Shower/laundry Room

Would you really want to have a relaxing shower in a room with a washing machine and tumble dryer in? I've never understood the desire to combine showers and utility goods, but each to their own!

They often have the washing machine in the bathroom in the Netherlands.

A separate laundry room would be nicer, but the washing machine and dryer could be in a ventilated cupboard. Assuming extraction ventilation and electrics are very good, I really recommend underfloor heating and a dehumidifier if you are hanging things to dry.

My shower room doesn't have a loo. There's a double-sized shower, washbasin, heated tiled floor (lovely to stand on), dehumidifier (washing's bone dry in two hours), mobile airer and fairly large space in the middle for towelling dry etc. I don't often dry things outside, due to pollen allergies. You can hire an architect to design if you like.

I imagine some of you have the space to choose. I am making the best of the space available and the work that needs doing. I am not intending to stand in the shower looking at the washing machine. It will, I am assuming, be behind closed doors. To each his own but I find having a washing machine in the kitchen - the usual UK choice - rather stranger than having it in the bathroom. Also, there is space in the bathroom as the bath was previously removed.

I'm not at all sure why I have to justify my choice. I was really only interested in the practical side if any one had done this themselves. There is a pretty small budget for this so I doubt I can afford an architect?

GGMK3 if you have the washing machine and tumble drier in a ventilated cupboard in my opinion it would be a really good idea. I would shop around local bathroom companies for quotes and designs.

In many other countries it is deemed unhygienic to have a washing machine in the kitchen.

I imagine a reliable plumber is all you need. Maybe an electrician too because of regulations on electrical appliances in bathrooms. Maybe consult the electrician first?

Thank you GG13. Catching up with the thread this morning I have looked at companies who make bathroom cabinets including those for washing machines. Of course, they go from the sublime to the ridiculous in price but some ideas there.

I am sure you are right SpringyChicken and I need both plumber and electrician for the kitchen so will discuss this with them.

I have never lived in a flat before although I have done up (with expert help) houses in the past. This has hardly been touched since it was built nearly 30 years ago, so the money I have has to be spread over all areas. As far as I can see, the biggest physical problem is the condensation as neither the bathroom or kitchen are on outside walls. My theory is that the pipes run under the main corridor and spur off to each flat - but to be honest I have no expertise and little natural spacial ability so it's a "what do I know" view, really.

Purely from an aesthetic point of view, the shower cubical is a "built" one not the glass walls you would get now and I would really love to take out the nib of single-block wall that makes it but, from past experience, taking things out can be as expensive a putting things in!

If you could bring yourself to remove the cubicle wall, it would make the room feel bigger and you’d save on tiles, the glass screen wouldn’t reach the ceiling so airflow would improve. The less grouting the better to minimise places where mould can grow, therefore choosing the largest tiles you can would help or even shower panels for the walls.

I’m thinking of doing just that too, only in my case I am fortunate to have two bathrooms, so I would make the “guest” bathroom into a loo/ washbasin/ shower/ laundry. I already keep the ironing board and the ironing basket in there, so it looks a bit like a laundry room anyway. I think the major problem, as you indicate, would be ventilation, but a good ventilation engineer should be able to advise. Or a good electrician who has experience in ventilation. The second problem would be choosing the appropriate tumble dryer, as some need outside ventilation. My daughter has a condenser, which means emptying a tank of water after every load. This might be the best for you, but again, a good electrician should be able to advise. My son-in-law law, who is a bathroom fitter, has assured me it could be done (he subcontracts the electrics, but has a good knowledge himself from working with them.) My daughter’s apartment in Amsterdam had a bathroom/ laundry room. It was a good use of space, as yours will be. Good luck!

"If you could bring yourself to remove the cubicle wall, it would make the room feel bigger"

That was my thinking too, SpringyChicken.

Thanks for your thoughts about the ventilation DoraMarr. I am hoping the fitters, coming to do the next survey for the kitchen, early next week, will give me a price. For an over 60's flat around here, it is a good size, has easy access to everywhere but needs work. That seemed to be a reasonable trade-off but I want to make sure it's right as I shan't be doing it again in a hurry!

Thank you all for letting me bounce thoughts around. It really does help.

An advert for walk-in showers has appeared to the right of this thread on my computer. Sometimes these things are just too spooky

Great advice re cutting down tiled areas etc. A couple of years ago we had our utility room, then last year had our bathroom completely refurbished but avoided tiles completely.
We have lovely panels/cladding - no maintenance, no mould, lovely! They probably work out a bit dearer but well worth it in our opinion.

I agree that a washing machine is better in a bathroom rather than a kitchen. Kitchens are for cooking and eating in.

A wall mounted dehumidifier with continuous drainage is very efficient. I much prefer it to an extractor - as they basically remove all the heated air from the room (along with the moisture) and create draughts.

Mine is similar to this:

www.dehumidifiersuk.com/eco-air-dcw10-ipx4rated-wall-mountable-bathroom-dehumidifier.html?

Thank you both. I agree about the panels fourormore - they look lovely and I thoroughly approve less cleaning and no chance of the grout discolouring, ugh. The bathroom is fully tiled except where the bath used to be and the walk-in bath is now. It looms in the room although I am sure it was state-of-the-art when it was fitted.

Is your dehumidifier noisy Hetty? Extractor fans can be and I wondered if it was similar?

It can be a little too loud when it's 'defrosting' itself but it's not running all the time. The heated floor keeps the room cosy in winter and the dehumidifier works much faster at warm temperatures. It dries the washing (and towels) and soon clears condensation after a shower.

It sounds like a good investment Hetty. I don't think the budget will stretch to underfloor heating. My daughter has it in her kitchen and it's very comforting.

This morning I decided the sitting room needed turning around - moving the fireplace, etc. Thankfully by lunchtime I had gone off the idea This moving lark is very, very tiring!

We’ve always had washing machine in main bathroom and find it works well. Dirty clothes basket beside it - more hygienic I think than having in kitchen. It’s a washer/dryer (condenser dryer) so no ventilation or ducting needed for dryer.

Daughter with small kitchen decided to move washing machine to bathroom and put dishwasher in space instead. She puts clothes airer in shower cubicle with door open and uses dehumidifier so can dry stuff in bathroom too.

One of the advantages of washing machine in bathroom is that if you need to soak any clothes before washing, a bucket can be left there more conveniently than kitchen.

The electrics would be the main problem, to fit in with current regs

www.mybuilder.com/questions/v/8991/is-it-legal-to-fit-a-washing-machine-in-the-bathroom

www.whitegoodshelp.co.uk/can-i-install-a-washing-machine-in-a-bathroom/

retro fitting seems to be difficult, something about the socket being 3m away and into an rcd circuit and I have seen something about having a machine that is specially designed for bathrooms ie splashproof

I can see it costing loads of £££

Thanks Farmor, your daughter is a woman after my own heart. The space made will be used by a dishwasher in my kitchen. I much prefer the idea of the washing machine in the bathroom if there is no room for a separate area.

Craftyone, thanks for the links. I did look it up when I first saw the flat but it's all grist to the mill. I found a really useful diagramme which tells you how far it must be away from any possible water source as in x cm from basin taps and y cm from a shower. I was surprised they were not bigger distances but it all seemed possible. I think the positive bit is that the bathroom started with a shower cubicle and a bath. The bath was taken out for a walk-in bath (when bathroom suites were anything but white ) which I will have removed so there is all the space of an original bath going begging. Two plumbers coming on Monday so I will update whether they think it is possible. Oh, and I am on the ground-floor so flooding, should it occur, will hopefully not affect others.

I think the next actually challenge will be getting the walk-in bath out of the flat but someone got it in so it must be possible.

This is interesting, although a little worrying that they had to make the housing themselves.

www.ikeahackers.net/2012/12/all-in-one-multipurpose-bathroom-furniture-which-hides-a-washer-dryer.html

I was about to warn you to watch out forUK safety regulations, but a couple of posters have already mentioned this. The point is to make it impossible for you to touch any part of the washing machine (in case of a fault) not just the controls, while also in contact with water. Kitchen sinks are earthed for electrical safety, but I am not sure about bathroom fittings.

A plumber, electrician or kkitchen/bathroom fitter will advise you.

GracesGran, the underfloor heating I have isn't the fancy 'pipes under floor' type. It's just a heating wire they taped down before putting adhesive and tiles on top. It had a thermostat wire near the end.

Outside the shower room (on the adjoining bedroom wall) there's an on/off switch and the thermostat heat control. I know it's only 300 Watts when it's fully on and heating - so haven't noticed it using much electricity.

The whole thing cost less than £100 - so well worth it.

Agree about washing machines in kitchens, I absolutely HATE seeing beautiful kitchens ruined by seeing appliances! A personal choice I know .... so when planning my kitchen (no space for a utility room sadly) when I moved here I designed it with every appliance - boiler, dishwasher, washing machine and tumble drier in cupboards behind doors, in my opinion it just looks so much nicer!

Are you planning on it being a wetroom, or will it have a cubicle?

Hetty 58 My bathroom underfloor heating is the same as yours and it is brilliant. Cheap to install and run. It's lovely getting out of bed in the morning and walking on lovely warm tiles.

Our washer is in the downstairs loo. It is large for a loo but not big enough for a utility room. I prefer to have the washer out of the kitchen.