What would the disadvantages be of having the washer and dryer in a large master bedroom ensuite?

Well, when you’re trying to take a nice Saturday afternoon nap, and Mrs. Squeeky is trying to get the linens done before the weekend is out, you might not like having to deal with the spin cycle or the buzzing every 15 minutes.

There is so much variation in houses, and more importantly households. Believe me, were you and Mrs. Squeeky confronted with a crop of filth generating little kids, your laundry priorities would shift radically from that master bedroom.

The noise, the smell, the humidity, the risk of flooding, the nagging feeling that the bedroom is never quite clean enough (the bedroom is supposed to be one of the safe places in a home, where a good vacuuming and dusting is sufficient most of the time).

Thanks I really wanted to hear the disadvantages of this idea, please keep them coming.

Ours is in the hall adjacent to the master bedroom, I’d love for it to be further away. Try to go to sleep when there is a load of wash running.

Zou would have to route plumbing into the bedroom, zou would have a terrible mess if the machine springs a leak, zou can not wash zour clothes during the night, and bz the waz, the bathroom is a much better place to install those machines.

Mine have either been in an indoor laundry room or the garage. The disadvantages would be noise, not very aestheticaly attractive unless you hid them behind a decorative room divider screen or something to hide their appliance status and, if a hose burst or other mechanical failure you would soak your carpet/bedroom. Once, during freezing weather my washer in the garage burst a hose and then it froze overnight turning the entire wet floor in the garage into an ice skating rink. It was a disaster, took days to thaw out and mop up. haha

Both my mother and my sister opted for that feature in their houses and regretted it. They have gave upstairs bedrooms, and found the noise (as @Seek mentioned) and effort right around bedtime or in the morning to be a factor. My mother’s rubber water supply hose sprang a leak at the fitting and caused a huge mess, carpeting had to be replaced. My brother in law hunts and fishes and the attendant smell permeated the entire 2nd floor.
They both wish they had had the appliances installed off the kitchen. They still didn’t want them in the basement (my preference) but felt that off the kitchen would have saved them stairs and smell and headaches.

My first thought was, “That’s not a bad idea!” but after reading the responses I have to change my mind. Utility rooms, and bathrooms, are more prepared to deal with unexpected water than a bedroom, unless the bedroom has a linoleum floor.

@Dutchess_III Not in the master bed room, but in the ensuite off the master bedroom.
And all our bath rooms have tile floors.

Well, hail yes then @SQUEEKY2! Get a stackable and stick it in a closet! It’s only logical. We picked up a stackable at auction for about $160. Hell of a deal. They are both full sized units.

Just FYI, my relatives’ appliances were also in attached, tiled floored “closets” just off the bedrooms, and the leak problems still soaked the carpets outside the tiled areas, and the smell still permeated the soft surfaces (carpet, bedding, clothing) of the nearby bedroom.

If you’re careful about the hoses, maybe turn off the taps every time, and don’t have smelly laundry, it might work for you, if noise wouldn’t be an issue.

Thanks @canidmajor we haven’t done it, just talking about it,the noise is a concern but we have zero carpets in the house both of us dislike carpets.

Well, that considerably lessens the arguments against, then! :-)

I have an idea about the noise…don’t start the wash just before you go to bed! Although, if it’s still a concern perhaps you could put an area rug under it.

I had a bar and refrigerator in a master bedroom once. The biggest problem was the noise. We had to turn off the ice maker at night or the clunk every time it made new ice would wake me up, then we would forget to turn it back on in the morning and defeat the purpose of having it in the first place.
I guess if you didn’t run it (washer and dryer) while you were trying to sleep it would be ok. You would also need to put it in a closet so it wouldn’t be ugly.

@Judi in the ensuite , and with newer units I don’t think aesthetics would be a problem.

I don’t want to be reminded of laundry in my bedroom. That’s the space to sleep, have sex, snuggle with my lover. Washing and drying laundry is not high on my bedroom agenda.

It would be in the ensuite. It’s a master bathroom.

The ensuite is attached to the bedroom. I can see mine from here. Same argument applies. It’s a place for us to wash, or for us to relax in the bath. Don’t you have laundries in your houses? Why would you want to put the washing machine and dryer in your ensuite or bedroom? I get that you have to walk the washing to the laundry, but how hard can that be?

We have friends with this set up. (Or at least what I think you mean.) Essentially, the laundry room is a small room right off their bedroom area. As there is also a bathroom in this master suite area, plumbing was not an issue. The floor has a drain just like any laundry room. They can close the door if they don’t want to look at the washer, dryer or ironing board. They like it because most of their laundry is clothing, and they keep their clothing in the bedroom.

I agree with @Dutchess_III about not starting laundry just before or at bedtime. That should deal with the noise problem.

A few years ago, I saw a magazine (maybe NY Times) showing a luxury home with huge walk in closet that had washer and dryer in the walk in closet. The logic was instead of having to lug the laundry up one or two flights, you finish it and it’s right in the closet where it’s ready to be put away.

Hubby and I are often on entirely different sleep schedules. If I had to coordinate my laundry with his attempts at slumber, we’d both go mad.

The noise, odors, and visuals are a matter of personal lifestyles.

The potential for flooding however, MUST be addressed to avoid serious damage and inconvenience.

These days, I believe it is code that a drip pan (available at big box stores) must be installed under the washer, and an appropriate drain pipe be installed to move the drip/flood water to the DWV system, or outside. Even the braided SS sheaths on today’s supply lines can burst. They make shut off valves for supply lines that can sense a sudden change in pressure (caused by a burst supply line) and shut off the water to minimize damage.

For planning consideration, don’t forget that the dryer exhaust needs to be exhausted to the outdoors, either through a sidewall or a direct connection to a roof vent. Venting directly into the attic is no longer permitted. Some folks like to duct their dryer into the home for the heat and moisture; I think there are other threads on that topic.

Building codes vary per local regulations, and my advice is based on the codes I’m familiar with in western Washington.