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Thread Number: 24032
Utility Rooms |
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| Post# 373747 8/22/2009 at 04:36 (5,359 days old) by aquacycle (West Yorkshire, UK) | ||
So, I'm going off on a rant here. What is the point in utility rooms? I can completely understand having them if a. you have no space in your kitchen, b. you have a large number of machines or c. you own top loading machines which can't be put under a worktop. But I was visiting relatives the other day and was at my cousin's house. They have an ENOURMOUS kitchen - they can't possibily fill all the cupboards they have - AND a utility room thats about the same size of my kitchen alone. What the heck is the point? What a waste of a room. They just have your typical front loading Bocsh washer and dryer - could quite easilly go in the kitchen. There seems to be almost a snobbery about having a washer and dryer in the kitchen these days. Another friend of mine has a massive kitchen and a utility room that she has to go OUTSIDE to get to - how annoying. Now, my aunt and uncle, they have a teeny tiny kitchen and the dishwasher takes up a lot of space, so they have a small utility room between the kitchen and the garage - I can completely understand that. But really, if you have the space in your kitchen, why waste a room on your washer and dryer? I've always had the washer & dryer in the kitchen and its never been a problem. I know someone is going to say "oh you can shut all your washing and mess away", I don't know how it's possible to make mess with washing - it goes out of the basket, into the washer, out of the washer, into the dryer/onto the washing line - what mess? End rant, thanks for listening lol.
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| Post# 373808 , Reply# 4 8/22/2009 at 12:28 (5,359 days old) by laundromat (Hilo, Hawaii) | ||
growing up,we had a utility room .The gas furnace and gas water heater were located there and those who either had a clothes dryer or freezer placed them there.The set up we had was the dryer(gas) was located there. It was so inconveniant because in order to use the dryer,you had to lug the heavy wash basket from our kitchen out to the back porch which would get you wet if it rained and,if it was cold and freezing,you'd slip on the ice and break your ass.That in itself made us decide,when the 1955 Kenmore dryer died and our Easy Rivera washer 's pump shit for the last time,we were getting one of the many Combination washer dryers that were available.We got the sears top of the line Lady Kenmore gas combination washer dryer.It was installed on 11/22/63.The verry day President John F.Kennedy was asassinated.Everybody there was crying.Even the delivery men couldn't get there soggy eyeballs off our Zenith Space Comand TV.
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| Post# 373901 , Reply# 13 8/22/2009 at 19:46 (5,359 days old) by ronhic (Canberra, Australia) | ||
Australia
Gizmo is undoubtedly correct for Victorias regulations, but each State and Territory have their own. It is common practice in NSW and the ACT where there may be no specific laundry in a flat to install washers and dryers in the bathroom with waste directed into a standpipe or plumbed into the handbasin waste via a 'spike' Personally, we have a laundry which also doubles as the 'dogs bedroom'. I've owned flats where it is in the kitchen - UK and in the bathroom - NSW. From my own experience, the bathroom is preferable to the kitchen. Firstly, whilst most of us don't deal with badly soiled items some people do and whilst germs don't just 'jump' from floor to bench it just isn't as practical as using a bathroom ....and soaking is not as easy in a kitchen. So for practicality, give me the bathroom or a laundry... | ||
Post# 373902 , Reply# 14 8/22/2009 at 19:47 (5,359 days old) by launderess  (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Methinks Ultitliy Rooms In The United States
Replace part of the functions of basements for homes that do not have them, and of course in apartments/multi-family buildings. There was and probably still is however a trend to bring laundry appliances on the ground floor from the basement. This saves all those trips up and downstairs fetching laundry and or going to say the deep freezer. This was quite true before tumble dryers were common, as one had to lug all that wet laundry upstairs and out onto the lines. For homes with laundry appliances in the basement, and without a laundry chute, one had to collect the washing perhaps two stories up (the second floor where normally the bedrooms and bathrooms were), fetch it down several flights of stairs to the basement, then fetch it back up one flight to the lines, then depending upon where one did one's folding and ironing, either back down the basement and up again to the bedrooms. THAT is allot of work. Laundry in Europe has for the most part in one way or antoher always done in the kitchen or scullery because it required vast amounts of water and access to a way to heat all that water. Even when homes began to have indoor plumbing with hot water, the heating of said water came from the range in the kitchen, and hot water was usually only sent to the bathroom for bathing such. Women still had a "copper" or huge pots for boiling laundry. Therefore it came as a logical extension when automatic washing machines came upon the scene to put them in or near the kitchen in Europe/UK. Since European and UK housing stock is on average much older than what is found in the United States, the retro-fitting to carve out a "ultility" area from say a 1700's house or a 1800's Paris apartment building requires some planning. | ||
| Post# 373977 , Reply# 16 8/23/2009 at 07:39 (5,358 days old) by rolls_rapide (.) | ||
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"and soaking is not as easy in a kitchen." I honestly don't know of anyone who soaks anything anymore - that went out with the terry-towelling nappies. With modern machines and detergents, it has done away with such a need. | ||
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Post# 373993 , Reply# 20 8/23/2009 at 10:34 (5,358 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands) |
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What Theo is describing is the situation in the bigger cities in the Netherlands. I come from a small town where almost everybody had a utility room. Even a lot of social housing had small utility rooms behind the kitchen. When newer houses were being built without a utility room my mother said that she never would want to live in a house without a utility room. The idea of a washer in the kitchen or in the bathroom almost send shivers down her spine. Laundry is laundry and doesn't belong in a kitchen. And besides that, who wants to fall over a laundry basket while cooking. That was her opinion. My mother has a spacious utility room where she has drying racks. There are two doors leading outside that she opens when she wants the laundry to dry quickly. To me a utility room makes sense. Ofcourse I would like a very big one so I could fill it with lots of washers!
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Post# 374035 , Reply# 22 8/23/2009 at 13:53 (5,358 days old) by yogitunes (New Jersey) |
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different homes had different setups
many of the homes in our area never had accomodations for a washer, wash was usually done in a wringer in the kitchen with a rinse tub and the ironing board, BLUE MONDAY, as time went on automatics were installed wherever they had space mostly water from under the sink and drain into the kitchen sink, Mom always wanted the washer in the basement, which was a dungeon, so the mess was out of site, and all the supplies could stayout and not to be put away all the time, in the home I have for her now, their in the basement, which she loves, but I have a stacked unit in the pantry so she doesn't have to do the stairs now that she's up in years and slowing down, but I did like the washer/dryer in the kitchen only to show them off because I had the entire kenmore limited edition series of appliances....now in the last rancher I lived in we had the washer/dryer under the counter in the kitchen, and the fronts were covered with matching cabinet fronts that slid out of the way during use.... whenever we would go visit friends homes, I would always observe the different setups and placements of the machines, some odd, some interesting, and some rigged like I have never seen, many variations, just interesting.... | ||
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Post# 374097 , Reply# 24 8/23/2009 at 16:25 (5,358 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands) |
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| Post# 374281 , Reply# 25 8/24/2009 at 09:27 (5,357 days old) by iheartmaytag (Wichita, Kansas) | ||
Basement
My Washer & Dryer are in the basement bathroom of the house I have now. I like the room to have a folding table, ironing board, and staging area out of sight when people come. In my previous home (a moblie home) I had to stage in the bathtub, then take the piles through the kitchen to the hallway area to do laundry. The basement keep the noise, heat, and moisture away from the living area, and I look at the steps as exercise. I do agree it is a pain to lug wet laundry to the line outside, but I will call that weight training. Now I am sure that as I age and am not able to do the staris as much I will be cursing this arrangement, but for now I love it. Besides, my current kitchen would never have the room for another appliance. They had to add on to a cabinet to install the dishwasher and trash compactor. | ||
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Post# 374297 , Reply# 26 8/24/2009 at 11:41 (5,357 days old) by chestermikeuk (Rainhill *Home of the RailwayTrials* Merseyside,UK) |
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"I honestly don't know of anyone who soaks anything
Really, I could name quite a few who do, myself included, usually dogs stuff or a load of tea towels & dishclothes soaked overnight gives excellent results!! Have grown up with washers in the kitchen I could do both, but heck, small as it is give me my utilty room everyday!!!keeps all the mess out of the kitchen and enables you to have a bigger sink to dump all the cooket parts, mop buckets, fridge & cooler boxes as well as dryer condensers - you know, all that stuff that you can never get under a normal tap!!! Also with Uk building regs you cant have a downstairs loo opening into the kitchen, so the "In-between" utility usually takes care of that, unless its a total newbuild where they are usually nr the front door hallway!! Rolls, you said you are going to Uni, as a school leaver, lecturer or mature student!! I cant work you out from your profile?? | ||
| Post# 374541 , Reply# 28 8/25/2009 at 07:39 (5,356 days old) by aquacycle (West Yorkshire, UK) | ||
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Toggleswitch2...
It's a very different situation over here. The kitchen is deffo the most popular place for the washer and dryer. Older houses with cellars/basements sometimes have them down there and I've seen a good few with them in the garage but the kitchen is usually where they can be found. Ours have always been in the kitchen, as have everyone's on my street (give or take a few that have the dryers in the coal shed or garage). It has a lot to do with the size difference of houses - American houses are a lot larger than UK homes and therefore, most have the space for a designated laundry area whereas ours don't. Oddly enough, my washing machine is neither in the kitchen or utility room, but it's in the airing cupboard.
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Post# 374543 , Reply# 29 8/25/2009 at 07:43 (5,356 days old) by launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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There are more homes in the UK, Europe and most other parts of the world outside the United States, and not one has reported any abnormal rates of disease caused by close quarters to soiled laundry. Persons break wind, sneeze, cough and god only knows what else in their kitchens, and don't see any moves other than perhaps Mrs. Richard Bouquet to ban such things. Yes, soiled laundry has "germs", but most housewives aren't doing laundry whilst cooking, nor are thay waving their soiled linen about the kitchen. Furthermore of the likely bacteria living on laundry, the bulk would be E Coli and other sorts from the human waste and urinary tract. Such things aren't that much of a danger air borne. Everything one uses to prepare, cook and store food is behind closed cupboards, so there is little worry there. | ||
| Post# 374586 , Reply# 31 8/25/2009 at 09:55 (5,356 days old) by iheartmaytag (Wichita, Kansas) | ||
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Hmmm, do I detect a bit too strong fear for "germs" | ||
| Post# 374599 , Reply# 33 8/25/2009 at 11:18 (5,356 days old) by aquacycle (West Yorkshire, UK) | ||
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Matt...
I'm waiting for the enevitable day someone designs an air tight, vacuumed sealed washing basket that can be transported and opened in an underground bunker with seperate ventilation to the rest of the house that requires a full on hygiene suit to enter, housing a washing machine and touble dryer that's drums are sprayed with bleach and washed in 98 degree water for 3 days after every wash. I am a very clean individual. I shower daily, vacuum 3 times a week, dust twice a week and make sure all my food preparation areas are clean before use but it is possible to completely over do it on the hygiene front. | ||
| Post# 374617 , Reply# 35 8/25/2009 at 12:28 (5,356 days old) by paulinroyton (B) | ||
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Washers In Bathroom My relations in Hungary have their washing machine in the bathroom. Paul | ||
| Post# 374622 , Reply# 37 8/25/2009 at 12:46 (5,356 days old) by electron1100 (England) | ||
Having a Coffee and a Dump
TOGGLESWITCH Hi your last comments made me laugh, because I too take my tea aswell as my fags into the bathroom, and I also have a stack of books/magazines that i read whilst i am having a download.........arghhh peace :-) UTILITY ROOMS If I had the choice i would have a utility room, preferably the size of an aircraft hanger so i could fill it up with every machine i like. | ||
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Post# 374653 , Reply# 38 8/25/2009 at 13:47 (5,356 days old) by mistereric (New Jersey (Taylor Ham)) |
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My Utility Room...
is nearly as large as my kitchen, which is saying a lot in a sub-1000-square-foot home. Even if I reclaimed half of it and added it to the kitchen, it would only serve to move the washer/dryer into a finished space and not really give me more useful kitchen. The Maytags are lovely, but I can't quite see going to such lengths. To loose the room completely, I would have to move my HVAC and water heater into my attic; while its a wonderful ~idea~, the implementation of such would be breathtakingly complex. | ||
| Post# 374682 , Reply# 39 8/25/2009 at 16:11 (5,356 days old) by toggleswitch2 () | ||
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~I too take my tea as well as my fags into the bathroom. Lawdy lawd, I haven't had a fag in my bathroom in ages. | ||
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Post# 374690 , Reply# 41 8/25/2009 at 16:51 (5,356 days old) by launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Not There Dear, I Like To Face The Window
Aside from formal parties and such, all persons entering our home remove their shoes. Saves them from tracking all and sundry muck and filth into my home. Do not go as far as stopping tradesmen like Hyacinth, but will grab old newspapers like Edie Pegden to either line their path or keep them off my walls. *LOL* | ||
| Post# 374698 , Reply# 42 8/25/2009 at 17:18 (5,356 days old) by rolls_rapide (.) | ||
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chestermikeuk Mature student. | ||
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