Yes, the home has a Laundry Room, but can you do laundry in it?

It seems illogical to make a room or space for a specific purpose and then not be able to use it for that purpose, but as a home inspector I see it all of the time.

Laundry facilities are typically located in three places: The Garage, Closet, or a Laundry Room. Each location has its own set of challenges including: Convenience, Size, and Ventilation.

The ideal Laundry Facility is a room near the bedrooms with a laundry sink, space for an ironing board, and a location to hang Drip & Dry clothes. But rarely is the “ideal” achieved.

Often the home is empty when a buyer walks through with the agent. The Laundry space/area/room can look big because there are no appliances. But the functional utility of laundry facilities are sometimes sacrificed by home designers to achieve other goals.

GARAGE = Besides being hot or cold out there, and a long way from the bedrooms, the purpose of a garage is to park cars. If a car is parked in your garage in front of your washer and dryer, it is almost inevitable that to use them, you’ll have to do the bumper-walk squeeze-by. While it is true that you can use a washer and dryer standing off to the side and leaning over, simple functional utility dictates that the design include 3'-0" clear space in front of the appliances.

CLOSET = Because this location is in a hallway closet, there is almost always the 3'-0" space in front of the appliances. And this location is often near the bedrooms. But the closet must be a minimum of 3'-0" deep inside, (to accommodate the appliances and the necessary connections for plumbing and venting), by 6'-0" wide, (so the bi-fold doors that usually enclose these closets will clear the appliances (when opened). The most common design flaw in Laundry Closets is that the width is only 5'-0" so the bi-fold doors become elbow bruisers because they are always in the way of accessing the appliances.

LAUNDRY ROOM = The minimum size for a laundry room is 5'-0" wide, (for a side-by-side washer and dryer), by 6'-0" deep, (which allows 3'-0" clear in front of the appliances). Often this 3'-0" space serves the additional function of hallway access to the garage. In this design, (and the hallway closet above), doing laundry creates a conflict between use of the hallway for traffic between rooms and sorting and folding space. To get through the hall on laundry day may require doing the side-straddle.

IDEAL LAUNDRY ROOM = The minimum ideal Laundry Room would be 6'-0" wide with a folding counter across the isle from the appliances. It would be 8'-0" long with a laundry sink on one end installed in a 3'-0" cabinet and with a drip-dry rod mounted above it. There would be upper cabinets over the washer and dryer and over the folding counter for storage. Under the folding counter there would be sorting bins. There would be an ironing outlet 60 inches above of the floor next to a built-in board or storage for a free standing ironing board, (see diagram). The room would have ‘kitchen-bright’ lighting with both an openable window and mechanical exhaust fan ventilation.

Since most homes do not have the “ideal” - be sure that the home you’re considering meets the minimums listed above to avoid the bumper-walk, side-straddle and elbow bruises.

Published: May 15, 2003

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