Anyone have a dumb waiter in their house??

[TwingleMum]

I am remodeling and my DH and I are at loggerheads. He is a SAHD . I want our laundry room upstairs with the bedrooms. I think as we get older it would be easier if it was on same floor no heavy laundry to lug up the stairs. DH does the laundry I put it away. He is adamant that it be on main floor like now. He can put laundry in and cook and watch kids in his opinion seamlessly. I think I came up with a compromise. A dumb waiter from the laundry room to the upstairs. We have a large house that will be in a major renovation so there is room and the walls will be open. I think it will be @ $4000 Anyone have one?? Pro/Cons???? TIA

 

[Sheree Bobbins]

Not a dumbwaiter, but we have a laundry chute from the bathroom to the laundry room.

 

[TwingleMum]

My Dsis has a laundry chute. Its convenient but I'm thinking of getting the laundry back up the stairs.

 

[Mom2Nick]

Maybe you can stand at the bottom of the chute and throw it back up.

My laundry is upstairs. Yes it can be slightly inconvenient to go up and down the stairs to run a load during the day but I will NEVER go back to having to haul full baskets of clean or dirty clothes up and down again. A dumbwaiter would be a good compromise but honestly I would just tell your DH he will get used to it. I tend to run my loads at night. When we are getting ready for bed I will start a load and fold it the next morning. VERY rarely do I run upstairs during the day to run a load. We have 3 kids so a family of 5 and I stay up to date by doing a load like this every night.

 

[LisaNJ25]

I wish I had a laundry chute.. my sil used to have one. A dumbwaiter would be a neat idea.. I have never heard of anyone having one these days. That would be hand also since my laundry room is in the basement.

 

[Cindy B]

I had laundry chutes at two of our former houses... I miss them so much!

I would love to have a laundry chute again.

 

[smschex]

When I read the title of the thread, my first thought was "I am the dumb waiter at my house."

 

[TwingleMum]

When I read the title of the thread, my first thought was "I am the dumb waiter at my house."

I was expecting a lot of dumb waiter jokes

 

[TwingleMum]

Maybe you can stand at the bottom of the chute and throw it back up.

My laundry is upstairs. Yes it can be slightly inconvenient to go up and down the stairs to run a load during the day but I will NEVER go back to having to haul full baskets of clean or dirty clothes up and down again. A dumbwaiter would be a good compromise but honestly I would just tell your DH he will get used to it. I tend to run my loads at night. When we are getting ready for bed I will start a load and fold it the next morning. VERY rarely do I run upstairs during the day to run a load. We have 3 kids so a family of 5 and I stay up to date by doing a load like this every night.

My DH is a pain in the patoutie. He feels like if its important to him and he does the laundry (except I'm the one putting it away) and he is the Stay at Home it should be his decision. So I'm willing to compromise if a dumb waiter is a workable solution.

 

[clarabelle]

I know someone with two laundry rooms.
The big main one downstairs and upstairs by the master a little one with a stackable unit.

 

[LadyZolt]

I would vote against it as I don't think you'd recoup the cost if you end up having to sell the house. In the initial post, the concern was lugging laundry up the stairs in your golden years. I think it's more likely that one of you will develop knee or other joint problems that make it difficult to use stairs at all, in which case you'd be selling that house and downsizing, or adding a chairlift up the stairs in your existing house. If you do put in a chairlift, you can easily stack the laundry on it and let it ride up. Until that time, honestly, carrying the laundry upstairs is good for your heart. Just my opinion!

I have a two-story house, laundry on main level, laundry chute from master bedroom to laundry room. I sort the clothes, put the "colds" down the chute and carry the "warms" down the stairs to keep them separate and then wash, dry, fold and carry 'em back upstairs. Just so you know I do understand about carrying laundry upstairs.

-Dorothy (LadyZolt)

 

[The Mystery Machine]

If you are putting the laundry away, you win, whether he is the SAHD or not.

Doing the laundry means you put it away as well.

My compromise is that it is either upstairs or he puts it away as part of the deal.

 

[Handbag Lady]

I think if you plan to stay in that house a long time, get the dumb-waiter. It solves the now-question for both of you.


Then, you can have the laundry downstairs and it will be easy to lug it back up. When you are old and feeble, you can then easily install laundry upstairs, too.



If he wants the laundry downstairs so much, then he can lug it back upstairs.













PS-No, my husband is sometimes clever! (to answer the question!)

 

[bgirl29]

I think the dumb waiter is a good compromise. As a SAHM if my husband decided that the washer and dryer were going to be upstairs when I wanted them on the main floor, well laundry would then be on his list of household chores. Maybe see if your husband will carry the clean items upstairs for you and then you still put them away?

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Maybe see if your husband will carry the clean items upstairs for you and then you still put them away?

 

[rie'smom]

Either get the dumbwaiter or I vote with your husband. He stays at home with the kids and if it's eaiser for him to do laundry and watch the kids with the laundry downstairs, then that's what you do.

 

[cabanafrau]

The reason you don't really see new homes with laundry chutes anymore is due to firecodes. It may not be the same everywhere, but I'd guess nearly all parts of the country won't allow them. A dumbwaiter would be out of the question for the same reason.

 

[disykat]

I think the dumb waiter is a good compromise. As a SAHM if my husband decided that the washer and dryer were going to be upstairs when I wanted them on the main floor, well laundry would then be on his list of household chores. Maybe see if your husband will carry the clean items upstairs for you and then you still put them away?

I agree. If you feel a dumbwaiter is worth it, go for it. However, I love having my laundryroom near the main areas of the house for the same reason your husband mentioned. I can cook, watch the kids, etc. so much easier while I keep the laundry going. If it was upstairs, I'd have to "single task."

 

[TwingleMum]

Either get the dumbwaiter or I vote with your husband. He stays at home with the kids and if it's eaiser for him to do laundry and watch the kids with the laundry downstairs, then that's what you do.

Exactly. I want to respect the fact that he is the primary caretaker and not ride roughshod over him. I like the dumbwaiter idea but I need to check fire codes (never thought of that). Thanks for all the input.

 

[DrCavin]

The reason you don't really see new homes with laundry chutes anymore is due to firecodes. It may not be the same everywhere, but I'd guess nearly all parts of the country won't allow them. A dumbwaiter would be out of the question for the same reason.

Some new homes here still have them, so we must not have that restriction.

OP, I wouldn't spend $4k on one but maybe i read your post wrong...