apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Funny. these all feel like basement bathrooms. I installed a washer and dryer in the top floor / master bathroom of my split-level house and while I LOVE the convenience of having it there, when the front loading washer is in the spin cycle, the entire house vibrates. Apparently, top loaders are the recommended option if you're not on ground level.
It's ok though, because I know even when I have to move the load to the dryer, even if I am 3 levels down in the kitchen...

And it's smart too: if it spills (as they often do, unfortunately) the water goes through the drain and not down to your neighbours place below...

Waiting for all the squeamish "eww" reactions from the sill americans . . .

"silly americans . . . "

I wish I had a washer/dryer! In any room of my apartment! Sheesh.

To teeze: they do make insulation/vibration pads for just the problem you are describing. :)

Our condo has a stacked washer & dryer in a closet in the main bath. That's pretty common, is it not? Sometimes on chilly winter mornings my sister throws her towel in the dryer while she showers so it's nice and warm when she gets out.

http://www.swankydigs.blogspot.com/

I want my own washer and dryer SO BAD. I have to go downstairs, outside, next door to my landlords garage and do it. Ugh. And I share it with 8 other people.

No eww here. I live in the US but have quite a few Dutch friends. Their houses have a separate shower/bath room and some of them have the washer in there (few have dryers). The toilet is in a separate room. I like this arrangement although it takes up quite a bit of extra space. But it means a guest can use the toilet or shower and the other is still free. And when you undress for shower you can put the clothes right into the wash.

Right now my washer is in my kitchen which I don't like at all. I plan to move it into the back hall where my dryer currently is. In an attempt to save electricity, I haven't used the dryer for nearly a year (except for one or two rush jobs right before trips away from home). This will require some new plumbing but free up a lot of space in my kitchen.

lol...oh this is tooooo funny. my husband and i are living in a camper while we save to build a house...i've been going to the laundromat for 7 years! we finally have permission to put our sewer line in and we are talking about building a small "shed" for a washroom...washer, dryer, bathroom and dishwasher!

I like this idea. I have never seen it done before!

The only thing I don't have in my apartment is a washer and dryer. I wouldn't care WHERE they put the hookups. I would have a washer and dryer in 2 hours.

It's only "ew" if closing the toilet lid is not a habit in your household. Then I'd worry about toilet water (and god knows what else) landing on clean laundry.

We have a washing machine and dryer in our bathroom and it makes SO MUCH SENSE. Ours are stacked (top loader washing machine, and the dryer is mounted just high enough to allow for the washing machine lid clearance). I can't imagine how frustrating it would be to have a washing machine in the kitchen, or even worse, to have to go out to a laundromat to do all my washing.

I would die for a washer and dryer. I might even put them in my living room. Ah yes, doing laundry and watching TV at the same time. Awesome.

My parents used to have washer/dryer stacked unit in a small alcove in their condo kitchen with closet doors in front. Worked great.

In Europe, due to smaller apartments, it is quite normal to have a washing machine in the bathroom. Actually, having a separate room for just washing clothes is unusual to us, and a luxury too.

I'm curious, where do Americans put their washing machines/dryers?

I'm Norwegian and having the washing machine/dryer in the bathroom is very common here. Houses or big apartments often have a separate laundry room, but in smaller apartments they are in the bathroom.

As long as there is some sort of door, I'd be okay with it. I just don't feel the need to use the restroom and also stare at the washer/dryer - or asking guests too.

I'm from South Africa and in the newer flats they're building bathrooms without electrical outlets and making space in the kitchen for appliances.

I've seen older flats have washing machines in their bathrooms, but mostly it's in the kitchen here, for those who can't afford houses with separate laundry rooms.

The funny thing is these are mostly builder spec bathrooms from what I can tell. Swedish bathrooms ALWAYS have a floor drain, for that's where the tub or shower (the tub is rarely, almost never fixed and you can switch it out for another easily or a shower stall or non-stall shower) drains - the tub drain hooks into the shower stall.

Most Americans in SF houses have a basement laundry or laundry room on the first floor - aka a mud room which most Swedes have in a new SF house too. In apartments it's in a closet near plumbing, both in rehabs and new construction - and often problematic for leakage.

The toilet being right next to the shower is not appealing to me. If someone has bad aim... guess what you're walking in!

"when the front loading washer is in the spin cycle, the entire house vibrates."

Try adjusting the feet on your washer - They screw up/down to level the machine.

"I'd worry about toilet water (and god knows what else) landing on clean laundry."

Yeah, because we all know how things come leaping out of the toilet and across the room every time someone flushes...

I am more used to washing facilities in the bathroom than two different spaces. These pictures look more like wc facilities in the wash room, though. The utilization of space and cabinetry could have been done better to keep the bathroom feel.

My previous home (built in the 1970's) had a "Jack and Jill" bathroom (or so the realtor called it) which had two sections with a door between -- one with the tub and toilet, one with the lav sink and washer and dryer. It was really convenient except when the washer hose broke and the water went thru the stud walls and soaked three floors, causing $4000 damage in about 5 minutes, before we could shut off the water supply. (Fluke accident, but one to bear in mind -- no drains in our floors. We now only use reinforced hoses...)

My next door neighbor had the same floor plan, but she moved her machines to her basement to have a more luxurious bath. (Neither of us had floor drains in the basement, either!)

My new home has a tiny laundry room (just the size of the two machines and room enough to open their doors) on the top floor (again, convenient) but not in the bathroom.

Another apartment I once lived in had a washer & dryer in a closet off the dining area of the living/dining room.

But most of the places I have lived had laundry facilities, if at all, in the basement, including all my family homes growing up. I would guess that in areas of the US where basements are common, that's the usual space for the machines. My former in-laws in Florida had theirs in the garage...

Solvi, in the US, if you live in a house the W/D hookups may be in the garage, but a lot of new homes have a small laundry room with just the WD & some storage. I've seen smaller places like condos & apartments that have the WD in a closet either stacked or side by side. They aren't big enough to walk into, the WD is all that fits.

Yes, I will be an American who says ewwwww. Course, I'm a germaphobe, so lots of things are ew to me. But I would hate having the WD in the bathroom. I'd be worried about toilet germs, clothes getting wet (or worse, stained from a spill), and smelliness (from people doing their business). I would walk around feeling like I stunk all the time. My laundry is in the garage, and I would rather go out there in the 100 degree heat and freezing cold than do my laundry in the bathroom.

But, I can see how people would rather have a WD in the bathroom than none at all. Dealing with shared laundry rooms is no fun. Still I'd much prefer it in a tiny closet than the bathroom.

One of the mysteries of recent condo buildings is that larger units still often have only a stacked washer / drier in a closet only big enough for the machines. Like many of the earlier posters I was thrilled when we bought our own apt. and had our own w/d. stacked in a alcove in the bedroom hall. I was equally thrilled when we moved to a larger unit in the same building with a 5 x 5 foot room off the kitchen with room not just for machines but for laundry baskets and supplies. Only 21 sq.ft. difference (2x2 versus 5x5) but makes life much easier and quieter.-- and a better use of those sq. feet than mock luxurious master baths and bedrooms.