So I’m considering buying a house where the dryer vent is on the left side and the washer hookups and drain are on the right. However, most front-load washers have hinges on the left and vice versa for the dryers, so if you have the washer on the left and the dryer on the right, you can easily transfer clothes between the two. Would it be possible to put the washing machine on the left and use a longer drain hose? I know the hot/cold hoses can be pretty much any length, but the drain hose requires a certain length and for the drain to be a certain height above the washer.
You might run into problems with the dryer in this scenario. I have heard (though I’m open to correction) that some electrical codes limit the length of dryer cords to 6’ in length, so make sure that your proposed spot for the dryer is close enough to the dryer outlet.
The dryer vent can be a problem too. If the vent runs parallel to, and between ceiling joists, then you may have to move it over 3 or 4 “slots.” In doing so you’ll need to redo the inside hook-up location, and also the exterior hole in the wall.
You might also check if the washer & dryer have alterable doors.
the washer has to pump out used water against the weight and height of the water in the hose. if you increase the weight of the water by lengthening the hose that might not work or work well.
The basement where the laundry is isn’t finished, so I don’t have any joists to worry about. I’m not sure where the 240V outlet for the dryer is, though, so I’ll have to look for that. The next time I go by the house I’ll try to get a better idea of where everything is placed.
If I had to move the drain a few feet to the left, which I assume would require taking a jackhammer to the basement floor, how much would that cost?
A lot more than it would cost to either move the 240v outlet to the right by a few feet, or to buy a washer with a reversible door.
Do you have room to keep the washer where it is, and just move the dryer to the other side of it? Moving electrical and the exhaust duct (especially in an unfinished basement) is going to be easier & cheaper than moving the drain & water supply.
Also, the front loading dryers we’ve had owner-reversible doors. Not the washers though - they’ve got a locking mechanism so you can’t open the door mid-cycle.
Most of the time, the washer’s hose only takes the water up to about a 3’ height, where it empties into in a pipe in the wall, usually with some kind of plastic “cup” contraption to catch any splashes and make it look nicer than a pipe sticking out of a wall. If that’s the way yours is, there’s no problem at all adding a run to move that intake horizontally. Once the water is up and out of the washer, gravity can move it along; the issue is just to make sure that the washer itself doesn’t have to fight any more gravity than it was designed to.
My front-load Maytag has a reversible door, thank God.
~VOW
If you are really considering that, do what I did - get a front loading washer and dryer and stack them. This frees up floor space for a beer fridge.
Mine, too.
They make sheet metal laterals to connect the dryer to the duct. These may reach far enough.
Water pressure in a column is a function of height. So long as the hose leaves the washer at the same point and its highest point is at the drain, there will be the same amount of pressure from the weight of the water. There may be a little extra pressure due to drag against the walls of the longer hose, but this will be insignificant.