Combining the Laundry Room and Master Closet

Pinterest really draws you in.

And when you’re looking to make some changes around your home, it’s chalked full of ideas. One seen as of late is putting the washer and dryer in the master bedroom closet.

This is, of course, a brilliant idea in theory. And it’s increasing in popularity with new home construction. After all, how convenient it would be to do your laundry in your closet and never have to lug another basket of folded clothes up the stairs ever again.

While the benefit of convenience could easily make the decision for you, before you renovate your master closet for convenience sake, there are some things to consider.

Upstairs Means Risk

Remember the days of the waterbed? Remember the risk involved with putting one on the upper floors? If the bed were to ever leak, you’d have a bigger problem then you could imagine on your hands. The same goes for having a washer and dryer on anything but the ground floor. Why do you think laundry rooms are always ground level?

Yes, you have a bathtub, toilet and sink upstairs in all likelihood. But they aren’t as prone to leaking as a washer can be. Not to mention the fact that, in order to move the laundry to the master closet in an existing home, you’re going to have to run new water lines and drains (not a cost-friendly task).

Additionally, accommodating a second story location for the lint duct means you either need to have it blow outside from a high location or have to lengthen the duct to reach the second story. It both cases, it will be much harder to clean if it kinks or gets clogged.

Convenience May be Fleeting

There are limited circumstances in which the convenience of combining your laundry room and master closet outweighs the risk:

• You live in a one story home
• All of the bedrooms are on the same side of the house to reduce how much laundry you carry
• You’re exceptionally organized so your closest isn’t overrun by a floor full of dirty clothes
• Your master bedroom closet is already the size of a walk-in closet and laundry room combined (to accommodate the extra clothing and laundry bins)
• You’re only doing laundry for yourself and not a house full of kids (otherwise, their clothes will now take over your closet)

HA Construction will help you plan the appropriate design for your new home or see if a laundry room/closet combo is a viable option in your current dwelling. Basically, the best way to do a washer and dryer in the master bedroom closet is to do it with a new home build and plan accordingly – such as a single story or bedrooms all on the same floor, and an excessively large closet to accommodate all of the extra clothes. The cost and risk of adding a washer and dryer to the master closet in your current home simply may not be worth it for added convenience.