Laundry Room Storage: 5 Naked Truths

Unless you do your laundry in the buff, it’s one chore that’s never really done. Follow these laundry room storage ideas, however, and you can breeze through your dirty duds in no time:

1. Make space for your washer and dryer
Put your laundry room or area near bedrooms where you generate the most laundry so you can minimize steps and clothes clutter. To carve out space for a laundry station inside a bathroom or hall closet, you’ll need:

Electric outlets. Electric dryers require a 220-volt dedicated outlet. Cost: $300 to $1,000, professionally installed.
Plumbing. The washer needs hot and cold water connections as well as a drain or a hose fed into a standpipe. All dryers require a vent to the outside to exhaust heat from the drum. Gas dryers require a gas line. Cost: $300 to $550.
Space requirements. For a stackable washer and dryer, provide a minimum space of 40 inches deep and 32 inches wide. A side-by-side washer and dryer need space measuring at least 40 inches deep and 56 inches wide.

2. Add cabinets for better laundry room storage
De-clutter by keeping laundry room necessities out of sight.
Drawer units. Front load washers and dryers are easy on your back when elevated with base pedestals, which offer drawer storage. Pedestals usually are made by individual manufacturers to fit their brand. Cost: $110 to $265.
Stock cabinetry. Home centers offer stock kitchen cabinetry that you can install above and/or beside the washer and dryer. For a laundry near the kitchen, select cabinetry that complements existing units. Cost: $130 to $350 per cabinet.
Freestanding laundry room storage. To keep clutter out of sight behind doors, position a freestanding cabinet between or beside the washer and dryer. Some armoires feature hanging space inside.
Extras. Equip a stock or freestanding cabinet with a fold-down ironing board and a holder for the iron and related supplies.

3. Provide laundry room storage bins, baskets, and more
Bins. Canvas or solid metal bins keep small items corralled and out of sight inside a cabinet or on open shelves. Wire baskets make it easy to inventory supplies while keeping similar items together.
Lined baskets. A canvas lining provides visual appeal and prevents wicker from snagging folded linens or other items you store inside.
Pull-outs. Rather than bending and rooting around in the back of a base cabinet, equip it with a pullout hamper, wastebasket, or shelves.
Sorters and hampers. You’ll find a variety of bins for storing and sorting soiled laundry, including canvas versions with an overhead rod for hanging clothes.

4. Include easy-access surfaces
Open shelves. Melamine or wire shelves above or beside the washer and dryer provide a good spot for quickly accessing often-used supplies.
Countertops. A countertop on base cabinets or installed above a front-load washer and dryer (that aren’t elevated on pedestals) provide a place for folding clothes.

5. Create space for hanging clothes
Include a spot to hang clothing fresh from the dryer or to drip dry. For example, stretch a pole between tall cabinets flanking the washer and dryer. For compact laundry room storage spaces, look for collapsible hanging units or retractable clotheslines.

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Storage Space an Issue? Try This Idea

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  Between-the-Studs Shelving and Storage: Find Your Niche in Life

  Recessed, between-the-studs shelving and storage niches help you de-clutter and stay organized without sacrificing valuable square footage. Read

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10 Ways to Prevent Costly Mold Damage to Your Home

Last week we had to help a client find a new home to rent because their existing rental was so deeply laced with mold that their children were sick with its effects and constantly visiting doctors for treatment. So, as you can imagine, they had the house they chose inspected for mold, mildew and damage BEFORE they completed the rental agreement.

But, there are ways you can avoid home environments that foster damaging mold and its effects:

Eliminate clutter
1. Pare down your stuff. "Clutter creates microclimates where humidity is higher than the ambient humidity in the room," says Jason Yost, owner of Solutions Indoor Environmental Consulting in Terre Haute, Ind. "Mold develops because clutter blocks airflow, and your HVAC system can't process air properly."

2. Don't obstruct air return and supply grilles with furniture or draperies. Surfaces adjacent to grilles cool to temperatures well below your thermostat setting and well below the dew point for the room, meaning condensation is likely.

Control the indoor climate
Mold problems often emerge in summer, when outside air tends to be humid. (If you have a window air conditioning unit, baseboard heating, or other localized devices and suspect you have moisture problems, consult an HVAC or mold inspection professional for guidance.)


3. Keep the thermostat set at a moderate level in summer. Set it too high, and the air conditioner won't run often enough to dehumidify your air effectively; set it too low, and you create cold surfaces where water vapor can condense.

To maximize energy efficiency, most electric utilities recommend setting the thermostat around 78 degrees F; this setting is also optimal for preventing moisture problems.

4. Never keep windows or doors open while the air conditioner is on. This introduces humid outside air into a sharply cooler environment, which can cause condensation. When you go on vacation, don't bump the thermostat up to 85 degrees--or, worse, turn the air conditioning off entirely. That tiny utility bill savings would be dwarfed by the cost of a mold remediation if your indoor air weren't sufficiently dehumidified. (Eighty degrees is recommended; if you have a window unit, leave it on at the lowest setting.)

5. Make sure your air-conditioning unit is properly sized for your house. Some HVAC contractors recommend oversized units for quick cooling, but this might remove less humidity from the air. Consult Energy Star to find out what size unit you really need.

6. Supplement an old air-conditioning unit that isn't removing as much moisture with a dehumidifier.

Monitor moisture
To see if you need a dehumidifier, measure humidity--the amount of water vapor in the air compared with the total amount it can hold. Start with an under-$20 monitor from various online retailers, Yost says. More sophisticated and expensive models--ranging from $45 to $300--have remote sensors that simultaneously track several rooms all over the house, which is useful if you have basements, crawl spaces, or other areas that you don't visit often.

An ideal indoor reading is between 35% and 50% relative humidity; in very humid climates in the height of summer, you may get readings closer to 55%. But if you reach 60% relative humidity, it's time to look for the source of the moisture. Above 70% relative humidity, certain species of mold can begin growing on surfaces even if water isn't visible.

7. If you get a high humidity reading, check your air conditioner first.

Is it set to the proper temperature?
Is it cycling on and off periodically?
Does it blow cold air when it reaches the set point?

8. Check that the condensate drain pipe (the narrow white pipe sticking out the side) is dripping regularly. If it isn't, the pipe is blocked, water may be accumulating inside the unit, or the unit isn't working correctly. If you suspect a problem, call your HVAC professional.

9. If the air conditioner isn't the issue, look for signs of standing water or chronically damp soil in your crawl space or basement or near your foundation.

10. If you have a crawl space, make sure you have a plastic vapor barrier covering the dirt floor and that it's intact. Moisture below the house affects the humidity indoors by infiltrating unsealed penetration points, such as where electrical conduits and plumbing enter the house. Water can even diffuse through plywood and finished flooring--and you won't necessarily see wet spots when this happens.

Find a qualified pro
If you can't find the moisture problem on your own, or you aren't sure how to correct a problem you do find, it's a good idea to call a home inspector or indoor air quality consultant. Look for credentials from a respected industry organization, such as the American Society of Home Inspectors or the Indoor Air Quality Association. A house call will likely run $250 or more.

Keep in mind the mold field is largely unregulated, so there are few industry norms for pricing.

Mold and insurance
Mold remediation isn't necessarily covered by homeowners insurance, which typically pays only if the problem results from a sudden emergency already covered on your policy, such as a burst pipe. Insurance usually doesn't pay if the problem results from deferred maintenance or floodwaters (unless you have flood insurance).

Water emergencies
A note about emergency situations: If you have a flood or a leaking or burst pipe, act immediately to remove the water and run a dehumidifier--don't wait for an insurance adjuster, inspector, or water extraction/mold remediation company to arrive. But take photos or video of any damage for your insurer.

The main thing to remember is to monitor moisture before problems develop--and if something seems wrong, don't hesitate to call for professional help.

Related articles

• Simple and Easy Ways of Cleaning Mold and Mildew in the Home (home-owner-tips.suite101.com)



• Mold and water damage remediation (mnn.com)



• How to Clean Mold on Window Frames (brighthub.com)