Normally I ignore this sort of stuff but this one did intrigue me a bit.
I find the bathroom a very odd place to put a washing machine - though it seems quite normal in Europe and makes sense in terms of plumbing. I wonder if my predudice is something to do with subconcious thoughts about bathrooms and electrical appliances.
Otherwise, yes, preferably in a utility area (which is the case in both my French and UK residence) but if not I don’t see what’s actually wrong with the kitchen - does it really matter that much?
As for driers, yes, well, I take the point about Britain being a bit damp but they consume a huge amount of energy and are a significant fire risk so, despite the obvious benefit, I avoid them like the plague.
Of course it all depends on what space is available… modern homes are normally a bit tight…
and, to my mind, putting a washing machine in a bathroom, with all the steamy atmosphere generated by baths/showers… would surely not be a good idea…???
Kitchen seems best suited if space is at a premium, although I have always had mine on the opposite side to food preparation… just one of my quirks…
In France, with all this wonderful space… washing machines can reign supreme in the utility/laundry… call it what you will… it works for us.
We’ve had ours in a sort of walk-in cupboard for the past goodness knows how long. No room in the bathroom anyway and we didn’t have a kitchen as such - just a few cupboards and sink along a wall in the main room.
Now the new kitchen is available but unfitted until I’m a bit more capable. The temporary kitchen is in the adjacent barn and this will become a buanderie, with washing machine and (rarely used) tumble drier in the end. Just hope I live long enough to see it
They put a cellier in this new house so the washer goes in there. I bought a UK made (had union jack stickers all over it) Indesit dryer here from Dar*y and then was informed it was one of the dangerous models and for €100 they would come and check it over and replace parts - I threw the dam thing out there and then as it was in an outbuilding and I could not stand and keep an eye on it and would not know if it caught fire! As my breton neighbours told me afterwards, why do you need one when you have the biggest dryer in the world for free, meaning the garden and the wind. Never looked back, had lower electricity bills and my clothes lasted longer as drying them ruins the materials. My son smelled something burning a few months ago in the garage, it was their tumble drier so he literally ripped it out of the space and dragged it straight outside. I now use my Samsung eco bubble on the eco programme for big loads, it has made a great difference to the bill as well and the clothes are just as clean as a hotter shorter wash.
In the kitchen just now but we are open plan, once the loft conversion is done the TV room will become the utility room and it will go in there.
The tumble drier is in one of the out houses which has a metal girder and 40mm tile ceiling, so if it wants to burn it won’t do any damage.
We need the tumble dryer some times in the winter, as my FIL who has dementia can be a bit toilet comprised at times.
We have 4 long washing lines under cover at the side of the car port/hanger for the rest of the time.
We looked around a show home in UK that had both washing machine and tumble dryer in a small cupboard off the landing on the first floor which seemed to make sense.
Modern electronic ones should never be put into a steamy bathroom if indeed you let it get steamy. Ok with the old ones where it was almost normal in france. I like to put them the other side of a door just so I cant hear them.
must confess, that sounds like a scam to me… if there truly was an acknowledged fault with that model… costs would be down to the Manufacturer to ensure parts were replaced etc etc…
just like recalling cars… which happens from time to time…
The huge multinational manufacturer makes the same machine under different labels and a lot were made poorly with fluff finding it way where it shouldnt causing fires.
I suppose if the check was on the initiative of the shop, not the manufacturer, one could understand why they tried to charge - still a bloomin’ cheek though.
And to add insult it wasn’t even three years old. My sister bought the exact same model in the UK and paid the manufacturers to come and replace the so called faulty parts. It seems that the fires were caused by fluff getting into the motor from the filters and smouldering for a while before igniting hence why people thought they were safe after use and it hadn’t gone up in smoke!
It wasn’t the shop, it was the french branch of the manufacturer who wrote to me. D**ty won’t often get involved in problems and if you order anything like a washer via their internet site, they DO NOT install or take the old away as I found out too and was left with a broken machine which actually the primary school took for their metal collection to raise money.
