sense in my mind to wash clothes where you are removing clothes and/or closer to the bedrooms. 

I'm not trying to be argumentative. I just find it really interesting. 

Also, is the dryer in the kitchen as well or somewhere else in the home since it doesn't require plumbing? 

Most often there isn't a dryer. Most of the world hang dries their clothes.

Sometimes one machine both washes and dries (condenser dryer, like Bosche dIshwashers).

Edited May 13, 2023 by maize

[shawthorne44]

16 hours ago, skimomma said:

I had a friend that had it inside the primary bedroom closet.  I thought that was pretty smart but my house does not have closets so.......

I have the washing machine next to my closet and an opening between with a rod going from next to the washing machine, into the closet.   So, for all our clothes, I hang them on hangers straight from the washer and space them out so they can dry.   When our clothes are dry I just push them into the closet.  There is a low rod.  That is used for empty hangers.  I also hang DD's clothes there.  

I've also heard of the idea of a Family Closet for large families.  A bedroom is designated as the family closet.  Everyone's clothes are in there as well as the washer and dryer and etc. for clothes.  People don't change clothes in there, they just grab their clothes and take them back to their bedrooms.  

 

[maize]

15 minutes ago, shawthorne44 said:

I've also heard of the idea of a Family Closet for large families.  A bedroom is designated as the family closet.  Everyone's clothes are in there as well as the washer and dryer and etc. for clothes.  People don't change clothes in there, they just grab their clothes and take them back to their bedrooms.  

 

We do this. Our family closet is actually our garage, which we semi-finished (insulated etc.). The washer and dryer are in there and I have an entire wall of large plastic stacking drawers where people's clothes go. Hanging clothes go on the garage door rails!

People grab their clean clothes and go change in a bedroom or bathroom. 

[Jaybee]

Having had the laundry facilities in the basement, that is definitely my least favorite. I'm clumsy, and it makes me nervous to carry baskets of clothes up and down the stairs. One place they were in an outside room off of a carport. That wasn't bad, but I prefer them on the main floor of the house somewhere. Overseas, we had lots of drying racks for our large-ish family. In the dry season, they were outside on balconies. During the rainy season, we'd set them up in the living room under fans. I didn't really like my living room decorated with drying clothes, but that's just how it was. I would like to have a large drying rack like we had there (though for everything, I had 3 racks), but it hasn't been real high on my spending list, and I want to make sure it's good and sturdy.

[stephanier.1765]

We have a dryer but, for clothes, most of the time I use the rack I bought it from IKEA years ago. One of the best purchases I've ever made and I wouldn't sell it for anything, since I've never seen one like it since. Here in Florida, ceiling fans are the norm so I sit the rack underneath one and you'd be surprised just how quickly those clothes can dry. Mostly I use the dryer for big things, such as linens. Our laundry area is a closet in the hall, across from the bathroom and the rooms that once belonged to my children. When they lived at home, it was so convenient to have the washer and dryer so close to where they bathed and dressed.

[LucyStoner]

Most of the mid century homes around here seem to have the washer and dryer in either the kitchen, a closet or hall off of the kitchen or the garage.  Houses that are older than that but haven’t had a full remodel tend to have them in the basements or occasionally, on a screened in porch.  It’s only houses built fairly recently that have a laundry room away from the kitchen, garage or basement.  

If I used drying racks for everything inside, there would be little way to navigate the apartment (small space, 5 people) so I definitely appreciate having a dryer.  As it is, we shimmy around the sweaters and similar drying.  We are in an apartment and the W/D hookups are in a hall closet around the corner from the kitchen.  

Edited May 13, 2023 by LucyStoner

[elegantlion]

16 hours ago, BandH said:

I know people hang their laundry in the backyard, but how do people in small apartments with no yards dry their clothing?  I don’t know how I would pull that off in my current space.

I hang 95% of my laundry. We live in an apartment. I hang my clothes off doors, or on the shower rod. We currently do not have patio or balcony space. In my previous house, I hung items on the deck. SO does put his clothes in the dryer which makes it easier. With few exceptions, most things dry overnight in all sorts of weather. We do laundry once a week, so it's just one day of the week that it's a bit awkward. We're considering moving to a place with a patio, so I'll probably get a drying rack. 

[Not_a_Number]

Our washer and dryer are in a closet in the kitchen. (We’re in Manhattan.) So it doesn’t seem weird to me.

[Gil]

Our washing machine was in the kitchen when I grew up in the US.

 

 

 

[freesia]

My mother moved the washer out of the kitchen to the basement when we moved into a house in 1973. (1920’s house)

[Laura Corin]

For reference, a lot of the UK housing stock predates indoor plumbing - apparently most was built before 1919.  So bathrooms have to be squeezed into previous bedroom space or thrown out the back of the house as an extension.  It's very common to have an extension that has a kitchen on the ground (US first) floor and a bathroom upstairs, with nowhere to put a utility room.  So things are tight.  I just checked and in order to fit a socket in a bathroom, by law there would been to be three metres (ten feet) of space between the bath/shower and the socket, which means no washer/dryer in almost all bathrooms.  Below would be a typical good sized home - planning regulations would not normally allow much more extension with that size of garden.

 

For fun, this house is for sale now, so you can see how tight the layout is despite the asking price of £1.65 million (USD 2 million)

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/134200379#/floorplan?activePlan=1&channel=RES_BUY

Edited May 13, 2023 by Laura Corin

[J-rap]

It makes sense to have to squeeze in washer/dryers and even bathrooms wherever you can in older homes.  Our home was 100+ years old (in the USA), and we put the washer/dryer in the kitchen pantry.   (I loved it there -- very handy!)   When the house was built, there was no indoor bathroom at all.  Over the years, the previous owners built a small addition upstairs, adding a bathroom to the only place feasible, which was basically slapped onto the outdoor wall of a bedroom.  You had to walk through that bedroom to get to the main bathroom.  😄

We've rarely stayed anywhere in Europe that has dryers.  They do seem to hang their clothes on lines (although that's likely changing with newer homes) -- on balconies, patios, even above tubs.  We stayed in one apartment where the clothesline was high above the tub (very tall ceilings); you'd pull it up and down via a pulley.  Pull it down to place the clothes on it, then pull it up again while they're drying, and out of the way.  Very ingenious!   I liked it!

[Laura Corin]

3 minutes ago, J-rap said:

 We stayed in one apartment where the clothesline was high above the tub (very tall ceilings); you'd pull it up and down via a pulley.  Pull it down to place the clothes on it, then pull it up again while they're drying, and out of the way.  Very ingenious!   I liked it!

We had one of those pulley systems in the flat we owned in London - very high ceiling in the bathroom (which had been cut out of part of a reception room, so was meant to look grand).  It worked well.

[fairfarmhand]

8 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

For reference, a lot of the UK housing stock predates indoor plumbing - apparently most was built before 1919.  So bathrooms have to be squeezed into previous bedroom space or thrown out the back of the house as an extension.  It's very common to have an extension that has a kitchen on the ground (US first) floor and a bathroom upstairs, with nowhere to put a utility room.  So things are tight.  I just checked and in order to fit a socket in a bathroom, by law there would been to be three metres (ten feet) of space between the bath/shower and the socket, which means no washer/dryer in almost all bathrooms.  Below would be a typical good sized home - planning regulations would not normally allow much more extension with that size of garden.

 

For fun, this house is for sale now, so you can see how tight the layout is despite the asking price of £1.65 million (USD 2 million)

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/134200379#/floorplan?activePlan=1&channel=RES_BUY

I watch a bbc show called escape to the country and yes, compared to us homes, the British homes are quite small. But they are overwhelmingly quite cozy. I also think the character of the old homes is super interesting.

I’m always amazed that most British master bedrooms are large enough for little more than a bed and maybe a small chest. Desk or chair.

Edited May 14, 2023 by fairfarmhand

[Laura Corin]

35 minutes ago, fairfarmhand said:

I watch a bbc show called escape to the country and yes, compared to us homes, the British homes are quite small. But they are overwhelmingly quite cozy. I also think the character of the old homes is super interesting.

I’m always amazed that most British master bedrooms are large enough for little more than a bed and maybe a small chest. Desk or chair.

Yes - Scottish homes particularly have small rooms that are easier to heat. Our  current house has a utility room, which I love. The master bedroom just has space for the bed, two bedside tables, one small chest of drawers and a chair by the window. 

A friend went to view a new-build house. She said to the estate agent, 'Where would I store my stroller?' He had no answer  - there was no garage, the hallway was too narrow and there wasn't even a hallway cupboard to fold it into. No other room could take the stroller and also allow space to walk around. 

[Drama Llama]

8 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

For reference, a lot of the UK housing stock predates indoor plumbing - apparently most was built before 1919.  So bathrooms have to be squeezed into previous bedroom space or thrown out the back of the house as an extension.  It's very common to have an extension that has a kitchen on the ground (US first) floor and a bathroom upstairs, with nowhere to put a utility room.  So things are tight.  I just checked and in order to fit a socket in a bathroom, by law there would been to be three metres (ten feet) of space between the bath/shower and the socket, which means no washer/dryer in almost all bathrooms.  Below would be a typical good sized home - planning regulations would not normally allow much more extension with that size of garden.

 

For fun, this house is for sale now, so you can see how tight the layout is despite the asking price of £1.65 million (USD 2 million)

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/134200379#/floorplan?activePlan=1&channel=RES_BUY

That house is almost twice my condo's size.  The price is similar to what that many square feet with some garden space would cost in a similar part of my city. 

[popmom]

I didn't read all of the replies, but I don't think this is a British thing.

In my current house...My little laundry room is right beside my pantry in my kitchen.

Our second home--built in the 50's--had the washer and dryer right smack next to the refrigerator in the kitchen. 

I've been in numerous homes over the years of various ages that had a laundry closet in the kitchen. 

All of these variations are much preferred IMO to what many homes have in my area--which is the washer is in the basement.

 

Edited May 14, 2023 by popmom

[Melissa in Australia]

My laundry area is in a seperate building to the house. Right next to the doorway if what we call a bungalow and people in north America call a sleep out. 

Before that the washing machine was outside on the verandah. I line dry

We built our own house

Edited May 14, 2023 by Melissa in Australia
spelling

[Drama Llama]

20 minutes ago, Melissa in Australia said:

My laundry area is in a seperate building to the house. Right next to the doorway if what we call a bungalow and people in north America call a sleep out. 

Before that the washing machine was outside on the verandah. I line dry

We built our own house

What is that?

 

[Jean in Newcastle]

39 minutes ago, BandH said:

What is that?

 

https://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/resources/aus/word/map/search/word/sleep-out/Western District/#:~:text=sleep-out-,sleep-out,Also%2C sleepout.
 

I found this in an Australian dictionary. I have never heard the term in N.A. 

[Chelli]

Total spin off question... 

So does anyone here live in the South and line dry their clothes? 

Whenever I attempt it, it's either so humid they take forever to dry or we bring insects and other small creatures into our home. For example, my husband hung towels outside to dry last week, he brought in tons of daddy long legs when he carried them inside. 

The only place we have to dry is under our back porch so not in the sun. 

[prairiewindmomma]

8 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

https://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/resources/aus/word/map/search/word/sleep-out/Western District/#:~:text=sleep-out-,sleep-out,Also%2C sleepout.
 

I found this in an Australian dictionary. I have never heard the term in N.A. 

The closest equivalent seems like a bunkhouse.

[KungFuPanda]

1 hour ago, Melissa in Australia said:

My laundry area is in a seperate building to the house. Right next to the doorway if what we call a bungalow and people in north America call a sleep out. 

Before that the washing machine was outside on the verandah. I line dry

We built our own house

I’ve never heard of a sleep out. I have heard of a bunk house, but they’re not that common. I think an enclosed porch can sometimes fill this role. 

[YaelAldrich]

21 minutes ago, Chelli said:

Total spin off question... 

So does anyone here live in the South and line dry their clothes? 

Whenever I attempt it, it's either so humid they take forever to dry or we bring insects and other small creatures into our home. For example, my husband hung towels outside to dry last week, he brought in tons of daddy long legs when he carried them inside. 

The only place we have to dry is under our back porch so not in the sun. 

My parents have (they live in the Piedmont/Foothills of NC) in the past.  It did take a while for some things to dry but in general the sun won over the humidity except for thick things like towels or jeans. Tokyo Japan had this problem way more than NC ever did.  Things would MOLD in the closet during the rainy season (June-July)  unless you turned on the dry or AC function on the mini split.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Just now, YaelAldrich said:

My parents have (they live in the Piedmont/Foothills of NC) in the past.  It did take a while for some things to dry but in general the sun won over the humidity except for thick things like towels or jeans. Tokyo Japan had this problem way more than NC ever did.  Things would MOLD in the closet during the rainy season (June-July)  unless you turned on the dry or AC function on the mini split.

In Tokyo during the summer (pre a/c in houses) I would go to bed and have wet sheets from the humidity. And they had started out dry. 

[YaelAldrich]

3 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

In Tokyo during the summer (pre a/c in houses) I would go to bed and have wet sheets from the humidity. And they had started out dry. 

OMG  were your futon clammy-wet-damp during that time of year? Ours would and I worried so much! I stuffed the closet with "drypet" and turned on the dry function in the bedroom with our good clothes after I found spots on my DH 's suits. I didn't know what they were at first until I re-read my "Gaijin (foreigner) things to know when you live in Japan" books!

[Jean in Newcastle]

1 minute ago, YaelAldrich said:

OMG  were your futon clammy-wet-damp during that time of year? Ours would and I worried so much! I stuffed the closet with "drypet" and turned on the dry function in the bedroom with our good clothes after I found spots on my DH 's suits. I didn't know what they were at first until I re-read my "Gaijin (foreigner) things to know when you live in Japan" books!

Yup. I actually knew a gaijin/foreign wife who had a nervous breakdown over the mold and mildew. (I’m sure that wasn’t the entire story but it was what she was hyper focused on.). 

[YaelAldrich]

5 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Yup. I actually knew a gaijin/foreign wife who had a nervous breakdown over the mold and mildew. (I’m sure that wasn’t the entire story but it was what she was hyper focused on.). 

Go figure.  I started out hating the country.  Then the mold, earthquakes,  and monsoons sucked me in and now it's my second home!  😝

[Melissa in Australia]

2 hours ago, BandH said:

What is that?

 

Little detached room used as a bedroom. Usually in the back yard. Here we call them a bungalow. I found it very confusing when I visited Canada and a person was telling me how their family all lived in a bungalow. Me imagining a tiny room in a back yard and them meaning what in Australia is called an ordanary house. Single story being the norm here, cooler plus more roof for water catchment. It was a very strange conversation and wasn't until afterwards I found out we were both using the same word to talk about completly different things

[Arcadia]

21 minutes ago, Melissa in Australia said:

Little detached room used as a bedroom. Usually in the back yard. Here we call them a bungalow. I found it very confusing when I visited Canada and a person was telling me how their family all lived in a bungalow. Me imagining a tiny room in a back yard and them meaning what in Australia is called an ordanary house.

My uncle lived in a bungalow in a rural area and its large with the kitchen in a separate building joined to the main house by a short covered walkway. They also have a workshop and a bunkhouse (workers quarters) for their workers. They have a small manufacturing business.

My uncle’s former bungalow is obviously not any of these 🤣 and the government relocated them in the name of urban planning 

https://www.tatlerasia.com/homes/property/tiktok-ceo-chew-shou-zi-purchasing-86-million-good-class-bungalow-singapore

[popmom]

2 hours ago, Chelli said:

Total spin off question... 

So does anyone here live in the South and line dry their clothes? 

Whenever I attempt it, it's either so humid they take forever to dry or we bring insects and other small creatures into our home. For example, my husband hung towels outside to dry last week, he brought in tons of daddy long legs when he carried them inside. 

The only place we have to dry is under our back porch so not in the sun. 

Born and raised in the south. Central Alabama. It used to be completely the norm to hang clothes to dry on a clothesline here. The humidity just makes it take a little longer. You have to watch for pop up storms. The worst humidity is in the summer which is generally offset by the intense sunshine. You do have to have some sun.
 

I put laundry out to dry regularly on my back porch. I have never had issues with bugs or spiders. How long did you leave the towels outside before bringing them in? I’m usually (but not always) pretty quick to bring the laundry inside once it’s dry. But I’m not bothered by granddaddy long legs much. 🙂

Edited May 14, 2023 by popmom

[Laura Corin]

2 hours ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Yup. I actually knew a gaijin/foreign wife who had a nervous breakdown over the mold and mildew. (I’m sure that wasn’t the entire story but it was what she was hyper focused on.). 

In Taiwan, people used to have electric heaters in their wardrobes to stop the mildew on clothes. We never did - seemed like a fire hazard - but luckily most of our clothes were light and washable, so we kept it at bay.  When we reached Hong Kong, we ran dehumidifiers. 

[fairfarmhand]

17 hours ago, Chelli said:

Total spin off question... 

So does anyone here live in the South and line dry their clothes? 

Whenever I attempt it, it's either so humid they take forever to dry or we bring insects and other small creatures into our home. For example, my husband hung towels outside to dry last week, he brought in tons of daddy long legs when he carried them inside. 

The only place we have to dry is under our back porch so not in the sun. 

Dyed in the wool southerner. It’s the full sun that will offset the humidity. And I mean full bright glaring sun. My grandparents and mom line dried everything in Alabama, Chattanooga, TN and Tampa Florida. 

i think the spiders are just unique to your backyard. I tend to bring in birch detritus, because where I dry is near a huge birch tree. 
 

In the summer I can dry most things in full sun quicker that I can run them through the dryer even with 10000% humidity. 

[maize]

16 hours ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Yup. I actually knew a gaijin/foreign wife who had a nervous breakdown over the mold and mildew. (I’m sure that wasn’t the entire story but it was what she was hyper focused on.). 

The apartment I lived in in Nagasaki had a horrible mildew problem; I think I was allergic to it because I felt sick the entire four months I spent there. It was also the only apartment (out of four) I lived in in Japan that had an air conditioner--a mini-split wall unit. I would have thought that would have helped with mildew but...

[popmom]

2 hours ago, fairfarmhand said:

 

 

In the summer I can dry most things in full sun quicker that I can run them through the dryer even with 10000% humidity. 

So true! 😂 Bonus that it will be thoroughly sanitized! 
 

Downside is that your clothing and towels will be able to stand on their own unless you use fabric softener! lol

[fairfarmhand]

9 minutes ago, popmom said:

So true! 😂 Bonus that it will be thoroughly sanitized! 
 

Downside is that your clothing and towels will be able to stand on their own unless you use fabric softener! lol

Oh yes. Jeans and towels are definitely crunchy.

[Dmmetler]

21 hours ago, Melissa in Australia said:

My laundry area is in a seperate building to the house. Right next to the doorway if what we call a bungalow and people in north America call a sleep out. 

Before that the washing machine was outside on the verandah. I line dry

We built our own house

Both the houses we rented in Aus and in NZ had the laundry and bathroom (sink, toilet/shower) in a separate building-the one in NZ had a bedroom as well. It makes a lot of sense-it means you don't have to go into the clean house after doing yard work or kids playing outside-you could just shower and change out there and stick the dirty clothes right into the wash. 

 

[shawthorne44]

On 5/14/2023 at 6:22 PM, fairfarmhand said:

Oh yes. Jeans and towels are definitely crunchy.

This is why DH prefers to use a dryer for his clothes.  My skin is too sensitive for fabric sensitive.  

[Laura Corin]

9 minutes ago, shawthorne44 said:

This is why DH prefers to use a dryer for his clothes.  My skin is too sensitive for fabric sensitive.  

Some people line dry and then throw the clothes in a dryer for five minutes to fluff up if necessary.

[wintermom]

On 5/12/2023 at 3:26 PM, Chelli said:

But in the British shows the washing machine is actually part of the kitchen. Like here's my stove, my refrigerator, and my washing machine under the countertop. 

There could be historic reasons, as there were no bathrooms inside a lot of homes "back in the day." There was almost always a kitchen with some kind of water supply, though. 

Also, getting the clothes outside to line dry is easier if the washing machine is on a main floor near a doorway.

In Canada, we usually have basements, and most often the washer/dryer is located in the basement. Newer homes will often have the washer/dryer on the main level or upstairs. Very rarely is the washer in the kitchen.

Edited May 16, 2023 by wintermom