When deciding the location for your laundry room, you have more to think of than where you will get water and whether or not the machines will fit through the door. The laundry room’s location should be accessible from all points of the home, but should not be near bedrooms and other spaces where noise becomes distracting for occupants.
Keep reading to find out more questions you should be asking yourself and your custom home builder when considering where to put your laundry room.
1. How will this location help during laundry day?
When your room is too far from your kitchen or working areas, it makes cleaning clothes inconvenient. Imagine having to drag a load of clothes to and from your machines, every week. Keep the laundry room near areas of the house where you work or stay in the most.
If you place it near the kitchen, you can keep an eye on the wash load while preparing meals. However, if your kitchen is downstairs and you place the laundry room next to it, that might make it difficult to carry fresh linen up the stairs and into the various bedrooms.
2. What type of laundry are you going to do?
Washing heavily soiled kids’ clothes, sports clothing or outdoor gear might make a second-floor laundry room inconvenient. In this case, you might want to have a combination laundry room and mudroom, where sweaty, wet children or pets can wipe their feet (or paws), change their clothes, and leave shoes without tracking in dirt from outside.
Consider having custom builders put in a shower as well; this combination mudroom, laundry room, and shower can be the first stop for people coming in from exercise or play. This makes cleaning and doing laundry easier. However, it means your laundry room might be a way off from the rest of the house, and you might need a rolling basket or a trolley to deliver linen.
3. Who will do the laundry, and when will they do it?
Putting a laundry room near bedrooms might not be that much of an issue if you will do the laundry when the rest of the home occupants are not around. If you know that you’ll be staying at home and will be responsible for washing the clothes most of the time, it might be more convenient to place the laundry room near the bedrooms.
4. What utilities are available for this room?
You need to place the laundry room in a well-ventilated area with electrical and plumbing access points. Your appliances will need access to electricity and will require grounded, three-prong electrical outlets within four to six feet of where you intend to place the appliances.
Plumbing is also a consideration. Your room needs both hot and cold water valves, also placed within six feet of the intended location of the machines.
Finally, you will need to consider points for output. Your washers need a drain system; common ones are a floor drain, wall or floor standpipe, or a laundry tub. You also need an air dryer duct. Some dryers which operate on natural gas would need its own gas line.
Conclusion
Deciding on where to put your laundry room requires a bit more forethought than deciding where to place bedrooms. You will need a space that is both accessible and out of the way, somewhere that has access points for water and electricity but also a space for drainage and exhaust. Consult home builders for your renovations so you can make the right choice.
For the best home builders in Indiana, get in touch with Duke Homes today. We’re happy to help!
