Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 40 total)
  • Washing machine and dryer upstairs?!
  • stox
    Free Member

    Moving soon. New build. Family Bathroom has a rather large cupboard (with a door on) at the end of the bath.
    Downstairs Utility has an integrated washing machine.

    We’d like to do away with the integrated washing machine and I suggested putting our stand alone washing machine and stand alone dryer in the cupboard upstairs.

    Thinking about it, the clothes normally go downstairs for washing so surely it’s much easier to just take them straight into the bathroom.

    We’d need a socket in the cupboard and we’d need to sort the plumbing. Now I’m no electrician or plumber but I’m assuming having the bath taps 5’ away means it shouldn’t be too big a job to sort?

    Any experts in to poo poo the idea? Anything else I ought to be considering with this idea?!

    robola
    Full Member

    How strong is the floor? We have a washing machine upstairs and the whole house shakes when it spins. My dad’s house also upstairs, it was so bad I had to screw 2 layers of 18mm ply to the floor under it to try and minimise the vibration.

    stumpyjon
    Full Member

    Makes sense to me, I think having a washing machine in the bathroom is quite common in Southern European countries.

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    footflaps
    Full Member

    Yep, washer and dryer in the bathroom is pretty standard in Europe.

    phil5556
    Full Member

    Totally makes sense, our washing machine is about as far away as possible from where all our clothes are.

    Occasionally it’s really handy that it’s by the side door for chucking muddy stuff straight in but the the rest of the time it would be better upstairs.

    Only thing is we run it over night with off peak electric and can’t hear it where it is.

    Blazin-saddles
    Free Member

    Ours are upstairs in the old airing cupboard right next to the bathroom, I put all the plumbing in place when I refitted the bathroom. Only thing to bear in mind Is if you get a leak, there’s a lot of water on the 1st floor rather than ground floor.

    tomparkin
    Full Member

    Assuming the downstairs utility has pluming already, why not just put your existing machines in there?

    I wouldn’t worry about having them upstairs if that’s the best solution, assuming the vibration won’t be a problem, but it feels a bit like you’re making work for yourself unnecessarily.

    Maybe you have designs on the utility as a bike store or something? 🤣

    stox
    Free Member

    I do like the Positive responses!

    Comments regarding noise/vibration and leaks duly noted.
    We recently got a new dryer that was pretty expensive but ultra efficient and VERY quiet. I know my wife would like the matching washing machine so maybe that would be a little less noisy. I’d need to check.

    So in terms of plumbing – not too big a job?

    scratch
    Free Member

    isn’t there a building regs no no re electrical sockets being a good distance away from the bath taps/shower? It’s common in Europe to see the washer in the bathroom as they don’t have to meet the same regs we do.

    stox
    Free Member

    Assuming the downstairs utility has pluming already, why not just put your existing machines in there?

    No gap for a dryer so it’d be sat on the worktop. Besides, the utility units and sink sit on the back on the integral garage and ideally we’d like to move those to the other side of that wall INTO the garage and free up that space.

    Tbh we’ve never had a utility and we’re struggling to see what we’d use a sink for. We could still use it in the garage plus I’d benefit more with it being in there anyway. But that’s another post!

    stox
    Free Member

    isn’t there a building regs no no re electrical sockets being a good distance away from the bath taps/shower?

    I don’t know but something I’d need to check.
    We could put the socket on the far wall of the cupboard so it’d be on the inside of the landing (if that makes sense) so it’d be as far away as it could be from the bath etc.
    something to look into tho so good point

    EDIT: looks like sockets need to be at least 3m away from bath/sink taps. Needs to be a fused socket too

    scratch
    Free Member

    I looked into it a while back as I have a large bathroom downstairs I wanted to use as a shared utility a bit like yourself but I need to chuck a partition wall up as there’s a ‘socket not in the same room / XX meters distance from bath/shower’ reg to meet.

    It’s been 6 months since I read up on it so can’t remember the actual distance.

    Edit: Electrical sockets are permitted in bathrooms or shower rooms as long as they are located more than 3m from the edge of the bath or shower. Specially designed shaver units are an exception to this rule and can be located slightly nearer, but still no closer than 600mm from the bath or shower.

    mrdobermann
    Free Member

    Will be fun carrying it up the stairs!

    stox
    Free Member

    Will be fun carrying it up the stairs

    Oh aye! I had over-looked that little nugget!!

    scratch
    Free Member

    Yeah, I’ve shifted my main bathroom upstairs and have juuuust enough room to split what was the main bathroom in two to make a separate shower room and utility luckily, my measurements where quick and rough so it may take a push and a shove to get everything in.

    tomparkin
    Full Member

    looks like sockets need to be at least 3m away from bath/sink taps. Needs to be a fused socket too

    Doesn’t that nix the whole idea?

    stox
    Free Member

    Doesn’t that nix the whole idea?

    Will need to check distances but Google says the average bath length is 1.7m so very possibly! Unless there’s an option for some cunning fused socket placement

    tomparkin
    Full Member

    Actually maybe not: it looks like 3m+ outside zone 1 horizontally you could have a plug socket (maybe wouldn’t be good practise though), or within 3m of zone 1 but outside zone 2 you could have a fused flex connection.

    But the machines have to be okayed for bathroom use by the manufacturer.

    Might be worth consulting with a spark since you’d need them to do the wiring (I think it’d be notifiable?).

    tomparkin
    Full Member

    This page gives some details of the zones in bathrooms from an electrical perspective:

    https://www.drench.co.uk/blog/how-to-guides/what-are-bathroom-electrical-zones

    stox
    Free Member

    Might be worth consulting with a spark since you’d need them to do the wiring (I think it’d be notifiable?).

    Yes absolutely. Just thought I’d float the idea on here for feedback, would need to make sure it was all done in the correct manner following regs etc. it is a top of the list job

    Greybeard
    Free Member

    There was an article in the Sunday Times just gone by somebody who had moved the washer & dryer upstairs and was really pleased with how it worked out.

    If the appliance is approved for bathroom use, you could have the socket outside the room and run the flex through a hole in the wall. I don’t think that’s outside the spirit of the Regs, what they are concerned about is somebody plugging in a radio, laptop, fan heater etc and dropping the live device in the bath while it’s occupied.

    slowol
    Full Member

    If the current plumbing is just through the garage wall the would the washing machine go in there? I know it loses a couple of bike spaces but removes the noise from the house and saves breaking your back and denting the walls getting it upstairs.
    Or are you planning to do do something wierd like put a car in the garage? 😉
    Edit: also washing machines all leak eventually when the door seal perishes (or ours have) and mopping up in the garage is usually less traumatic than it coming through the living room ceiling.

    stox
    Free Member

    Or are you planning to do do something wierd like put a car in the garage? 😉

    No, the car won’t be going in there but we don’t really want the washing machine and dryer in there either. Tho I do agree it may be a good option for many reasons

    Blazin-saddles
    Free Member

    Modern tumble driers don’t like cold garages, they don’t work (properly)

    markspark
    Free Member

    Fortunately with the recent amendment to the electrical regs we’ve become much more adult about sockets in bathrooms, it’s changed from 3M from zone 1, to 2.5M!
    But if the machines are going in a cupboard with a door on I’d class that as a separate room so ok to put a socket as it’s no different to having one by the bathroom door on a landing

    stox
    Free Member

    Thanks @markspark! Good to know

    dmorts
    Full Member

    If it’s a condenser dryer it will still give off some humidity and heat. Can you stick an extractor fan in the top of the cupboard? Plus an air intake at the bottom of the door?

    timba
    Free Member

    Fused connection unit with a separate switch if needed rather than a socket. Dependent on the orientation of the cupboard, the cupboard wall might reduce the zone measurement
    My concerns would be moving the thing upstairs and moisture as already noted.

    tomd
    Free Member

    Has the cupboard got any ventilation? If it’s just a closed cupboard with a door not sure running 2 high power appliances in it would be great. Integrated stuff has the voids behind and under the kitchen to allow a bit of ventilation.

    Not necessarily a show stopper but washing machines and tumble driers are two of things most likely to burn your house down. A washing machine is also always just a blocked waste pipe or leaking joint away from wrecking your house. Personally I like having them in the utility where they’ll do the least damage if and when they fail.

    stox
    Free Member

    If it’s a condenser dryer it will still give off some humidity and heat.

    It’s a Bosch heat pump dryer

    stox
    Free Member

    Has the cupboard got any ventilation?

    No, but it’s a sizeable cupboard. They certainly wouldn’t be squashed in there…plus the cupboard door could be open. As I said, the dryer is so quiet so that wouldn’t be an issue noise-wise.

    lankystreakofpee
    Full Member

    If it’s a new build, I’d imagine you’ll hear the vibrations from the rooms below very clearly!

    My house is 20 odd years old and the walls are still paper thin. I’ve had to replace my shower pump in the airing cupboard above the lounge so I put it on some rubber matting to dampen the vibrations. The old one sounded like a plane was going to come through the ceiling in the lounge so I’d imagine a washing machine on a spin cycle would be unbearable without some sort of isolation from the floorboards.

    prettygreenparrot
    Full Member

    Not so sure about having high current appliances in a bathroom. Even in a big cupboard at the end.

    We’ve had our washing machine and dryer in an upstairs room for about 12 years.

    The alternative was putting it in the cellar but that would have made for more of a chore and would bring problems of damp and so forth too.

    Upstairs, The washer sits on top of a paving slab for more stability/less movement.

    An upstairs laundry room makes the logistics so much easier.

    Getting machines up there is not so easy, but John Lewis delivery folks have been very obliging.

    Leaks? The washing machine sits in a tray and has its own anti-leak set up. When our old machine spewed its watery load due to some aged seal or pipe or something we had a few drips make it into the downstairs bathroom but the rest was easy to deal with.

    I still don’t really understand why machines are typically in the kitchen: that’s for cooking in right?

    Flaperon
    Full Member

    Shouldn’t be any issue putting it in the bathroom from an electrical point of view. Needs to be approved for installation in a bathroom by the manufacturer and connected via an FCU, not a socket (unless whole lot is more than 3m from bath/shower. I think the 3m has reduced with a recent amendment but can’t be bothered to look.

    Put it in a cupboard and problem solved.

    Personally I’d be more worried about the fire risk from washing machine / tumble dryer than electric shock in a modern installation.

    As others have said I think that unless you have concrete floors you’ll regret putting it in the bathroom.

    mark88
    Full Member

    I thought this was going to be about Arron Gwin’s cribs…

    Being very fast on bikes has clearly paid off.

    matt_outandabout
    Full Member

    We had a cupboard with washer & dryer, and airing next to it, in the bathroom of an old house.

    The only negative thing was we still took clothes down to dry on the line.

    mattyfez
    Full Member

    The noise and vibration will be a problem though, no?

    footflaps
    Full Member

    Personally I’d be more worried about the fire risk from washing machine / tumble dryer than electric shock in a modern installation.

    Just don’t buy anything from Beko….

    jamesy01
    Free Member

    If you are going to the hassle of putting in plumbing and electrics to the cupboard you might as well lift the floor, put some resilient strips on the joists and put down a new floor of two layers 18mm ply with resilient foam sandwiched between. That should dampen down the vibration.
    At the end of the day there are plenty flats in the world with timber floors and washing machines!

    phiiiiil
    Full Member

    If it’s a new build, I’d imagine you’ll hear the vibrations from the rooms below very clearly!

    Not necessarily; my parents moved into a new build in 2020 and I’m amazed at how sturdy the first floor is. I can jump up and down upstairs pretty hard and you can hardly tell downstairs, waaaaay more solid than any house I’ve lived in before. I’d love to know how its constructed because the first floor feels as solid as the ground floor.

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