Laundry room on 2nd floor a bad thing? (floor plans, washers, front loader)

[ferrickhead28]

So my new house has a laundry room on the second floor. I thought maybe that was a good thing considering the bedrooms were on the second as well.

Anyway, I was shopping around over the weekend for a new washer & dryer and was told that a front loader was a really bad choice. It has been known to make more excessive noise since its not on a solid foundation, and it tends to flood alot.

Has anyone else had any experience with this? Is there really a disadvantage to having a laundry room on the second floor?

[CAKD]

I have an upstairs laundry room in my home. I also have a front load washer. We have been here 6 months with no issues. I love, love, love the upstairs laundry room. Makes collecting and putting away laundry with three kids a dream. No hauling laundry baskets up and down the stairs. The only thing I can think of that "might" be an issue is the spin cycle. we have the new LG STeam which has an extremely powerful spin cycle. On spin if you are sitting in the bonus room which is next to the laundry over the garage you can feel the floor vibrate when it is spinning. Nothing major. Noise and flooding have not been an issue. Upstairs laundry rooms should come with a drain in the floor in case of flooding. Ours did.

[MrsSteel]

Last year one of our friends bought a house with an upstairs laundry & front loading machines & he is quite happy with the situation.

The great thing about the front loaders is that they can't get off-balance like conventional top loaders, so you won't have to worry about that loud, scary rocking during the spin cycle. But I understand that some models make a high pitched whining sound.

I think the latest Consumer Reports has a review of washer & driers. Might be worth checking out.

[NCSUAlum2006]

I would have never considered this a big deal until recently. Friends of ours put their home up for sale, and during the time on the market, their washer overflowed and water ran EVERYWHERE all down the sides of walls and into crevices they didn't even know existed. Needless to say, the repairs were in the thousands of dollars.

I made sure the house we bought in Holly Springs had downstairs washer/dryer after seeing what they went through. Sure, washers are never supposed to overflow, but I'd rather it be on ground zero just in case it does.

[Jules_NC]

Our new construction home has the w&d on the 2nd level. I notice a little more noise as the laundry room sits in the middle of the house and when it's on the spin cycle, you can hear it. However, not having to carry baskets and hangers up & down the stairs is wonderful!

Regarding the overflow - we have ours sitting in a large basin with a drain to catch and direct any overflow (I would think this would be the code for new construction). We have not had any issues and I feel comfortable knowing the water has somewhere to go if it ever overflowed.

[cary_nc]

Our home also has an upstairs laundry room and we love it. The builder placed both a drain in the floor as well as tiled a raised border around where the washing machine and dryer are placed to retain any water which might leak until it can go down the drain. We're very happy with it, although we do feel the vibration when on spin cycle.

[heretostay]

As one of the earlier posters said, new homes have drain pans for the washer that drain to the outside. I don't know if the last posters friend had a drain pan or not, or if it just failed. I think it is less likely for the washing machine to flood than for the 2nd floor toilet to overflow. The front loaders lock and seem to be watertight. I would put your laundry room where it is most convenient for your needs.

[gastric]

I had the same flooding reservations when seeing houses with the water heater on the 2nd floor or in the attic. I'd be more concerned about a water heater purging or leaking than my washer.

[carolinatrendsetter]

I have a second floor Washer and dryer also and my builder put in the floor drain as built a large square that the washer sits in to catch water in the event it were to over flow. So far so good, but be careful to watch for leaks during the first few uses. Leaks would show up then and you could go ahead and get them repaired.

[Kevin HW Engineer]

Regarding noise concerns for having the laundry on the 2nd floor: Whenever I remodel a room I put fiberglass insulation inside the interior walls for sound proofing. Very quiet. We have to yell to be heard in the other room
the downside... my wife is quite used to yelling at me...

I had thought about benefits of a laundry room on the 2nd floor. However, I am planning for a 2nd Master Suite on the 1st floor for my mother. When The Lord calls her to join my Dad, this room could become a home office, or perhaps I might use it when I get up in years.

The benefits of a laundry and Master on the first floor: You carry laundry up & down stairs when your hips & knees are young and you are physically able to run marathons up & down 50 flights of stairs. When you get to be the age of your parents, laundry, kitchen, & bedroom are on the same floor. Of course, we all must live within the restrictions of our own budget.


A laundry chute
I currently live in a 1 story ranch with a basement. When I remodelled one bathroom, I installed a laundry chute. The clothes slide down into a basket 5 feet away from the washer. Saves the trips carrying dirtly clothes down to the washer, although you still have to carry the clean clothes upstairs. Being a woodworker:
I stained & finished the exterior,
sanded, finished & polished the interior, since part of the chute slides at 45 degrees from the vertical
Over the past 10 years, this has saved me 50 hours doing nothing but running up and down the stairs
10 years * 52 weeks/year * 6 trips / week * 1 minute / trip
I used this 50 hours of savings ..to build the laundry chute.
More fun than running up & down the stairs.

Obviously this would not work for most floor plans. You need a bathroom directly above the laundry room... You're son's sitting there watching TV with his friends, and Dad's Pepe LePew boxers drop through the living room ceiling... well...he'll never live that down...