My first floor laundry room (actually a hallway) doesn't have a laundry smell, maybe because we use only unscented laundry products.

Our laundry doesn't have a smell; I think if you avoid piling wet clothes which start to mold you won't have a problem.
Renais

I never really thought of it but our first floor laundry does not really have a laundry smell either. We don't even use unscented detergent, although we never use dryer sheets which to me seem to be the worst offenders, scent-wise.

the basement laundry smell might have more to do with insufficient air movement ..... every basement i was ever acquainted with... lacked a cold air return at floor level ... so the furnace never really moved air down low .... leading to that wonderful basement scent ...

maybe its just a MI thing ...

but i am thinking upstairs.... you just arnet going to be dealing with that kind of dead air ...

also.. if it does start bugging you ... something like a bathroom exhaust fan would be simple to install in the ceiling... unless you have a second floor ...

also ... the dryer will be sucking air outside.. and it has to come from somewhere ... so it will probably exchange the air also ...

one thought for sure.. i wouldnt close the door to the cubby while doing laundry ....

good luck

ken

use unscented products and don't leave wet clothes in piles to get stinky. this isn't rocket science.

Twenty years in current house, laundry room is right off the family room, and never any "laundry" smell, even when we were able to use scented detergents.

Never a smell here. I do hang wet towels on the shower rod to dry in the master bathroom. I hate the sour smell of clothes wet to long.

I used a towel at my SD's home and it had a sour smell that even being laundered did not take away. Ugh!!!!

Any laundry that has a smell (other than product fragrance) probably needs a dehumidifier for mold. The other significant possibility is that a plumbing trap in the basement has dried out from lack of use, and you are smelling the sewer.

I have a little used basement bath that I need to run water in the sink every month or so to keep the trap filled with water. Especially in the summer when I run a dehumidifier in the basement.

Unused floor drains also need water to seal.

I had the misfortune of spilling a half a cup of bleach on the floor the other day. It's the bleach that gives the laundry smell. If you're not planning on spilling it on the floor I don't think you will have any issues.