How to hide washer/dryer connections?

[resilientsoma]

Okay I'm back and need ideas please.

This is a picture of my laundry room, new walnut finish cabinets are going up this week but we will still have these ugly hose and wire hookups exposed.

I guess I could lift them up by putting a platform but would like to see if anyone else did anything creative with this. Thank you!

 

[Snoonyb]

Build a 12" platform for the appliances to set on.

 

[bud16415]

I wish mine looked that nice and were that high and easy to get at.

If you really want to clean up the look make a hanging back splash on a hinge off the cabinets.

 

[beachguy005]

I think bud has the right idea. Put a shelf just above the water supply and put on a hinged skirt board that will hide everything but allow access to them also. Then instead of having to look at the connections you'll be looking at all the crap that gets tossed on the shelf.

 

[havasu]

I second what Bud says. My front load washer and dryer is on a 12" pedestal, and I can no longer shut off the valves when we go away on short vacations.

 

[nealtw]

They are a fact of life, in the best location, show them off with pride.

 

[slownsteady]

Hang a picture of Old Uncle Hugo in front of it.

 

[joecaption]

I'd just change the outlet covers and outlets to a color closer the the wall color so there less noticeable.
Looks like you may also have the old black rubber supply line, I'd replace them with braided hose.
Over time those rubber ones can burst.

 

[zannej]

Laundry pedestal is a nice idea-- it will make it easier to access the fronts so people don't have to bend down as far. (My apologies for recycling photos I put in another post, but I saw this recently and I think it is cool)
http://www.ana-white.com/2016/11/DIY_furniture/washer-dryer-pedestal

With a single pull-out shelf you could use this to load and unload the washing machine (laundry basket for putting in dirties and a clean tub or something to put wet laundry in and then slide it over in front of the dryer to load it up), and unload the dry stuff from the dryer in to a basket so it can be taken for sorting/folding.

With two pull-out shelves:

Really fancy with pull-out shelves and drawers underneath. Not this exact idea bc you would still need to be able to access the shutoffs and dryer vent for cleaning/maintenance.

 

[resilientsoma]

Laundry pedestal is a nice idea-- it will make it easier to access the fronts so people don't have to bend down as far. (My apologies for recycling photos I put in another post, but I saw this recently and I think it is cool)
http://www.ana-white.com/2016/11/DIY_furniture/washer-dryer-pedestal

With a single pull-out shelf you could use this to load and unload the washing machine (laundry basket for putting in dirties and a clean tub or something to put wet laundry in and then slide it over in front of the dryer to load it up), and unload the dry stuff from the dryer in to a basket so it can be taken for sorting/folding.

With two pull-out shelves:

Really fancy with pull-out shelves and drawers underneath. Not this exact idea bc you would still need to be able to access the shutoffs and dryer vent for cleaning/maintenance.

Wow I think that would work out great.
I'll have to see the clearance I have after I put the wall cabinets up. Reason being is the washer has the top load feature.

I will keep you all updated. So many good ideas, thanks guys.

Pedestal seems the way to go but most expensive to build.

 

[zannej]

Wow I think that would work out great.
I'll have to see the clearance I have after I put the wall cabinets up. Reason being is the washer has the top load feature.

I will keep you all updated. So many good ideas, thanks guys.

Pedestal seems the way to go but most expensive to build.

You don't have to go with that exact design for a pedestal either. You could take thick posts used for fencing and use them as the support legs and then use sufficiently thick plywood over the top. You could then just sand and paint stuff-- maybe put a little trim on the front. Building one yourself would still be a lot cheaper than buying the pedestals that come with the appliances.

Do the upper cabinets go all the way to the ceiling? If not, you could always bump them up a little higher to give yourself clearance.

I'm not sure if you use pinterest or not, but I saved a lot of design ideas here https://www.pinterest.com/unsubnumber1/laundry-room/

 

[Sparky617]

The dryer outlet certainly didn't need to be that high, but you really want to be able to easily access the water shut-off valves for the washer. Ideally, you should shut them off between uses. In real life, you at minimum want to turn them off when leaving for an extended period of time (weekend or longer trip). The washer hoses can and do break. You can flood 10-20K gallons of water into your house in a day or two. Service Master has a nice business cleaning up from these kinds of failures.

 

[bud16415]

The dryer outlet certainly didn't need to be that high, but you really want to be able to easily access the water shut-off valves for the washer. Ideally, you should shut them off between uses. In real life, you at minimum want to turn them off when leaving for an extended period of time (weekend or longer trip). The washer hoses can and do break. You can flood 10-20K gallons of water into your house in a day or two. Service Master has a nice business cleaning up from these kinds of failures.

I don’t know a single person who shut them off but you are right. Sinks toilets now are connected with hose. My whole house is PEX hose in fact. When I was on a well I always unplugged my pump if we were going away on vacation. Maybe I should do my main shutoff now for vacations. I haven’t but I should.

 

[Sparky617]

I don’t know a single person who shut them off but you are right. Sinks toilets now are connected with hose. My whole house is PEX hose in fact. When I was on a well I always unplugged my pump if we were going away on vacation. Maybe I should do my main shutoff now for vacations. I haven’t but I should.

When I had the gray plastic supply lines I'd shut off the whole house when we went on vacation. Our real estate agent recommended this. We had the main valve easily accessible in the hall closet. I like the single handle shut-offs for laundry connections. My parents had those and always shut the water off after using the washer.

 

[Sparky617]

These are my preferred shut-off valves for laundry. I think if they were easily accessible and required by code a lot of insurance claims could be avoided.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/AMERICAN-VALVE-1-2-in-Male-Brass-Washing-Machine-Valve/1100377

 

[bud16415]

I don’t know anything about those made in china valves for washing machines. Over the past few years I have had 3 or 4 valve failures of cheap China made cast brass valves. I haven’t had a hose leak in anything in as long as I remember. The old single valves made in America with the packing I used to have fits with being hard to turn after sitting for years and then dripping and needing the packing nut tightened. I never remember on busting and dumping water though. The cheap little shut offs for toilets that look attractive are junk for the most part. Lately I have been going for the machined brass quarter turn ball valves for everything as they seem to me the most reliable. Just not a fan of cast valves coming from around the world.

I don’t know if code lets me have two valves or not on a washer.

Shutting the whole house off is the best plan unless you have fire sprinklers.

 

[nealtw]

Shutting the whole house off is the best plan unless you have fire sprinklers.

New house with sprinklers have two valves so the house can be shout down, old houses should have the extra valve added.

They go nuts up here insulating sprinkler lines, all the old saw mills just filled the pipe with air and never had a freezing problem.

I too have never heard of a washer hose bursting.

 

[Sparky617]

I have had several neighbors have washing machine hoses break over the years. It is a good idea to swap the hoses out after 5 years or so. A friend has the toilet filler valve nut fail and filled his house up with 15,000 gallons of water while they were away for a weekend.

 

[nealtw]

I have had several neighbors have washing machine hoses break over the years. It is a good idea to swap the hoses out after 5 years or so. A friend has the toilet filler valve nut fail and filled his house up with 15,000 gallons of water while they were away for a weekend.

I wonder, was that a pressure issue in the area?

 

[Snoonyb]

It happens around here as well, because the multi unit, condos and complexes have private maintenance, subcontracted or resident repair personnel who are directed or on call.

Municipalities have begun to ordinance annul inspections of backflow and pressure regulators.