Where should the laundry room go?
The best laundry location starts with the route your clothes take: from where they come off, through washing and drying, to where they are put away. Compare that complete trip before choosing a room beside the bedrooms, near the everyday entrance or within a shared space. The shortest trip is useful only if the location also works for the people, equipment and other activities around it.
Trace a load from hamper to closet
On the floor plan, mark where dirty clothes, towels and bedding collect. Trace the trip to the proposed machines, then the return trip with clean laundry. Count doors, turns and stair trips while imagining a full basket in your hands. Include the person who usually does the laundry and anyone who may share that job.
Mark where sorting, hanging and folding will happen too. A laundry closet near the bedrooms may shorten the washing trip but still send every clean load elsewhere for folding. A larger room farther away may handle all the steps in one place. Compare the routine you would actually follow rather than room labels alone.
Near bedrooms: check convenience against quiet time
A location near bedroom closets can reduce carrying between clothing storage and the machines. On a two-story plan, check where most loads originate and whether that pattern would change if someone began sleeping downstairs. Discuss how laundry would work if carrying a basket on stairs became difficult.
Then mark the rooms beside, above and below the laundry. Think about naps, early bedtimes and work calls during the hours you normally wash clothes. Ask the builder to review appliance sound and vibration, room placement and the proposed separation from quiet rooms. Do not assume that closing the laundry door will resolve every noise concern.
At the mudroom: protect the arrival route
Laundry near the everyday entrance may suit a household that brings in work clothes, sports uniforms or outdoor towels. Sketch where those items land and where clean laundry waits. Separate the places for sorting clothes and setting down groceries so one task does not consume the other's surface.
Test an arrival while a load is being transferred. Show the machine doors open, a basket on the floor and someone entering from the garage. If the only passage runs through that working space, ask whether the appliances, doorway or sorting area can be rearranged. Also trace clean laundry back to the bedrooms; easy access from outside does not automatically mean an easy put-away trip.
In a shared room or closet: draw the overlapping tasks
A hall closet or laundry area shared with another room can keep the plan compact, but it needs a clear place for each step. Identify where an open hamper, drying rack and folded stack will go without borrowing a hallway or blocking another room's use. Decide which storage belongs to laundry and which belongs to the shared space.
Check the exact machines in the proposed arrangement. Whirlpool's laundry-room guidance identifies room dimensions, connection space, ventilation and door swings as part of fit planning. Have the designer and installer verify the selected models' installation instructions, including any enclosure requirements. Draw lids, appliance doors and room doors open rather than checking only the closed appliance footprint.
Source: Whirlpool: Laundry room sizes and layout considerations
Confirm utilities and maintenance access early
Before fixing the location, ask the project team to review water supply, drainage, electrical needs, any gas connection and the drying equipment's ventilation requirements. Explain whether you expect a sink or a different appliance arrangement later. Ask what leak-management provisions are appropriate for the proposed location, especially where finished rooms are below it; let the team evaluate the details.
For a vented dryer, include the exhaust route and access for inspection and cleaning in that discussion. The U.S. Fire Administration recommends professional installation and service, and checking that venting behind the dryer is not crushed, damaged or restricted. A layout should allow that upkeep instead of treating the equipment as permanently enclosed. Confirm the requirements of the actual dryer type rather than assuming every model uses the same arrangement.
Use the same checklist for each location
Compare two proposed locations with a typical load, not an empty room. Write down the unresolved issue beside each answer.
- Route: Where does the load begin, and how many doors or stairs are between it and the machines?
- Work space: Where will you sort, transfer, hang and fold it?
- Quiet time: Who uses neighboring rooms when the machines normally run?
- Overlap: Can people arrive, pass through or use the shared room during a load?
- Equipment: Can the selected appliances open fully, be serviced and eventually be replaced?
- Feasibility: Has the project team reviewed connections, ventilation and location-specific protection?
Bring the routine into the plan conversation
Bring Josh your marked routes, appliance shortlist and the two location options you want to compare. JenMac draws and adapts plans for custom homes in southwest Missouri. Describing the laundry routine helps the team weigh convenience alongside the rest of the home's layout.
Prepared with AI assistance using the company information and sources linked in each guide. These planning guides are not project-specific quotes or designs.