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Alaundry room orutility room is aroom whereclothes are washed, and sometimes alsodried. In a modernhome, laundry rooms are often equipped with an automaticwashing machine andclothes dryer, and often a large basin, called alaundry tub or trough, for hand-washing of delicate clothing articles such assweaters, as well as anironing board. Laundry rooms may also include storage cabinets, countertops for folding clothes, and, space permitting, a smallsewing machine.
The termutility room is more commonly used inBritish English, whileAustralian English andNorth American English generally refer to this room as alaundry, except in theAmerican Southeast.[citation needed] "Utility" refers to an item which is designed for usefulness or practical use, so in turn most of the items kept in this room have functional attributes, i.e. "form follows function".
The utility room was a modern spin off to thescullery room[1][2][3] where important kitchen items were kept during its usage inEngland, the term was further defined around the 14th century as a household department where kitchen items are taken care of.[4][5] The term utility room was mentioned in 1760, when a cottage was built in a rural location in theUnited Kingdom that was accessible throughPenarth andCardiff.[6] A utility room for general purposes also depicted its use as a guest room in case of an immediate need.[7] A 1944 Scottish housing and planning report recommended new state-built homes for families could provide a utility room as a general purpose workroom for the home (for washing clothes, cleaning boots and jobbing repairs).[8] An American publication called thePittsburgh Post-Gazette reported on July 24, 1949[9] that utility rooms had become more popular than basements in new constructions.[10] On June 28, 1959, in a report of a typical American house being built inMoscow, Russia, the house was described to have a utility room immediately at the right side after the entrance.[11] TheChicago Tribune reported that the laundry room was then commonly being referred to as the utility room in a publication on September 30, 1970.[12][clarification needed]
The utility room has several uses but typically functions as an area to dolaundry. This room contains laundry equipment such as awashing machine,tumble dryer,ironing boards andclothes iron.[13] The room is also used for closet organization and storage. The room would normally contain a second coat closet which is used to store seasonal clothing such as winter coats or clothing which are no longer used daily.[14][15] Storage spaces would contain other appliances which would generally be in thekitchen if it was in usage daily. Furnaces and thewater heater are sometime incorporated to the room as well. Shelving and trash may sometimes be seen at this area as not to congest the other parts of the house.[16]
In older homes, the laundry is typically located in thebasement, but in many modern homes, the laundry room might be found on the main floor near thekitchen or, less often, upstairs near thebedrooms.[17]
Another typical location is adjacent to thegarage and the laundry room serves as amudroom for the entrance from the garage. As the garage is often at a different elevation (or grade) from the rest of the house, the laundry room serves as an entrance from the garage that may be sunken from the rest of the house. This prevents or reduces the need for stairs between the garage and the house.
Most houses in the United Kingdom do not have laundry rooms; as such, the washing machine and dryer (if possessed) are usually located in the kitchen or garage.[18][19]
In Hungary, some older apartment buildings and most workers' hostels have communal laundry rooms, calledmosókonyha (lit. "washing kitchen") in Hungarian. In the former, when residents started to all own individual washing machines in their apartments, obsoleted laundry rooms were sometimes converted into small apartments, shops or workshops (e.g. ashoemaker's) or used simply for storage.
InSweden, laundry rooms, called a "tvättstuga", are found in almost all older apartment buildings. Swedish laundry rooms are often located in the basements of the buildings, but can also be found in detached buildings. In the 1980s, analogue booking boards with locking cylinders were introduced to regulate washing times and create a booking system. Some of these have been replaced in the 2000s by electronic counterparts with electronic keys or tokens.
modern sculleries.
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