AIBU to argue a tumble dryer is more important than a downstairs toilet

[user1471462428]

I have a three bed townhouse. Top floor has en-suite,middle floor has a family bathroom and ground floor with a small toilet. I would like to rip this out and replace with a small laundry washing machine, tumble dryer and a pulley maid. My mum thinks I will devalue the house doing this and it will be inconvenient for the kids. I’m looking to move in the next five years but don’t want to be running to the laundrette to dry clothes till then. AIBU

Downstairs toilet wins all the time.
Even a tiny toilet will suffice. I don’t want visitors traipsing upstairs and using the family bathroom

I'd prefer laundry room too. I've never had a downstairs loo and don't miss it. Kids are 7 and 9. We use the tumble drier loads - several times a week in winter.

when we lived in a similar house we had a tumble dryer in a cupboard in the bathroom, condensing ones can go anywhere, even a wardrobe if it's deep enough.

I haven't had a tumble dryer for 10+ years. I've not missed it at all. I'd miss my downstairs loo though.

Dont get rid of downstairs loo.

People without driers. Where do you dry your clothes, towels and bed linen in the winter?

Bed linen usually on the stair bannister if I have stairs, on a clothes horse if I don't. Everything else on radiators and clothes horses etc.

If it's one or the other I would choose tumble drier. Never understand this thing for loads of toilets.

My ex would regularly spend 2 hours + in our only bathroom. I think the waiting left me with long lasting bladder damage. I'm not exaggerating! I would knock, but he wasn't always quick to leave. With me and dd on our own, one bathroom is rarely an issue, but I really can't wait very long so my preference would be two bathrooms. Tbf I grew up in a family of five and we had one bathroom and it was never a problem.

Are people still not getting that the OP said her main living area is on the same floor as a toilet. Downstairs is the kitchen and dining room. I personally spend as little time as I can in the kitchen. I don't have a dining room so can't really comment but if I had guests round we would be in the living room mostly - not the kitchen.

Wouldn't it be cheaper to replace your washing machine with a washer/dryer? I always thought they were rubbish but we stayed in a holiday home that had one in last year it it worked surprisingly well!

I’ve never owned a tumble dryer. Given the amount of time my male family members spend hogging toilets, I would value a downstairs toilet, separate from all bathrooms (which can also be hogged...) over a tumble dryer any day. Also preferable for guest use, rather than have them in the family bathroom or ensuite. Where’s your washing machine atm? Can’t you buy a good quality washer dryer instead? And why is your house so cold? What sort of heating system do you have, and how much more could you ramp that up if you were saving money on launderettes or tumble drying?
That said, if you are regularly having to change soiled bedsheets, I can see why a separate tumble dryer would be extremely appealing. I would favour an option that didn’t involve losing the downstairs toilet, though, if possible.

Wait until you’re potty training and you might change your mind!
A dehumidifier in a small room with airer dries in a few hours.
Or put the tumble dryer in a cupboard upstairs?

I wouldn’t even look at a house without a downstairs toilet.

We have a heated clothes airer with a cover, takes up no room when not in use. One load of washing fits on it, and I have a 6kg washer. It drys in our conservatory, with windows on trickle feed, even when it's raining or snow on the ground. It takes about 14-18 hours out there when there's been snow, (no other heat in that room) much less on a dry day. It costs so little to run too. I think stood indoors somewhere it would dry over night. It folds up like a normal airer. My only tip is don't dangle stuff off the lowest rungs if it's really cold just put the stuff flat on top of the bars. I now hardly use my dryer. Towels or sheets just get thrown over the top.
www.lakeland.co.uk/24909/Dry:Soon-Deluxe-3-Tier-Heated-Airer?gclid=Cj0KCQiA1KiBBhCcARIsAPWqoSptKRQ26bPyq53lqd5bkPNtE0h0aGNULxvVBDisfUdtQI6X5gaj9yIaAiElEALw_wcB&src=gfeed&s_kwcid=AL!49!3!454401230781!!!g!!&ef_id=Cj0KCQiA1KiBBhCcARIsAPWqoSptKRQ26bPyq53lqd5bkPNtE0h0aGNULxvVBDisfUdtQI6X5gaj9yIaAiElEALw_wcB:G:s

Downstairs toilet vote here, I havent had a tumble dryer for about 7 years and cope just fine, I couldn't cope without my downstairs loo though!

It may slightly devalue the house. A lot of people really value a downstairs toilet, especially for when guests come over etc. And if you think about it, if you're putting a laundry room in that doesn't really add anything for prospective buyers as presumably you'll take your washer/ dryer with you when you move, so it would just be an empty room.

But I don't know that it would make a big enough difference to the value to be worth living in a less convenient way whilst you're there. If a laundry room is more convenient for you then you should go for it.

When you’re potty training you’ll be glad of the tumble dryer to dry clothes quickly. Just have a potty downstairs.

I don’t have a tumble dryer but I do have a downstairs loo.

I’ve got a Zambezi dehumidifier with laundry mode and use that for drying in winter.

Don’t know what the space situation is OP, but we have both in the same room: washing machine, dryer on top, sliding door then loo opposite.

[quote user1471462428]@swg1 my mum feels she has a say over every aspect of my life, but this one did make me think she might have a point. The past couple of weeks have been a nightmare with minus degrees weather and the boy I foster has started wetting the bed. It’s only been four nights this month but feel like my washing has quadrupled.[/quote]
My 4 year old is a bed wetter. People who don't live with it don't understand how much extra laundry it causes. Particularly with boys -- I have a pad underneath but they tend to pee upwards which means the duvet cover and duvet needs doing as well. I couldn't cope without a tumbledryer in winter.

It's your house. Get a quote for how much it would cost to remove it and for how much it would cost to put back in. If you're happy with that do it. Ignore your mother. You're the one who has to live with it.

(And advice for someone tackling a similar issue -- next time announce it as a done deed. We're in covid times, there's no reason she needs to know about house changes until you've done them.)

Do you have a spare bedroom? Put a heat pump dryer in there, doesn't need plumbing, mine is great

@swg1 I know my eldest was very easy to potty train and the youngest is still in nappies so never had any experience of bed wetting. I’ve got plastic sheets but foster son pees everywhere and sometimes gets up and pees on the rug too. He has very vivid dreams as I can hear him mumbling sometimes. He is very sweet but I’m glad it’s only 4 nights a month, i don’t know how his mum copes with all the washing!
@mootymoo I don’t have spare bedroom. My kids share the weekends we have foster son but usually they are separate as little one wakes up early and big one gets grumpy with no sleep. Tiny bedrooms they have a single bed and a wardrobe and nothing else.

It’s your house but I would give my eye teeth for a downstairs loo... we have only one and there are times when we really good with another. And they really do add value to a house.

I too had a bed wetting DS, and we somehow managed without a tumble dryer, it was a luxury we couldn’t afford and didn’t have space for.

If you can find a way of keeping both, then do try. Can you put the tumble dryer in your shed or in a spare bedroom? Or above your washing machine?

YABU, downstairs loo all the way!

Since the living room is on the same floor as the bathroom, I would go for a laundry room for 5 years. Just make sure the plumbing is altered so reinstalling a toilet is not a problem.

Can you reconfigure your en-suite so it can be useful to all the bedrooms? I am not sure taping it up is a good idea - you need to make sure the U-bends have water in them.

@EthelMerman shed is on the other side of the yard with 5 foot of concrete to dig up to lay electric, I’d have to leave the bikes in the yard which I’m not particularly keen on doing. I don’t have space above the washing machine as the boiler is there. Don’t have a spare bedroom, toddler sleeps on a trundle bed when foster son is here. My house sounds massive but is tiny.

@Melroses I do occasionally take the tape off and go in and flush the toilet!! The shower is broken so I just have one in the family bathroom. I’ve found it easier just having one bathroom to clean. Ex chose the house then left me when we moved in.

Phew! - I used to works somewhere where they used the old toilet as a storeroom (old building) and it used to dry out regularly.

Can you make the toilet in the ensuite more accessible so that you still have a spare, and there is less queueing as the children get older?