mxyplx - funny story and you will probably have a heart attack when you learn that I do my laundry (there is only me living in this house) in three loads; sheets and towels is the first, daily wear around the house/yard (currently shorts and tee shirts) is the second and my nicer clothes (shopping, doctor visit, church, eating out, etc PLUS undies) is the third load. Yes I could probably cut it down to two loads but each of the above loads is dealt with in a different manner. For the most part, I don't iron anything (but I use a clothes dryer and many things are hung up just before they are totally dry). I am currently taking a vacation from caregiving - my 100 yr old Dad just moved to assisted living, and the new baby is due in November.

Combustible Materials Behind the Dryer Some companies are claiming to have UL HB94 approved Plastic Dryer Receptacles that can be installed in new construction behind the Dryer. However, if your contact UL they have no record of their products and would reveal that their claims are a self declaration. You may verify listings or find a file numbers for products bearing a UL Mark or claiming UL Recognition by, call 1-847-272-4909 or Customer Service at 1-877-UL HELPS. As always Codes & Technical Services staff members at UL office will help with other question you may have concerning UL certifications, code compatibility or product installation (www.ulcom ). Note that UL HB94 is for parts in devices and appliances. UL HB94 test does not cover plastics when used as materials for building construction or finishing. These components are not intended for separate installation in the field. "They are intended for use as components of complete equipment submitted for investigation to UL." High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS) Dryer receptacles are being installed within your territory! Polystyrene is a known Flammable Plastic ("The Arson Set," pp 405-411 from Kirks Fire Investigation, 4/# by John D. Dehaan, 1997.) www.interfire.org 1. Combustible venting Materials: AHAM has already successfully implemented changes to the National Fuel Gas Code to require that non-combustible materials be required for venting gas clothes dryers. This requirement already exists in many building and mechanical codes used throughout the U.S. 2. International Mechanical Code 2006: Section 913 Clothes Dryers. a. 913.3: Clearances. Clothes dryers shall be installed with clearance to combustibles in accordance with the manufacturerÂs instructions. Note that: Installation instructions for gas & electric dryers state  WARNING: Do not allow combustible materials to come in contact with exhaust system. The dryer MUST NOT be exhausted into a chimney, a wall, a ceiling, or any concealed space of a building which can accumulate lint, resulting in a fire hazard. WARNING: Do not install the dryer where gasoline or other flammables are kept or stored. (Please see installation guidelines for Whirlpool, Frigidaire, and GE) Lint Can Be Controlled! Lint or lint buildup usually does not support or sustain a fire by itself. The surface lint usually burns off very quickly and put itself out, or smolders until it runs out of combustible fuel. This type of fire may cause a lot of smoke and not too much heat. However, if there is a lot of combustible matter in close proximity of the flash fire, a very destructive fire could follow. This scenario points out the need for good housekeeping behind the dryers at all times. Do not store any combustible material or solvents behind the dryers! This means any wood, paper, cardboard boxes, plastic, clothes or trash of any kind. Any fire that starts behind a dryer is particularly dangerous due to the flexible gas lines, which are used to connect the dryers to the gas supply line. These flexible lines melt quickly in a sustained fire, resulting in unrestricted spewing of natural gas or propane into the area in back of the dryers. This type of involvement usually results in a major fire. ("Controlling Dryer Fires" The Journal  November 2000 "Safety Zone" the CLA Insurance Program, 1315 Butterfield Rd. www.coinlaundryinsurance.com) These products along with other combustibles behind the clothes dryer increase liability and the potential of loss!

enduring, thanks, you bring up a lot of good points. i noticed in my existing laundry room that the tiles are all loose. i had assumed it was just because it is old and in need of a refresh, but wonder now if this is an indication of a poorly located washer? i also see that the dryer vents out onto the roof (a lot of old lint here). i didn't know there were ventless dryers! i will have to read up on those. thank you! Jan, initially i didn't think I should do the laundry in the smaller bath since that bath is small as it is. but the exterior wall of that bath is on my deck, which would be much better to clean out the dryer vents that way. so your and hemina's suggestion of moving it to the other bath is warming up to me. i agree with you regarding the attic not being worth tapping into. Laura, thanks for those suggestions. I do think we need a second bath and do feel it will add value. i also am thinking about having the upstairs laundry be a secondary unit stowed away somewhere, and putting the main laundry in my mudroom, since it is closer to where I am most of the day. perhaps a laundry chute would be a fun and useful item to add. i need to work on the location and concept of how i do laundry a bit more, think through all of my home's issues too. thank you so much everyone. it has been such helpful feedback!

In the laundry room in my apartment building's basement, there's a Formica table just for folding clothes. I find that I will fold the clothes as I take them out because there's a table right there to do it on. When I was growing up, we didn't have that in the laundry room--we brought the clothes into the living room (or dining room) and folded them onto the sofa (or dining table--but it was usually busy with other stuff). When we first moved into this apartment, I would bring the clothes upstairs to fold so I could be with my husband instead of downstairs on my own, and fold them onto the couch. But in those "folding onto the couch" situations, the clothes would often not GET folded. Now I take advantage of the infrastructure available to me, and it adds so much order to my life. What I WISH I had is an ironing board and iron right there, next to the dryer, so I could take a kitchen towel out and say, "Ooh, I should touch up this wrinkled edge, and be able to do it right away (OK, I'd have to plug in the iron at that point, but by the time I'd taken three other T-shirts out of the dryer, it would be ready for me to iron the towel, and the handkerchief, and the crinkled up edges of the sheets, etc.). I had a friend whose apartment had a little dressing room / sitting room off the room he used for his bedroom, and he left his ironing board and iron up all the time. If his shirt needed pressing, it was NO time at all to do so. Me, I have to get my ironing board out of the closet in the other room, and get the iron out of where IT is stored separately, so I never use it. I keep trying to find a way to store them together easily, and so far it's not working out. The place I could put them, I don't have a good way to hook up to power and the set-up space is not very good. So I have to take them in the other room, one way or another, and that's just too much for three handkerchiefs, or a single shirt. I'm kind of jealous of your future laundry room!