Positioning the washer/dryer on an outside wall is ideal because the dryer can vent directly to the outside. However, placing them on an inside wall isn't the end of the world: You just have to plan for a vent that'll take the dryer exhaust outside. We had a reach-in closet laundry in the center of our first house, and it never gave us a bit of trouble.

Considerations:

- Use a flexible metal vent, not a cheap-o plastic model.
- Remember that you must check the vent occasionally to see that you don't have a build-up of lint, which could be a fire hazard. Ask your builder where your vent is /how this can be accomplished. Ours was easy because it was a one-story house and the vent went through the crawlspace.
- Don't vent your dryer towards the front of your house. Not unless you consider bits of lint in your bushes attractive.

My only issue would be for the two bedrooms, if your sleeping and depending on the noise level coming from the w/d. Sometime you need to do a load late at night and the noise may bother someone sleeping..

I'd not worry about your venting here. It will make it. You will need to choose a code legal option for your venting, obviously. Almost no where accepts flexible plastic, and some don't accept flexible metal venting for dryers--rigid metal only. Which way do your floor joists run? Undoubtedly, you'll be able to run your dryer vent right to the (front of the house) along the floor joists.

Just looking at your laundry room layout--If you flipped the W/D with the bit of counter shown you could gain counter/storage & hanging space all along the short wall in addition to what you currently have. Better yet, if did a stacked unit, you could gain even more.

Just a thought...

Thank you all.

Yes, it appears that the front of the house is the only place the vent can go, right now. Which according to the feedback is highly suboptimal.

What if I put the w/d along the western wall? The concern there is that it'd have to traverse the entire house to get to outside.

I can't put them along the eastern wall - there's a door there.

Regarding there noise - we plan on having spray foam around the laundry, so that should mitigate it somewhat.

Here's a thought...could you switch bedroom #2's bathroom location with the laundry room location? That would at least put your vent directly on an exterior wall. The bathroom would be a little shorter in length, but it could be done quite easily and at least solve the long hose run issue.

@mydreamhome - yes, that's a good idea.. Hm..

The problem is I don't think there's enough room in the laundry to accommodate a full bath.

but otherwise, yea.. needs a thought.. Thanks!

and some don't accept flexible metal venting for dryers--rigid metal only.

The flexible venting impedes airflow. If the run exceeds 25 feet, it is advisable to consider a dryer duct booster of some sort.

interesting point about the duct booster - never heard of such a thing - Thanks!

Might need to consider it. Of course, adding more machinery = more chances that something will break.

Where does this thing live, do you know? Is it positioned right between the dryer and the wall?

logastellus--I can't make out the length of the laundry room clearly, but it looks like it may be 8'. You could get a 30-36" vanity, a standard tub/shower combination and a toilet in there is the same layout as the current bath. It won't be as spacious as the current location, but it can work--my DS2 has about this much space in his bath. If you wanted to, you could steal 6" - 1' out of bedroom #2 and likely not miss it too much if you wanted to make it a little bigger. I would do it in a heartbeat to keep from having bends in the vent run.

Hope this helps!

Appliance manufacturers LOVE dryer vents in the middle of the house. It almost guarantees them a sale every couple of years.

Having a clogged dryer vent is the #1 repair for dryers. And it has nothing to do with the dryer itself. Unless the vent gets clogged enough, then the heating element will burn out. And then people, thinking that there is something wrong with the dryer because of the decreased performance and eventual death, end up buying a new one.

Venting a dryer should ALWAYS choose the shortest, straightest route possible. If you do choose to go up, then you need make sure the rigid duct (ONLY) is well insulated and you need to clean that vent out every 6 months. That means pulling the dryer forward, disconnecting the flex vent, and running the leaf blower up through the rigid metal ducting. If you do that regularly, you won't have a problem. The trouble is, no one does that regularly.

NEVER vent it downwards. The problem you get then is that the moisture condenses, pools, and you have yucky water building up and eventually blocking the airflow. It's not quite as gross as a downdraft kitchen vent, but it's darn close.

hollysprings - thank you for the detailed post.

We can still potentially alter the plan drastically, if required.

Do you think it's worth it to tear this thing up (finalized plan having gone to structural already) and shifting everything around to where the laundry on the perimeter somewhere?

Or do you think we should leave it alone and vent it up, blow it out every 6 months?

What would you do, if you were in this situation?

Is [duct booster] positioned right between the dryer and the wall?

At least
15 feet away from the dryer, so it is not affected by the waste heat. (There are several types of boosters available, so directions will vary.)

Here is a link that might be useful: Are dirty dryer vents a hazard?

OK, got it!

Thanks, everyone. Will huddle up and decide on what we're going to do.

I can't tell exactly how big your existing laundry room is, but it looks positively tiny. How much space is in front of the washer dryer? When you are standing there, how much space will you take up? When you open the washer or dryer (assuming front-loaders) is there still room to stand? And where will you put hampers, baskets, hang clean clothes, etc?

It seems that your other spaces are ample - bedrooms, bathrooms, and closets - so they make this laundry room feel like a closet.

Not sure if all that have washer/dryer on inside wall have to get a secondary lint trap. But our builder put one in. It is ugly, hard to get to, sharp metal and leaks. When I turn dryer on the lid keeps popping off or open just enough to make a mess. I have to dust my walls and the extra heat / moisture that comes from it is very noticeable. Vowed to never have a secondary lint trap again

littlebug - the laundry is 8'x6'2". We're not fans of huge, elaborate laundries so just left it on the small side.

We live in a tiny 1200 ftsq. Cottage and have put the w/d in a 6X8 walk in, not enough room, it drives me nuts, yes guys I do laundry. If you are more than 2 people you are doing laundry for there for make it larger, for certain.