Apparently where to place a washing machine has been a 'hot debate' recently! It's even been mentioned by a popular TV show presenter on the Location, Location, Location show. Yes, presenter Kirsty Allsopp has weighed in on a Twitter debate over where we should keep our washing machines in the home:
Should it be, the bathroom as they do in many parts of Europe, the utility room if you have one, or the kitchen as we do here in the UK. I have read that most apartments and houses in the US have a separate laundry room for the washer and dryer. Not sure what you may do in Canada or Australia, or the country where you live ... do please share that with us in the comments (if you'd like to).
When asked by her followers, Kirsty explained: "It is disgusting, my life's work is in part dedicated to getting washing machines out of the kitchen."
The internet has been divided over where washing machines should be placed in the home after a woman on Twitter named Melis sparked a debate saying: "In Germany it's the most normal thing that washing machines are placed in bathrooms and not in the kitchen where it definitely doesn't belong."
The now-viral Tweet has had over 14,000 retweets, with many other homeowners from around the world joining in to share the location of their washing machine. One man from Romania explained, "same in Romania, why would it be in the kitchen? What are you going to do? Wash the food?"
In many parts of Europe, washing machines are kept in the bathroom (or the utility room, if homes have one). In the UK, the majority of properties have their washing machine built into the kitchen, partly because we don't commonly have electrical sockets in bathrooms.
"It's a very normal thing in a lot of countries. The UK almost entirely has washing stuff in the kitchen or a separate utility room just off the kitchen," explained another.
Others explained it was dangerous to keep a washing machine in a bathroom due to electricity, while another said Brits had no choice due to smaller homes. "Come to my tiny flat and tell me where else to put it then. Some of us don't have any alternative," was one reply to Kirsty.
Have you any views on the matter?
Which room is your washing machine in?
above images from google
my washing machine is similar to the one on the left
Happy Washing!
my washing machine is similar to the one on the left
Happy Washing!
All the best Jan
In Australia a separate laundry is common. I don't know of any homes where the washing machine lives in the kitchen.
ReplyDeleteOur bathrooms almost all have power outlets too.
...here the washer, drier and sink are in a laundry room.
ReplyDeleteWe are in a newer home now built in 2009. The washer and dryer are in a closet just next to the master bedroom. It is brilliant! I just take arm fulls of laundry out the dryer and throw them on my bed to fold and put away. In the region we used to live, the washer and dryer would tend to be in the basement which is what I was used to.
ReplyDeleteI guess it all depends on space. I've had a washing machine in the kitchen and didn't mind. Now I have a separate room for the washer and dryer that also includes a utility sink. I think that if you're happy with where it is, that's the right place.
ReplyDeleteIn Canada we have a separate laundry room, could be on the main floor, or in the basement or even on the second floor in some homes.
ReplyDeleteMost houses in the US have a small laundry room. However, my washer and dryer are in the basement. At my last house (built 1910), the washer was in the kitchen (no other place for it) and the dryer was in the basement. At my grandparents' house, also built around the turn of the last century, they had a washing machine and a crank ringer on the enclosed porch out back. I don't think they had a dryer.
ReplyDeleteHomes were I grew up close to Boston (1950s, 1960s), Massachusetts USA, had laundry connections in the cellar or basement (posh). Now,larger homes have a laundry room. When we moved into our first (and still) little dollhouse, the laundry connection was in the cellar...um basement because we turned that space into a playroom for our girlies. When we remodeled the bathroom, we had the tub taken out and replaced with a stall shower (geyser?) as everyone showered and nobody used the tub to take a bath. A linen closet was built in part of the space left over from the tub. An outside closet that abutted the original linen closet was also removed. That space was perfect to bring the washer and dryer, stacked, upstairs into the bathroom. The bathroom was wired with GFC (ground-fault circuit) so if there was a problem, the circuit breaker would kick in and shut the electricity to the room. All the living space in this house is on one floor. The house is called a ranch. Now that we are getting older, no having to go downstairs to do the laundry. Best thing we did.
ReplyDeleteIn the states, we often have a separate laundry room. I'd never consider putting mine in my kitchen. One thing I have always been concerned about was where to put them when you have multiple floors. Many in the states place theirs in the basement, which I think is absurd. You have to lug laundry downstairs, then folded laundry back upstairs. However, when I was looking for houses when I moved to Wichita, one of my requirements was a separate laundry room on the main floor of my house that housed my bedrooms. If I'd had several floors, it would have to be on the floor with the bedrooms, since sheets are easier to lug to the washer if they are on the same floor as the bedrooms, while tea towels and an occasional bath towel set can be taken to any floor. I enjoyed this post, though, and had no idea there was such a controversy over washers!
ReplyDeleteMost New Zealand homes have a separate laundry room - I've never seen a washing machine in a kitchen in NZ. Apartments have them in the bathroom or a separate cupboard in a hallway etc.
ReplyDeleteMy machines are in the laundry room which is in the basement. There I have also a big sink.I would not mind having the laundry room on the second floor near the bedrooms. Much more convenient.
ReplyDeleteMy first house had the washer hook-up in the kitchen. One house had hookups for washer and dryer in the garage right off the kitchen. One house we looked at had the washing machine in the hall and dryer in a bedroom--bizarre. Of course, we did not take that.
ReplyDeleteI do not want to go outdoors to a utility room or have washer or dryer in the bathroom. If I had to choose between having them in a bathroom or kitchen, I would prefer having washer and dryer in the kitchen.
Now, I have a laundry room off the kitchen, and I love that arrangement. It is not just a closet, but a room with doors.
I live in the US.
In Turkey we are putting them in bathroom, too.
ReplyDeleteThe people I know in Germany mostly have their washing machines in their kitchens. I live in an apartment, and we have a utility room downstairs in the basement for washing machines and dryers etc, so I have 52 stairs to go down and up again for each machine of washing....Valerie
ReplyDeleteNo kitchen, no bathroom, no basement. The washing machine is placed in an utility room near the Window through which the wet laundry is immediately placed on the drying strings. In a warm country one's laundry gets dried by the sun and that fact determines the place of the washing machine. As simple as that.
ReplyDeleteEach to their own, mine is in the kitchen and I am quite happy with it there.
ReplyDeleteMy home is very small so, unfortunately, the washing machine is in the kitchen. I've always longed for a utility room. X
ReplyDeleteBelieve it or not, in Hawaii many people have their washing machines outside. That's where we have ours which isn't the best place because it can rust. Ah well...
ReplyDeleteNot sure I want to get into that. (The debate!)
ReplyDeleteI can see the logic in having it in the bathroom except the logic for no electricity in the bathroom is much stronger. Ours is in the kitchen and there's nowhere else we could put it
ReplyDeleteIn Canada we have a separate laundry room with a sink in addition to the washer and dryer, cupboards on the wall, and a closet too. We also have our chest freezer in there.
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteOur washer and dryer are in the basement. In our later years we may be sorry having to go up and down the steps to do the laundry. Happy weekend!
When we lived in Germany, our washing machine was in the bathroom, in Portugal most flats/apartments have a laundry area right next to the kitchen, and in Australia there most houses would have a separate laundry room.
ReplyDeleteWe live in an old house. The bathroom has no window, no toilet.
ReplyDeleteSo the pre-owners split the small kitchen. Not so clever. The toilet has no window (but a fan) and behind we have the washing machine and a small window. Some storage place, too.
Well.. we have a washing machine, right, isn´t this great? A Miele, too!
In Tasmania a State of Australia everyone I know has a separate room called a Laundry for their washing machine and dryer. Also in this room can be the back door, a sink to do the hand washing and for the washing machines water outlet. Some Laundries have a cupboard, ironing board that pulls out, freezers, and some have their hot water cylinder in a cupboard in the Laundry.
ReplyDeleteSometimes the back door is not in the laundry.
Never heard of a washing machine being in the kitchen or in the bathroom.
"Many in the states place theirs in the basement, which I think is absurd." Not necessarily. If a washing machine leaks in a basement, the water will go down the drain without ruining anything. But if it leaks upstairs, it can damage carpeting and drywall, especially if it's a slow leak that goes unnoticed for a long time and allows mold to set in. And a lot of older houses have a laundry chute to the basement.
ReplyDeleteMy washing machine and dryer are both in the garage. It used to be in the kitchen but I wanted a dishwasher and so the washing machine had to go as the kitchen isn't big enough for both. There's barely enought room for a bath in our bathroom so that's a non starter. I think the houses in Australia must be bigger than the houses in the UK - I would love a utility room too, especially if my ironing board could live permanently there.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post..I agree..Definitely not in the kitchen..Here in the U.S. they are usually found in a "laundry room" or closet..Sometimes in the basement which is much less handy..At one time my laundry room was at the top of the stairs on the second floor..That was great since that's where most of your laundry originates unless you have a first floor bedroom..Yes, sometimes washers leak or overflow...then the basement is best..Thanks for this thought provoking post..
ReplyDeleteInteresting post ~ didn't know there was a debate about where to put the dishwasher ~ LOL
ReplyDeleteMine is in the kitchen right next to the sink and very handy ~ where I think it belongs ~
Happy Day to you,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
No room in the bathroom nor an electricity source to plug it in so the washing machine is in the kitchen. No big deal. Thank you for yourcomment on my blog.
ReplyDeleteWhere I presently live it's in the kitchen.
ReplyDeleteWe have a laundry room.
ReplyDeleteMine are in the basement and I have very mixed feelings about it. There are a lot of pros to it, but then there are just about as many cons. It is the only place they fit in our small home. I have been thankful a time or two when water backed up. It was just on the concrete floor and didn't mess up any carpet, or anything. I also like that I don't have to listen to them...unless I choose to stay down there and sew while I do laundry.
ReplyDeleteBut oh, the awful con is going up and down those stairs. What a hard time I broke my leg last year. My daughter did the laundry the first couple or three times, then I started choosing a day when I didn't have to be somewhere or no nurse coming, and I would sit on my butt and go down the stairs and stay down there till I was done, because I could not stand to do it twice in one day. And I would have roger bring up the folded clothes or the ones on hangers.
(Remember Roger had a stroke and was not capable of doing the laundry. Even if I tried to instruct him, he a lot of times can not remember a set of two instructions.)
I grew up with them in the kitchen, once mom got them. But even after she got them, she still did laundry with the wringer washer most of the time. I did like them being in there cause they were so handy...but if I could I would probably have them in a laundry room.
ReplyDeleteMost of ours here are in a utility room but here in Florida...ours is in the garage! I like it there, no noise inside the house. And since there's not danger of freezer conditions, it works well out there. Our garage has sliding screen doors across it and a ceiling fan. Life is a little different here in Florida. I hope you like you new set. I'm not crazy about mine. It takes close to an hour to wash a load of clothes! lol Enjoy your weekend!
ReplyDeleteEn la casa anterior que vivía estaba en la cocina, en la que vivo ahora está en un cuarto aparte ¡ es mucho mejor ! La cocina no me parece el lugar ideal. Besitos. ( yo vivo en España )
ReplyDeleteAn age old saying Jan.
ReplyDeleteOurs is in the basement- but I would like it even more if it was somewhere on the floor we live on. As long as I have one, I am flexible about where it is. :)
ReplyDelete~Jess
U.S. weighing in here. My washing machine and dryer are in the basement. It's fine for the able bodied (so far, so good) but the day will come when it would be nice to have it on the living level! Rick has his in a utility room (no basement) and that's a pretty good situation.
ReplyDeleteTeresa said...
ReplyDeleteEn la casa anterior que vivía estaba en la cocina, en la que vivo ahora está en un cuarto aparte ¡ es mucho mejor ! La cocina no me parece el lugar ideal. Besitos. ( yo vivo en España )
Google translate:
In the previous house I was living in the kitchen, where I live now is in a separate room is much better! The kitchen does not seem to me the ideal place. kisses. (I live in Spain)
In my small house (UK) I have a washing machine and dishwasher in the kitchen. Very interesting to read all the comments from other countries.
ReplyDeleteTina