We’ve just moved into our new house and the laundry room sucks.
Doing laundry is tiresome enough without having a badly designed area to deal with as well.
If your laundry room could use some improvements to make it easier and more pleasurable to use then you’re going to love the following.
8 Great Accessibility tips
#1) A clear floor space (circle) of 60in/1.5m radius is required for wheelchair maneuvering. TIP: This of course includes a minimum 32in/81cm wide doorway to get into the laundry room.
#2) Raise your front loading washing machines by several inches, but ensure the controls and openings are within the ideal reach zone (see below). You can purchase plinths (see picture below) for certain brands of machines or you can build your own. Pop a drawer in the bottom to gain some extra storage space for seldom used items.
#3) Vertical access. If you have a small space and need to go vertically for storage, check out this pull-down hanging bar for drying (and storing) items you don’t want creased.
#4) Space saving drying racks that tuck away after use.
#5) Multi-purpose built-ins. If you have a large enough room and don’t need to go vertically, check out this DIY hinged folding surface with hanging/drying rails underneath.
#6) Work surface to sit at. Make sure you have a section of countertop that is open underneath in order to sit at in a chair (or wheelchair) while folding clothes. Store your laundry baskets on a wheeled cart under this space when it’s not in use.
#7) Pull-out shelves or drawers in your lower cabinets will give you better access and improved storage. Remember to use only D-style handles (never knobs) on your cabinet doors.
#8) Think outside the box. I discovered a fantastic product called Sugru that has a multitude of uses. It’s used below to improve the gripping surface of a washing machine dial.
Action Plan
By keeping the majority of your storage in the ideal reach zone of 15-48in/38-123cm you will ensure the best possible access for everybody in your household no matter what their height or abilities are.
By simply changing a few things in you laundry room you may find it makes this chore a little less tiresome and a bit more enjoyable.
What’s your best tip on how you improved the accessibility of your laundry room? Please leave your tip in the comments below.