Washing machine upstairs on landing?!

[newtorenovating]

Hi opinions required please.

We have a downstairs utility but it is very cramped and we need to loose some of it to build a hallway (due to building regs as we are having a loft conversion / cheaper than a sprinkler).

Upstairs we have a big spacious landing with a window. We could potentially put the washing machine and tumble dryer and a storage cupboard for the cleaning products on the landing (neatly hidden away and soundproofed in built in cupboards below the window) Would that be odd?

I’ve looked at comments about upstairs utilities and negatives are mainly based on putting the washing outside and carrying heavy baskets of wet washing downstairs. To be honest we only put washing out for 4/5 months and the rest of the time we put it in the spare bedroom upstairs by the radiators as it never seems to try outside in autumn / winter.

So should I leave the utility downstairs (the units will be stacked and only a bit of storage) or upstairs on the landing which is currently lovely and spacious but a bit of a dead space.

We will sell in the next 2 years so I don’t want to do something too odd

I think it would be odd.

Such a great idea! Why drag all the clothes down to wash and drag them up again. We’re house hunting at the moment and so many homes have this set up. I think it’s a game changers.

We can’t put washing out due to my DS’s severe grass allergies so we don’t line dray (outside).

How would the plumbing work? I know in many other countries the washing machine lives in the bathroom, so it’s obviously not entirely mad, just not common over here.

I think my worry would be about things that can go wrong with washers and dryers - water leaks and even fires. They would potentially cause a lot more damage upstairs than they would more contained downstairs in a kitchen or utility. Then again, it's probably rare for that to happen.

Thanks for the replies. The landing where I'm thinking of having this set up was the original bathroom so there is drainage. Apparently you can get "trays" for the appliances to sit in which allow leaks to drain away so it would mainly be noise / fire risk that would concern me (along with maybe putting off future buyers).

I would be bothered about noise. Landing floors are quite bouncy iykwim especially if it’s a Victorian house as I suspect it may be? So you might get quite a lot of vibration, and noise on the stairs tends to carry both up and down the house.

I also find it much more convenient having the utility right by the kitchen as I can pop a load on quickly whilst mid cooking or can hear when it’s finished etc.

Where do you hang any non tumble dry clothes?

A friend who moved to Amsterdam has that exact arrangement. She says everyone there has their laundry upstairs. She’s a total convert, will never have one downstairs again, even if she moves back here.

We've got our laundry in the loft conversion bathroom. Absolute game changer.
Anti-vibration floor mats are a must for the washing machine, like this cheap and cheerful one (better ones are available)
www.screwfix.com/p/mottez-shock-absorbing-floor-mat-grey-blue-620-x-620mm/1374v

We have this arrangement- stacked washer and dryer upstairs in a cupboard on the landing. It’s really common where we live since all the houses are Victorian terraces. You don’t have to drag washing through the house which is nice, you can get a leak proof drain. The fire thing never really occurred to me as we’ve lived in flats before and you don’t have the option in a flat of having it separate to the bedrooms there and I wouldn’t run it whilst out for the day or at night anyway (way too anti social in a terrace).

You could stack the tumble dryer on top on the washing machine in the current utility.

Where do you hang any non tumble dry clothes?
Heated towel rail in the bathroom. We are guilty of drying almost everything though so there isn’t much to hang up.

Ours is upstairs. The noise isn’t a problem and I don’t find it inconvenient to hang washing up. If it was downstairs I’d still have to bring the laundry downstairs to wash and back upstairs once dry. I’m not doing any more trips in summer and less in winter.

Not odd at all if it's all nicely boxed away.

@minipieI we currently hang most non tumble things in the upstairs bedroom anyway (which is opposite where there washing machine would be)

@YesThisIsMe Thankyou I will definitely get something like that if I go ahead.

@tanstaafl I’d have to if we keep it downstairs as it will be a very small cupboard more than a utility “room”

@AnnPerkins I was inspired by some European friends who have there’s upstairs

It sounds like this configuration wouldnt put everyone off so I might go for it!

I would absolutely do this. Makes so much more sense than joking everything downstairs only to carry it back again. If done properly, there shouldn't be any issues.

Yes if you hang any non tumble dry stuff upstairs anyway then this does make sense.

I would definitely try to line the cupboard base with some kind of rubber matting a) for shock absorption/sound proofing and b) in case of leaks.