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amy2202_gw

laundry in garage

amy2202
16 years ago

I would like to know if anyone has ever put the washer and dryer in the garage.I live in NJ and was not sure if the winter months will effect the efficiecy of the w/d. I will need to use electric dryer and prefer front load washer. Also not sure of the best way to vent dryer.( up to attic, or down into basement across to original vent to outside.)

Thanks for any help

Comments (18)

  • jazzspot
    16 years ago

    Hi amy2202, sorry I can't provide you info on the venting of your dryer. But the manual for the Duet WFW9400S front load washer that I just purchased states;
    "Install and store your washer where it will not freeze. Because some water may stay in the hoses, freezing can damage your washer."

  • premier
    16 years ago

    I don't think it is a good idea to put it in a garage. It gets cold in NJ.

  • river-rat4
    16 years ago

    amy2202,

    I live in Minnesota and installed my washer/dryer in the garage.

    Keep in mind that I have a heated garage, insulated pipes, and the dryer vent run is about 20 feet in length (running up to attic and out(insulated rigid vent)).

    I have been happy.

  • mayguy
    16 years ago

    Yuck!!!! Why in the world would someone want to do laundry in the garage???

    There alot of stuff out there that is going to get sucked into your dryer and onto your clothes..

    -Wet grass on your mower.
    -Gas cans.
    -Oil.
    -Hot enegin smell.
    -Paint
    -ect.....

    Also the floors are wet in the winter from the snow, or rain.

    Salt/sand from the road in the winter.

  • PRO
    Joe Henderson
    16 years ago

    i think the larger issue is the temperatur change and its effect on rubber

    id be very concerned for the longevity of the tubes inside and outside the washer. the run is really about length, the shorter the better. so go with the most efficient run(remember elbows add equivalent feet not just the length of the elbow i think the rule of thumb is to add 7-8ft per elbow)

  • dgmarie
    16 years ago

    My inlaws in Florida have their laundry machines in the garage. This is VERY COMMON, not some backwoods freak of nature stuff. In SC there were neighbors who's laundry was in the carport in a closet. Where it doesn't freeze, these isn't a problem.

    In NJ? NO way would I do this. It gets much too cold.

  • dadoes
    16 years ago

    Here in TX, particularly in houses built in the 1970s and earlier, it's fairly common that the washer and dryer are in the garage. The house in which I grew up, built in 1964, had the washer & dryer in the garage. Our clothes never smelled objectionable, LOL. Most (but not all) newer homes now have utility rooms inside the house. That being said, all washers retain some water in the pump which can be damaged by freezing. Temperature extremes can affect dryer operation, particularly those that rely on temperature-based automatic dry cycles. It isn't a problem with dryers that have electronic moisture sensors.

  • iasheff
    16 years ago

    Besides the freezing of the washer issue, can you imagine going out to the garage to do laundry when it is the dead of winter? I can't even imagine! Maybe I am getting too old :)

    (I grew up in So Ca with the laundry in the garage. It was very common. Now that I live in the midwest, it is unheard of to have the laundry in the garage.)

  • john_31_fl
    16 years ago

    its very common to have the washer and dryer in the garage in Florida. In fact mine is in the garage and my house isn't that old built in early 90s. During the hot weather I wish they were inside. Hot as the blazes in my garage from late June until mid October.

  • river-rat4
    16 years ago

    Garage wahser/dryer and Happy.

    Hot engine smells... We own a 2007 and a 1999 vehicle and are in great repair. No smells present. You make it sound like the laundry is running 24/7 and drivung into the garage makes it stink up the garage and the laundry is running when not home. Such is not the case. From experience, laundry only gets run during times when we are home.

    I have sealed gas/oil/paint cans. Normally the mower and grass don't get PULLED into the washer/dryer unless turned on to "TURBO GRASS SUCK" mode.

    Does your inside washer/dryer have a "SPECIAL" skin flake, dust, dog/cat hair, dish soap, toilet cleaner, pledge, cooking mist/oil/steam filter?

    As far as temperature, in Minnesota we get that. I maintain about 7o degrees F year round as it is insulated and keep the door closed year round, but to park.

    Real estate isn't cheap. As I see it, the more living space the better, selling or not.

    (Dryer is vented outside and is ridgid with insulation and cleaned annually)

    To each his/her own.

    rr4

  • lisadid_yahoo_com
    16 years ago

    hi rr4 - I am in Ohio and am planning to take over my laundry room & make my master bath bigger, and move the washer/dryer into the garage, on the interior wall. I just got an insulated steel garage door, but don't have a heating vent directly into the garage. Do you pump heat into your garage? or does it just stay above freezing due to the insulated door & the heat from the attached house?

    thanks,
    lisa

  • tinylady
    16 years ago

    We are in the process of moving our washer and dryer to the garage. We do not use it for the mower, cars, or such, and I do not know many people that do now. We have insulated it and will be putting heat to it. I will be glad to have it out of the small room ( 12x5) comming into the house that also hold my furnance and hot water tank in the back. We will be putting a door from that room with steps down to the garage.

  • braytonak
    16 years ago

    I grew up here in Anchorage, AK. The laundry in many homes here is in the garage. My current garage holds the laundry, water heater and boiler. We park our cars in the garage and not much of anything else. (It's a two-car garage. Literally. Barely room for a shelf on the side walls.) I've certainly never found a reason to be concerned about garage smells getting into my clothes. As long as you have heat in your garage, the laundry appliances should be fine. Obviously, the warmer the garage, the less energy the dryer will consume. Just get some cheap digital thermometer and set it several feet from the laundry so you'll know for sure.

    It's a peeve of mine to see someone have a garage and park cars in front of their house...none of them in the garage. If the garage gets used as a storage shed, maybe it's time to purge some stuff?

  • mayguy
    16 years ago

    Sounds like it's a common things down south.. Always seen it in the basement or laundry room on newer homes. I may be going extream over about the order/smell.

    Just can't imagin standing in the garage doing my laundry in shorts while my other half comes home shopping, and the big door opens up and the 10Ë winter air comes rushing in!

  • julssilver8
    8 years ago

    I bought a house in Salt Lake City, the house is 50 years old. My washer and dryer are in garage are they gonna freeze with the temperature cange

  • mamapinky0
    8 years ago

    Temperatures generally stay below freezing in SL City in the winter, unless your garage is heated I don't advise it.

  • poppy214
    8 years ago

    Try checking the room temperature of the garage on a winter day before you make your final decision. Now somebody has opened the garage door to bring something in. How's that temperature doing? Is the garage insulated? The poster from Alaska makes a good point about the location of your hot water heater. Think also about the amount of electronics in your machines. Those computer boards don't generally like subfreezing temperatures. If your water heater isn't in the garage, the hot water to your machine is going to be pretty cold by the time it gets there.