Why do British Flats have washing machines in the kitchen?

[thestrangequark]

My little English flat has a washing machine in the kitchen. Would seem weird in the bathroom and not having a basement, garage or utility room it's seems more reasonable than the living room
No dryer ~ no space
Man, however, has a washer/drier in his utility room ~ I'm aiming above my laundry stations!

If you don't have a dryer how do you dry your clothes?

My guess would be on a line? That's how I do it.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

. . . The one flat that I lived in over in England had a machine that was a combo washer/dryer that took FOREVER to dry anything . . .

Combination washer-dryers are like sporks. They don't do either job particularly well.

My experience in London echoes this thread. At first I was surprised to find a washer in the kitchen (actually, first I just assumed it was a dish washer, then I finally took a look at the thing). Then I realized it didn't actually dry anything. We ended up just air drying everything on the radiator.

 

[Roger Wilco]

I'm baffled why anybody would need a dryer, except maybe parents with a dozen children or so. How much clothes do you wash every day that there isn't enough time for the clothes to dry on a line? That must be one of the most useless machines ever invented.

 

[Brent]

Are you kidding, I couldn't live without the convenience of a dryer. Anywhere I would move, I would have to have a dryer. To me, it is normal to have the combo, both a washing machine and a dryer.

 

[Lindley]

I'm baffled why anybody would need a dryer, except maybe parents with a dozen children or so. How much clothes do you wash every day that there isn't enough time for the clothes to dry on a line? That must be one of the most useless machines ever invented.

I'm barely willing to fold + hang up my clothes in the closet after they're dry. Needing to hang them twice for a single washing would be annoying.

 

[John Picard]

I'm baffled why anybody would need a dryer, except maybe parents with a dozen children or so. How much clothes do you wash every day that there isn't enough time for the clothes to dry on a line? That must be one of the most useless machines ever invented.

One of the most handy machines to have. Why, if it's cold outside, ie middle of December, a dryer removes all of the moisture and makes clothing and linen fluffy and warm. In humid climates, it aids in drying clothes that would otherwise never dry by hanging. Dryers also provide even heat, and the tumbling action fluffs clothing so that the clothing does not dry stiff, as what happens with line drying. Clothes dryers are great for places where line hanging is not practical nor a feasible option.

 

[Pingfah]

I'm baffled why anybody would need a dryer, except maybe parents with a dozen children or so. How much clothes do you wash every day that there isn't enough time for the clothes to dry on a line? That must be one of the most useless machines ever invented.

I have a very small flat and no garden, so i'd have clothes hanging everywhere in the winter waiting for them to dry.

 

[Brent]

yeah, it makes my clothes fluffy warm soft and smelling real good!

 

[Canadave]

I never use the dryer, myself. I use a laundry room common to my apartment building and the one next door (neither terribly big, maybe 30 units overall), and the dryer costs $1.75 per load. You can't fill it very full or it doesn't work well, and it adds an extra hour to doing laundry, so it just isn't worth it, for me.

 

[Shaytan]

I'm baffled why anybody would need a dryer, except maybe parents with a dozen children or so. How much clothes do you wash every day that there isn't enough time for the clothes to dry on a line? That must be one of the most useless machines ever invented.

I have a very small flat and no garden, so i'd have clothes hanging everywhere in the winter waiting for them to dry.

It's the exact reason why I have a dryer. Try to dry sheets in winter in 20m²...good luck...

 

[propita]

Fresno is surrounded by farmland and lots of dirt. Which means lots of dust.

We don't have a wind-protected area of our yard to hang clothes.

And I'd hate to see what the family of squirrels which "owns" our yard would do to the laundry.

 

[Holdfast]

Is this the thread where I can post the new washer-dryer I got installed the other week? Why yes, it is.

My old one finally bit the dust, but the new one is absolutely awesome. Automatically calculates everything, from wash times, temperatures, water levels, spin cycles, drying times (with multiple degrees of drying level), etc, etc. I was skeptical, thinking I'd have to override all the controls to get it right, but the machine gets every single type of laundry absolutely right. It's fucking amazing. It's smarter than most of my co-workers. If I was Data, I'd be proposing marriage to this piece of technology.

Oh yeah, and it's in the kitchen in my flat. Because the old one was there, and it would leave an ugly gap if I didn't put the new one there too.

 

[Pingfah]

No Hoover should give a human being a double polaroid

 

[nevermore]

I'm baffled why anybody would need a dryer, except maybe parents with a dozen children or so. How much clothes do you wash every day that there isn't enough time for the clothes to dry on a line? That must be one of the most useless machines ever invented.

A) Hanging clothes outside = clothes that smell like exhaust, are covered with pollen and whatever the fuck else is flying about in the air that day, are possibly shit on by pigeons, and are probably stolen. I would never consider something that's been hanging outside to be clean.

B) This:

One of the most handy machines to have. Why, if it's cold outside, ie middle of December, a dryer removes all of the moisture and makes clothing and linen fluffy and warm. In humid climates, it aids in drying clothes that would otherwise never dry by hanging. Dryers also provide even heat, and the tumbling action fluffs clothing so that the clothing does not dry stiff, as what happens with line drying. Clothes dryers are great for places where line hanging is not practical nor a feasible option.

Clothes that are hung to dry are stiff and misshapen. Drying them softens them, and even more importantly, shrinks them back into shape.

 

[scotpens]

Is this the thread where I can post the new washer-dryer I got installed the other week? Why yes, it is.

My old one finally bit the dust, but the new one is absolutely awesome. Automatically calculates everything, from wash times, temperatures, water levels, spin cycles, drying times (with multiple degrees of drying level), etc, etc.

The coin-operated washers in the laundry room of my apartment building have two speed settings and three temperature settings. That's as much choice as I can handle.

And I never bother separating the whites from the colored things. I do integrated laundry. I just throw everything in one load and let the clothes sort it out for themselves.

 

[Miss Chicken]

In most of the houses I've been in, there's a "laundry room" or "utility room" adjacent to the kitchen for the washer/dryer. Usually at or near the back door of the house.

This is the set up in nearly every Australian house.

I'm baffled why anybody would need a dryer, except maybe parents with a dozen children or so. How much clothes do you wash every day that there isn't enough time for the clothes to dry on a line? That must be one of the most useless machines ever invented.

I haven't used a dryer since my youngest child was out of nappies (diapers). Using cloth nappies, rather than disposables, meant I had lots of washing to do back then. But now I have a rotary clothesline in the backyard. I have two lines under the carport in case of rain and a small clothes hoist that I can place in front of the fire if I need something dried quickly.

Hanging clothes outside = clothes that smell like exhaust, are covered with pollen and whatever the fuck else is flying about in the air that day, are possibly shit on by pigeons, and are probably stolen. I would never consider something that's been hanging outside to be clean.

I have been hanging out clothes all my life and I can't remember them that ever being shitted on. There is no more chance of them being shitted on by birds then I have being shitted on while I am walking along the street.

We don't have an exhaust problem where I live. However it is a bit smoky at times (due to neighbours' woodheaters) but my clothes pick up that smell when I walk out the door any way.

My clothes, most of which I buy secondhand, aren't good enough to steal.

Because I am on a pension I couldn't afford to run a clothes dryer.

 

[SPOCKED]

Well, after my divorce I lived for 6 years in a basement without a washer/dryer OR a kitchen (which was hard with very small children on weekends...)

I was finally able to buy a washer in my first year at my new REAL apartment in '03 but didn't get a dryer until '06 -- and they were both in a dedicated closet opposite the kitchen -- just where I loved it!

What a tedious thread.

maybe for you

 

[Marc]

Well, after my divorce I lived for 6 years in a basement without a washer/dryer OR a kitchen (which was hard with very small children on weekends...)

I was finally able to buy a washer in my first year at my new REAL apartment in '03 but didn't get a dryer until '06 -- and they were both in a dedicated closet opposite the kitchen -- just where I loved it!

And lucky to have a lease that allows you to have your washer and dryer in there.

Our lease specifically forbids washers and dryers in the apartments though truth be known the there's no reoom in here for them though part of that could be heat n hydro is included in our rent.

But I do miss the washing line back home - didn't cost me anything to dry the washing in summer and could get it mostly dry in winter.

 

[nevermore]

I have been hanging out clothes all my life and I can't remember them that ever being shitted on. There is no more chance of them being shitted on by birds then I have being shitted on while I am walking along the street.

My back patio is completely shaded by enormous, 4- and 5- story tall trees full of birds.

We don't have an exhaust problem where I live. However it is a bit smoky at times (due to neighbours' woodheaters) but my clothes pick up that smell when I walk out the door any way.

Really, the pollen and other dust and particulates that cover my car every morning would be more of a concern than the smell.

My clothes, most of which I buy secondhand, aren't good enough to steal.

Mine are. Not that it matters, as people here will steal anything left alone outside. When I first moved here, I couldn't get my couch through the door, so I left it outside. It was gone within half an hour. When I moved, I left a armchair on the street that had been torn to shreds by my cats and broken in thee process of getting it down the stairs. 10 minutes.

Because I am on a pension I couldn't afford to run a clothes dryer.

Even without the various impracticalities of leaving clothes out to dry in the city, I'd rather skip meals than hang them. Mostly for the texture and the whole shrinking them back to size thing, though it's also just flat out impractical when it's below freezing or 80% humidity. Also, I like to do all my laundry at once, every week or two. That's a lot of clothes to hang up twice.

 

[Angela 0077]

In Australia the washing machine has its place in the laundry room.

But l have been watching a few life style programs and have noticed that the washing machine is in the kitchen.
But l would prefer it in a another room away from the food area