Have you tried your washer in its current location? If the noise is acceptable then I would try to stack the units. That way you can put the doors back up. On the other wall put up a basket system so that you can sort the dirty clothes. Look at the ones they put in closets. This is also a good way to know when it's time to wash certain clothes, i.e. whites, colors, etc.

You could also tear out the closet and place your units in view. Re-do the way they are hooked up. Put a counter over the top and match the cabinets in the kitchen. Still you will need some kind of cabinet system so that you don't have to look at dirty clothes.

Our current home has the laundry room right off the door to the garage. We basically go in and out through the garage. The constant mess was driving me nuts. I finally put a laundry shute in a cabinet and put up extra cabinets with baskets (and doors) so that I could contain the mess.

On that note, if your house is a ranch, then going back to the basement would be no different than if you had a two story with the laundry on the first floor. Then again, I would try to do a laundry shute. That way you are only packing clothes UP the stairs.

I think probably the biggie is just how much laundry are you doing each week. Obviously, if you have a large family moving to the basement might be your best bet. Especially if other family members are responsible for doing their own laundry. You could then turn the closet into a super-size pantry complete with a wine cooler, extra freezer, or whatever works for your situation.

I take it you're committed to this particular washer & dryer so you couldn't consider something else? What about having the washer where it is and have the dryer face it?

Some people like stacked machines, some don't. It's purely personal.

To me the location, for best convenience, should be located close to where the laundry is generated and to where it's returned. For instance if all bedrooms and bathroom are on second floor, then that's a good spot. If all are on first floor, better yet since the kitchen linens will travel a shorter distance. Number of people will make a difference too. There's variables of course like a well-placed clothes chute will offset part of an issue.

Some people are bothered by noise during use. If you use it often and they're noisy, it could impact your use and enjoyment of other areas. If it's quiet and or it doesn't bother you or if you run it while you're away, or sleeping or whatever, that would make a difference. Personally I'm not a fan of running them while asleep or away for the fire danger but that's a personal thing with me.

My other thought is what about a different type of door?

housefairie - Thanks for the comments. We haven't tried the washer yet, since we haven't actually moved in yet and we have another washer at our rental. I was planning to run a load of cleaning towels and rags sometime this week while I am there to gauge the noise level.

I'm actually less concerned about storage for sorting clothes since I usually do that as I wash and just bring whatever load I am washing into the laundry room. I was hoping to use some of this closet for pantry storage.

I don't think dh would go for tearing out the closet right now. We have SO many other projects going on that it might put him over the edge with me! We have the services of a free plumber and electrician and the old laundry area still exists so moving them downstairs is a minimal hassle. Rebuilding the w/d area in the kitchen and adding cabinets would be one more project to push us behind and over budget, unfortunately.

The house is a ranch. I do a fair amount of laundry each week with 2 small kids, but it isn't like I do an army's worth. When I was organized I ran a load every day (whites one day, darks the next, etc) and got it all folded and put away the same day. Maybe if it's in the kitchen I'll be inspired to do that again!!

cynic - Thank you for the help! yup, we are committed to this w/d. We've had the dryer for about 8 months and got it on closeout for $300! We loved it enough that dh told me I could get the matching washer if I could find one. Had I known we'd be buying a house like this one, I'd have waited and probably bought a smaller set.

If we stacked them the set would be sitting on tile over subfloor. Would this pose any problems? It's level as far as I can tell.

The laundry will pretty much all be generated on this floor, since the house is a rambler. I don't generally run them while i am out of the house or sleeping for the fire or flooding danger.

As for a different door, I'm not really sure what my options are. The door that was on there was a lovely 1980's PanelFold accordian door that is now sitting in a dumpster in the driveway. We had at least 4 of those in the house. Would bifold doors give me any more room?

Again, I would run the washer and make sure that everything is okay before buying the bracket to stack the two together. I don't think the weight of the dryer is going to make a difference in how they operate. However, maybe someone with a stacking set can give you their perspective.

That said, those kids are going to become TEENAGER'S !!!
With that goes lots of clothes changing. And lots of showers with more towels. Actually, I didn't think my kids teenage years were that bad. Just that their clothes get bigger and take more space, thus more loads of laundry.

As far as the doors, I would suggest you go check them out. Bi-folds do need a certain amount of room to stack against the door jam. The only concern, I see, is the fridge will limit how far the door can swing back.

Until you decide, you could also do a tension pole across the top of the door. That way you would not be putting any kind of bracket into your molding. Then hang a curtain, and that will hide the mess until you decide on a door.

I would stack them. YOu have a decent amount of space on the other end for some shelves even. Maybe an L shaped unit in the corner (and you could do this yourself even to save $$).

I had my Miele's stacked in a closet in the kitchen - it was a great place to have them in the center of the house. Here, my laundry room is off my dining room/kitchen and i just restocked my machine.

On thing i'd considering doing is getting solid core bi-folds for them. That would greatly reduce the noise if that bothered you. Go with good quality bi-folds though - they will get a lot of use and i can tell the difference between the ones in this house (that have ALL fallen off the tracks when the tracks bent) and the ones we had in the old house.

The Mieles are short enough i was able to keep my detergent on top of the machine.

OHHH, and if you wanted to you could do a fold down from the wall thing (like an ironing board) to give you some counter space to fold on.

I've never had a basement - but i can say that i'd rather have my limited space for laundry in the kitchen than go down to the basement! LOL!!

Congrats on the house!!

Isn't moving fun? Decision 1. Laundry in Kitchen or downstairs. If in kitchen, fewer steps to where you accumulate laundry and/or put laundry away; bedrooms, linen closet, but lose kitchen space, get awkward traffic pattern. If downstairs, more steps but get more kitchen space better traffic pattern. Also to be considered: it doesn't look as though a washer pan or drain was put in the closet. In our part of the world that is a code issue. Is there room to put one in?

If "Decision 1" is laundry in kitchen, Decision 2 (side by side or stacked) requires careful measurements. If you put washer and dryer side by side will you have room to open both appliance doors? If you put in bifold doors will you still have room to open both appliance doors (I think you said not)? If not could you live with no doors or a curtain? How much space would you lose on either side of the appliances? Would 31 inch deep shelves accessed over the appliances be convenient as a pantry? Can you move the dryer vent?

I lived with a washer and dryer under a kitchen counter for 20 years and loved it. BUT they were designed as part of the kitchen and had a purpose built cabinet installation. I also lived with a stacked installation before that. Stacking works fine as long as the framing is strong enough, you don't have to service the machines a lot,and the machines are properly balanced. IMHO, side by side is the worst option in your situation. Two or three layers of doors will be blocking each other and, indeed, access to the kitchen itself. You will lose a lot of space on either side of the appliances. With stacking you can go with Tracey Fl's suggestions and then decide whether you want the bifold doors or not. Standing in the closet to load would be an advantage as you would not be blocking the kitchen/fridge access. But, please don't rule out putting the appliances back down stairs for starters. Given your family's life style, which is more important to YOU: more kitchen space or laundry in the kitchen?

In your current location, I'd probably stack them, which would allow for storage in there also. I've always had stack units and like them. They are difficult to pull out though, and you need to maintain the dryer vent annually. (Do not use the flexible plastic/foil types as they are fire hazards. Make sure the metal venting has the correct type of bends, also, and is to Code so it doesn't accumulate lint blockages.) If dh can pull it out fairly easily, I'd stack in there to conserve space.

My preference would definitely be the basement though. A water problem from the washer is no fun on the living floor.

(Also be sure to keep your water supply valve off when the washer is not in use. There are a number of options for the water supply, with regards to leaks. Some hoses claim to not burst. I believe there are plumbing valves that automatically close off if there's a problem. You can also place a water alarm on the floor. SmartHome has an alarm that will even call your cell phone! cause if you're not home it's not very useful.)

I'd also much prefer to use that area for a pantry closet, myself.

Thank you all for the thoughtful information and suggestions! I have a lot to mull over on this decision, but I think that I am going to have my electrician put another 220 outlet in the basement and then we'll run the plumbing for the downstairs hookups as well so that if I do decide to move them down there it will be easy to do.

tzmaryg - No, there is no drain or washer pan in the closet. I'll have to check on the code issue there. I really don't think I can live without doors. I am just not that organized!

Squirrel - If we did stack the units then my access to the water shutoffs will be pretty much blocked, which is crummy. One bonus is that the kitchen is an addition to the house, so it doesn't sit over the basement. We wouldn't flood the basement if we had a leak. I'll look into the alarm, though. I'm definitely hooked on the panrty closet idea, but if we do stack them in there, I think I can get a decent amount of shelf space as well. I'm guessing we'll have to cut in a new dryer vent, since the existing one is on the other side of the closet.

This is similar to my laundry room, though mine is a bit larger. My washer and dryer are at each end and face each other. I have a rod for hanging clean clothes above the dryer, and I also have a number of shelves above the washer and around the room. Even though it's a small space, it's all used. We are a family of six - 2 parents, 4 kids - so I do a LOT of laundry. This works very well for us. HTH

It doesn't look as though you'd have much room to work if your w/d faced each other as mine do. Stacking them might very well be the way to go.

I wouldn't block the water valves, and you want to be able to detect a failing, drippy valve there also. I have one of those too! It needs a bowl right now : ( It looks like you have just enough room to have them face each other, shelves over each and maybe a high shelf along the back wall. Adding a drying pole sounds great, too.

My washer (the drain portion) has had a few spills into my ground living area. It ruined part of the hardwood flooring in the adjacent rooms. Water heater is first level also. Years back I found that was leaking and it was a mess with the carpeting. It's in a pan now, but that can only handle so much of a problem. These things should not be on living levels, imo. My mother's place has had the same problem on two occasions, with the living floor washer. The fill valve malfunctioned once and overflowed. Don't remember what the other problem was, but it was right after they had their hardwoods refinished from the last damage. Worst of all, friends of the family came home from vacation to find their washer hoses had burst and water running down the driveway -- the whole house got so humid it was a nightmare. So it does happen and is not so uncommon.

You're lucky to have a basement option. Water can be as bad as fire.