Rub a dub dub... the laundry room

Believe it or not, this blog is coming to a close. I have a couple of more posts I want to write after the last remaining items are taken care of. (We're still waiting on our built-in bookcase unit for the bedroom.) And I want to write a longish retrospective concluding post on the lessons learned during the renovation. With any luck, Jon and I will never have to face as time-consuming and complex of a construction project again in our lives, but if we did, I feel like I've learned a lot and would be able to do it much more efficiently the second time around.

But the subject of this post today is to show off pics of our new laundry room. I knew when planning the project that I was quite frustrated with our old laundry arrangement (washer and dryer shoved in closet off kitchen, with annoying bifold doors that continually got in the way). So I knew I would be looking forward to having a dedicated laundry room.

What I didn't realize is just how much I would appreciate this new room. The photos above don't really get across how nice and big it is. Just having space to maneuver laundry baskets and sort/fold laundry is wonderful. Wagner installed a bar across one wall where we can hang-dry items. We re-used our former kitchen cabinets and counter, and they work well in the space. Being able to close off the doors to the laundry room (and also the addition) cuts out all noise entirely of the machines, yay!

But my favorite part of the room are my new Electrolux machines. You read in an earlier post how I was intending to buy a more economical set but was compelled to go with the Electrolux because they were one of the few models that allowed people to reverse hinges. After I bit the bullet and ordered them I wondered if I would regret the extravagance and wish I had gone for a top-loading model instead.

Well, maybe I'm just reducing post-decision dissonance, but I absolutely love the Electroluxes. They clean everything well, and because the washer has such an efficient spinning mechanism (more on that, later), it saves me 20 or more minutes of drying time. The capacity is huge, too, so I'm probably doing 1/2 as many loads. With the lessened energy and water consumption, I'm feeling good about the reduced impact on the environment. The pedestals seemed outrageously expensive at the time (they added maybe another $500 to the price), but they're worth it. No tiresome bending over to move stuff in and out of the units.

But that spin cycle: Wow. High-efficiency washers will spin very very fast, which they can do given their design and the lack of a center agitator. What do I mean by "very very fast"? 1200 revolutions per minute. When that thing gets going, it's like watching the inside of a jet engine. The first couple of weeks we had the washer, we'd all stand there transfixed, mouth open, gazing in awe as the spin cycle progressed. (Okay, so maybe we're easily amused, but you have to trust me that it's pretty darn amazing.) When I did research on HE models on the internet, I was a bit alarmed by some highly critical reviews I read where people complained about excessive vibration and noise. All I can say is that this has been a complete non-issue for me, and these machines just hum along and are substantially quieter and shake less than my 15-year-old Kenmores ever did.
And perhaps the best thing about it is that Isaac is captivated by the new machines and is actually eager to do laundry. He'll do all his clothes by himself, loading and starting the machines, and taking out and putting away his clothes. In fact, he'll even come to me and ask if there's anything else that needs washing because he likes to operate the equipment.

And that's just fine by me. ;-)