Front loading washer in upstairs laundry room?

[s7714]

Does anyone have a front loading washer/dryer in an upstairs laundry room? Do you encounter problems with shaking, noise, etc.?

We are going to need to replace our washer soon, but our laundry room is on our second floor. I keep seeing mentions of problems when the front loading machines aren't on a solid foundation (as in concrete or cement), so I'm a bit concerned. My parents have a single story house with a raised foundation and whenever their washer is spinning you can literally feel the vibrations in the floor through the whole house! Granted our house is much newer than my parent's, but is a second floor going to be much different I wonder?

TIA for any thoughts!

[StantonHyde]

This is the reason why we are going to switch our laundry room to downstairs!!! It is kind of scary, actually.

[kijip]

We have a full sized set stacked on the third floor and it is fine. The house was built to have a w/d on the top floor though, so I assume they factored that into their planning. If it is off balance, it shakes and we have to fix it but no more so than ones I have heard on my friend's first floors and we have only had to "fix it" by rearranging the clothes a few times in 18 months.

[nellonello]

We have our front load on our second floor and have never had any issues with shaking. Interesting as I never really had thought of that being a problem when we bought our W/D set.

[hellokitty]

My brother and sil have a front loader in their 2nd floor hallway (it is in a closet) and last time I was there and used there machine, it seemed to be fine. It wasn't really loud or anything, esp when they shut the closet doors.

[emily_gracesmama]

Mine does shake loudly and make a racket when i have a large load of towels in it, but usually not enough to notice

[hardysmom]

My front loader shakes a lot less than my old top-loader.

Our laundry is on a 2nd floor... wood flooring. Actually, I put FLOR carpet squares under it. No problems.

Stephanie

[s7714]

Oh good! I'm glad to hear people aren't having problems. It really freaked me out when I heard/felt what my mom's machine did in their house! Our laundry room is right smack between my two DD's rooms--it's hard enough to sneak in loads of laundry when they're sleeping as it is, I didn't want them getting jarred awake up by vibrations or something! Thanks!

[MacMacMoo]

my dad has a front loading washer on the second floor. Use to scare me with all the noise and vibration, but you soon stop noticing it. My in laws recently got front loaders in their basement. can't feel the vibs to the next room, but anything left on top of the washer is shaken off.

[WatchingThemGrow]

but anything left on top of the washer is shaken off.
This sounds ridiculous of us, but TWICE we've left a jug of Tide up there and had it shake off the top and explode all over the floor. Once when it was still concrete, and once when the FLOR was down. We just soaked/scrubbed the carpet tiles and they came out SO clean!

s7714, that's interesting to note not to build so that the w/d hookups are between kids' rooms. Never even thought of that!

[kozachka]

We have our front load on our second floor and have never had any issues with shaking. Interesting as I never really had thought of that being a problem when we bought our W/D set.

:yeahthat:

Our house in CA has this setup and in two years that we lived we never had any problems. Granted it was built to have laundry room on the top floor.

[kcimato]

My laundry room is on the second floor also. When we were looking at front loading machines, all the sales people recommended the Whirlpool Sport Duette for 2nd floors. Apparently it does not spin as many revolutions as most of them. The only downsize to this washer is that it does not hold a large amount. We have this washer and the only time you can hear it is when it goes into one of those high spins, but it is only for a short period of time.

[pastrygirl]

Oh good! I'm glad to hear people aren't having problems. It really freaked me out when I heard/felt what my mom's machine did in their house! Our laundry room is right smack between my two DD's rooms--it's hard enough to sneak in loads of laundry when they're sleeping as it is, I didn't want them getting jarred awake up by vibrations or something! Thanks!My front-loader is in my bedroom suite on the second floor. I barely feel the vibration on the second floor. I hear it much more on the first floor, but it's not bad. I've had two brands of washers, and both were fine. My new one (Bosch) is a little crazier with the vibration but it's absolutely SILENT the rest of the cycle. I LOVE IT. ETA: Though the vibration is crazier, it last a very short time, because it's so powerful. It might be 30 seconds. And again, I barely feel it on the second floor. But I can never own a hanging pot rack for my kitchen, LOL! I'd be scared of those things banging around!

[ShayleighCarsensMom]

No shaking at all.
If your washer shakes that loudly it is most likely because it is not level or the delivery people forgot to take out some pins in the back that are required for when they are moving the machine.
Front loaders are not supposed to shake that much, so if they do, have it looked at!
ETA: We have an LG model that was reported to be "loud", but its not!

[KrystalS]

This sounds ridiculous of us, but TWICE we've left a jug of Tide up there and had it shake off the top and explode all over the floor. Once when it was still concrete, and once when the FLOR was down. We just soaked/scrubbed the carpet tiles and they came out SO clean!


This has happened twice with my moms washer. It took FOREVER to clean up all the detergent. I've told her it isn't balanced correctly but shes never gotten it fixed. I have a different brand than hers and I've never had a problem with it shaking so much everything fell off the top.

[vejemom]

This sounds ridiculous of us, but TWICE we've left a jug of Tide up there and had it shake off the top and explode all over the floor. Once when it was still concrete, and once when the FLOR was down. We just soaked/scrubbed the carpet tiles and they came out SO clean!

s7714, that's interesting to note not to build so that the w/d hookups are between kids' rooms. Never even thought of that!

The laundry room in our house backs directly to the kids' rooms and I hate it. So much so that a first floor laundry was on my list of non-negotiables when we were looking for the rental we're moving to. It isn't so much the vibration, but the actual noise of the spin cycle, the zippers on DSSs cargo pants banging around in the dryer, etc. The slipcover of our PB anywhere chair is so grungy because I can't sneak it into the wash while DD#1 is asleep!

[ShayleighCarsensMom]

WOW, jugs shaken off?
I would really check to see if your machine is level, I would be its not. Also, when empty, can you shake it from side to side or does it feel balanced?
That is not normal and worth looking into.

[pastrygirl]

My front-loader is level, and I can't leave anything on top of it during a cycle. Anything would definitely fall off during the spin cycle.

[s7714]

The laundry room in our house backs directly to the kids' rooms and I hate it. So much so that a first floor laundry was on my list of non-negotiables when we were looking for the rental we're moving to. It isn't so much the vibration, but the actual noise of the spin cycle, the zippers on DSSs cargo pants banging around in the dryer, etc. The slipcover of our PB anywhere chair is so grungy because I can't sneak it into the wash while DD#1 is asleep!

The noise is what makes it almost impossible for me to do laundry at sleep times--the machine filling with water and like you said, the zippers in the dryer issue. I always plan out my loads of laundry when I have a full days worth to do--have to make sure I do the pants (or other zipper/button heavy items) at just the right time so they won't be drying during naps or bedtime!

I never hear the washer or dryer when I'm downstairs, except occasionally I'll hear it filling with water if I'm in the room directly below. I kind of like having the laundry room on the second floor so I don't have to lug baskets of clothes up and down the stairs, but having it between bedrooms is rather inconvenient!