Laundry-Room-Design Information on how to start from scratch

Laundry-Room-Design the jump off page for planning your new laundry room or to upgrade you existing one.

Access, Access Access. Check access first and last and befor you place your order in Laundry-Room-Design.

Remember:Washing machines, Tumble Dryers, Dishwashers, and Rotary Irons are large machines which cannot be dismantled to fit through a doorway that is too narrow; So always check access as you proceed with your plan on how to start a laundry.

The door will have to be removed and sometimes even have the aperture enlarged to allow machines into a room.

I have been involved in a laundry where the only way to get the machines in was by means of a crane through the roof that had been removed prior to the arrival of the machines.

And in one instance a major road closure in the centre of London all be it on a Sunday early in the morning.

Laundry-Room-Design helps you before you make a costly mistake.

For a quick no nonsense guide click the link to my Laundry-Room page a quick check list of the pitfalls to avoid.

Remember: Access, Access, Access, is the door wide enough?

If you have any comments or questions on laundry applications and room design issues please follow the link to Laundry-Room-Design Questions.

Sketch a design of the space available, using squares of paper cut to scale and place the machines in their desired positions.

• The design of a laundry room is governed by the size of the space available.

• The position and availability of the services, such as drainage, power, water supply, light or windows, doorways, and outside walls for the provision of ventilation both into the room and out for the tumble dryer vents.

Once the space has been assessed for the above and the number and type of machines required to complete the task with some spare capacity allowed for breakdowns we can then start putting pencil to paper. Laundry Calculations How many and what size machines are needd

The flow of work is the important first principle in Laundry-Room-Design.

Where the dirty laundry enters the room is where the sorting area should be,it should be placed as close as possible to the washing machines and the entrance.

Avoid cross contamination with clean laundry especially in a care situations where infection control is paramount, keep the clean linen away from the incoming dirty linen.

From the sorting area into the washing machines is as short a journey as possible and away from clean laundry. For ideas on Clean rooms go see my page on Clean Laundry rooms and barrier machines , where you will be able to see what a barrier machine looks like and the criterion for this type of machine and how it is placed in the laundry room design.

Placing the machines. Choosing a good position for the services

Next task to move clean wet laundry out of the washing machines and into the dryers.

There are two schools of thought here, a tumble dryer placed between each washing machine is one method.

I prefer a row of washing machines then a row of tumble dryers opposite if possible or close by to reduce the possibility of cross contamination with the dirty laundry coming into the room.

The larger the wash load in one machine the greater the need for mechanical handling, carts, baskets, or overhead rails.

You may also wish to arrange for a suitable area or cupboard for the laundry detergent storage, because you need to keep the detergent dry and away from bleaches or other strong chemicals.

Never site a Gas Heated Tumble Dryer and a dry cleaning machine in the same room.

Beware LPG (Liquid Petroleum Gas) heate tumble driers, never put them in a basement or cellar, and use a gas purging fan in boats and ships to remove gas which is heavier than air.

The fumes when passed through a tumble dry may become lethal.

Always use a professional installer for these machines, with the adequate qualifications from CORGI or similar when starting on your Laundry-Room-Design. You can check with Healt & Safety Executive on all the issues

Finishing, Folding & Storage. Rotayr Irons.

Then to the finishing area where Ironing takes place, followed by folding and storage, preferably in another room or airing cupboard.

You may need a folding table or folding machine to deal with large numbers of flat pieces, sheets, pillow cases or table cloths and slip cloths.

These items are normally placed on the outlet to the rotary iron again depending on the size and throughput.

Some shelving and storage situated in the laundry room is sometimes a good idea especially in residential and nursing homes for racks of personal clothing in individual baskets.

It is not always convenient to mark a residents clothing with a laundry marker, so to keep them in small plastic baskets on a shelf is a good idea.

Try to get a smooth flow of work for each process.

The designer has to work to this goal with compromises for each problem along the way that will stray from that goal.

But real effort must be made to stick to a desired flow of work to make the final plan a success.

Keep laundry room decorations simple and easy to clean, use tiles where possible on the floor and with washable painted walls and ceilings, do not allow dark damp spaces to collect fluff and "gunge" which will be a health hazard.

All the machines should have enough space around them to sweep and mop clean on a regular basis.

Avoid cross contamination of dirty incoming laundry with clean finished product.

The Best Laundry-Room-Designs are the ones that have been planned in a purpose built room from the start.

And several times I have been brought in late, whereupon changes to the design of the building have had to be made due to the fact that a lot of architects do not understand the requirements for a workable laundry room. e.g. Ventilation Gravity drainage and large power consumption.

The last thing you want is a situation where staff refuse to work in the room because the design was bad.

I have frequently been asked to put a laundry room in a basement, which come with a multitude of issues for the installation and Laundry-Room-Design.

These have to be overcome, for instance, most drains run above the basement, which can cause major problems getting rid of the waste water.

I had to provide one laundry in a basement with a sump tank below floor level and a pump to discharge the waste back up into the drainage system. What a nightmare that was.

Ventilation of tumble dryers and providing enough make up air for the burners, where a gas heated tumble dryers are chosen is a real headache.

Also if you are using liquid petroleum gas these cannot be placed in a basement area as the gas is heavier than air and the installation will be condemned by the gas regulators.

Laundry-Room-Design will continue over the coming weeks to add new subjects on the design strategy for a perfect laundry room.

Good Water, Gas, Drainage, Ventilation and Electical services are paramount.

This system also helps isolate the mains water supply from the soap and dirty water within the machine with no possibility of cross contamination.

But if this is not designed up front, it can increase the costs considerably more than if it was decided at the outset with the architect and his drawings.

If you can arrange the tank to be installed at an adequate height above the laundry room, pumps may not be needed due to the head of water supply; a good height would be at least 15 feet above the washing machine inlet valves.

For both hard-water and lime-scale build up have a look at my hard-water page and for issues regarding water supply and bye-laws have a look at .... Water Suupply air gaps and bye laws Hardwater and limescale problems explained and solutions.

Home Decor

Wash care labels and symbols to help you choose the correct program

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Summary of Laundry Room Design all the points in one place

Laundry installation – basics

Points to check -

Access to the site (corridors, doors, lifts etc)What power/water supplies are available

Drainage - is it adequate - can it be checked?Ventilation - exhaust and inlet allowance

Gas requirements regulated by Corgi check local bye laws and planning offices.

Positioning for proper work flow.

Is flooring suitable - What about plinths?

Check the dimensions - is there enough room?

Water supply will you need a separate tank at the top of the building to supply a dedicated supply to the laundry room with no cross contamination of the mains supply?

Electricity and power in general, is there enough available close to the planned laundry room, what is the total required and is there an alternative power supply?

For large laundry systems why not think about high pressure steam generation, using various boilers.

This steam can be used for direct injection into the washing machines to heat the water during the wash, heat the tumble dryers, and heat the callender/mangle or roller iron bed.

This would mean that only a reasonable amount of three phase power to turn the motors would be required for all the machines.

FACT - A high percentage of laundries are poorly planned and badly installed. Over the years this will cause stress to your staff and cost you spondulicks/mula/treasure.

Get more than one quotation, and have a look at similar laundries installed by the prospective supplier, ask questions.

Talk to other similar business persons in the same trade or service, via trade organisations and local business forums.

Washer Installation Summary

Washers installation Laundry-Room-Design

Ensure rear space for services access.

Ensure access to water connections.

Take note of floor construction.

A Concrete tiled floor is the best to have, as the cleaning is easier and the machines are not subject to floor vibration.

Which can transfer noise from the laundry to other parts of the building if you try to use a wooden floor.

For wooden joist floors we recommend the use of a plywood base at least 70x70cm 3cm thick. It should span several joists and bolted to the joists, not just the floorboards.

Check site drain size - surface or sub-surface, drains and sewage pipes should have "rodding points" to clear any blockages in the future.

Machines set on plinths must be attached to the plinth, and the plinth must be secured to the floor, to avoid them being pulled over by accident.

Achieve a proper flow of work by making sure good equipment positioning to allow laundry to be moved from the entrance to exit via machines without cross contamination.

Allow for doors to be opened without fouling the machines or causing damage to equipment.

Dryer ventilation calculations. And fresh make up air for the tumble dryers.

Avoid moisture build up and lint in vent pipes and bends.

Air flow is slowed by duct wall friction and bends create more friction, which increases with length, also the air is cooled and condensation takes place within the vent pipe, which causes lint build up and water to lie in the lowest points.

Ensure correct duct diameter & measure the actual duct length by establishing the number of elbows/bends etc., and note the angles involved - very important for common ducting

Add these additional length factors as specified in radius tables to give a true and effective duct length.

"One bend is normally equal to a metre of duct length", which has to be added to the total, to come up with the ducting total length from machine to fresh air.

When a total length is calculated then the manufacturers guide must be used to decide on the cross sectional diameter of ducting required. If in doubt go up to the next size for safety sake.

Ensure there are proper air inlets into room for make up air to allow Dryer. The dryer must have free air to work effectively; they will not work in a sealed room with close fitting fire doors and no access to fresh air.

As a rule of thumb twice the surface area of free air into the room is required for the amount of area of ducting leaving the building.

Ducting Calculation Table

Guide table for tumble dryer free air vent into room, for the size of tumble dryer ducting which is used to vent out.

70mm Ø outlet pipe requires a Vent in to room of 160mm Ø

100mm Ø outlet pipe requires a Vent in to room of 225mm Ø

120mm Ø outlet pipe requires a Vent in to room of 280mm Ø

150mm Ø outlet pipe requires a Vent in to room of 340mm Ø

180mm Ø outlet pipe requires a Vent in to room of 400mm Ø

200mm Ø outlet pipe requires a Vent in to room of 450mm Ø

Some typical tumble dryer Installations for you to consider

All large washing machines should be installed in rooms with a concrete/tiled solid floor, which would not transfer any vibration to other parts of the building.

There in nothing worse than an unbalanced washing machine going into spin and sending a noise throughout the building via wooden joists.

Laundry-Room-Design needs careful planning from the start, with pencil and paper when changes are easily made by means of an eraser. Other methods cause tears and frustration and cost over-runs so have a look at my air gaps page for the solutions to air gap bye-laws...at...

Water supply air gaps Hardwater the solutions to limescale build up in your laundry and dishwashing

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