Height of water and electric connections for washer and dryer?

I'd leave them where they are. I haven't touched my water connections since installing the washer. Some people turn off the water each time, but not most people. Get the best hoses you can, and forget about it.

Yup.

There is usually enough of a service loop in the power cord and water supply lines that you can leave them "as is" and access them by pulling the appliances away from the wall.

The problem, IME, has been the "stops" that allow you to isolate the water supply lines (so they don't remain under pressure when not needed). These have to be accessible while the appliances are in place.

If you raise *everything* (stops and connections), the issue you'll have to worry about (later) is typically the DRAIN for the washer -- as it tends not to have as much of a service loop as the supply lines.

What we've done is:

- add right-angle adapters to the water connections at the rear of the washer and dryer (so the hoses can naturally "fall" instead of heading straight back and then having to turn downwards on themselves in a short distance)

- raised the manual water stops so they can (begrudginly) be accessed with the appliances on their bases

- added a set of electrically operated solenoids (so water pressure in the supply lines can be gated off when not in use)

We also replaced the "flex hose" for the dryer exhaust with an adjustable "duct" that consumes less space (front to back) than the ~4" flex hose and is more readily adjusted up/down to mate directly to the dryer's exhaust connection.

Who's to say what the next fad will be?

Why mount them on pedestals? Are you joining the Church of the Divine Maytag or some thing?

For many folks it's a case of "it it aint broke yet, I'll break it"

Personally I like accessibility. It is a PITA to have to reach over a machine to get down behind it to shut off the water or pull a plug even though it may not be that often.

Wife home alone when a hose breaks or something in the washer "gives up the ghost". How many gallons of water spew onto the floor while she tries to figure out how to shut the water off? Ditto dishwasher.

I noticed water seeping from under neighbor's garage door, one day. "Knock, knock -- There's water flowing out of your garage!" Broken hose to washing machine.

Another neighbor knocked on *our* door, one day. *Her* machine was leaking and she couldn't reach the shutoff (she's a wee bit of a thing).

We lost a flex line to the toilet late one night. Thankfully, the sound of gushing water woke me in time to keep the leak from progressing beyond the bathroom floor!

"Extra heavy duty, armored" water supply lines to washing machine ruptured three days after their purchase. The jet of water was strong enough to gouge the drywall behind the washing machine in the few minutes it took for us to notice that this was happening (we were doing laundry at the time). I wouldn't have been happy if I had to manhandle the washer away from the wall just to access the stop, at the time!

Neighbor lost his water heater. Without stops on inlet and outlet, he was without *all* water until a plumber could come out and replace it (installing stops in the process).

Cheap form of insurance. Silly not to avail yourself of it!

Easier on the back when loading and unloading.

Perce

I can hardly pull the washer away from the wall. It would be much more difficult for my wife.

That is the major problem I want to fix.

Since the laundry room is in the basement, and the washer outlet is a standpipe just below the ceiling joists, raising the washer will be no problem in that respect.

Good idea. The washer outlet hose already has that.

That appeals to my inner geek, but I'm not sure that I would do it.

The new dryer has not yet been delivered, but I do have one of those adjustable "ducts" -- one with a regular 4" duct fitting at the top, to connect via semi-rigid duct to the rigid ducting between the floor joists above.

Perce

Myself, I would install it where it's convenient, and then worry about any changes to make. You may see that it's just fine once it's in place.

Besides being at convenient height, you may gain some storage underneath. And (my favorite) put a drip pan underneath.

Rambling on.... In general, it's good practice to have the electrical higher than plumbing in case of leaks. I would also want to have the electrical plug and water faucets where they are within reach without having to move something out from the wall.

It might be worth while to mount a power strip on the wall for the washer where you can get to it, and have a plumber extend the hot & cold pipes above or to the side. Belkin makes a high quality grounded power strip with a circuit breaker for under $15. Don't go the $2.99 Harbor Freight route for this.

Yes, even worse when the washer (which may be a top loader) is full of water. But, you only need to access those connections when servicing the unit -- not in day-to-day use!

Exactly. SWMBO and I were raised to always turn off the water to the washer/dryer after each use. So, access to those stops is important. But, even without this sort of practice, if the hoses (or something internal to the washer/dryer) fail, you want to be able to interrupt the water supply *now* -- not several minutes from now (e.g., by running to the whole-house valve and cutting off ALL water -- for the duration of your repair!)

We're both tall enough that we can reach to the rear of the appliances and turn the valves on/off. Neighbor, OTOH, can barely reach the *top* of the washer standing on the *garage* floor with washer and dryer on base cabinets.

In our case, we want the washer and dryer pushed back as far as possible (up against the back wall).

You're not thinking in terms of Accessibility! :>

Put yourself in a wheelchair or stopped over from scoliosis (or other geriatric condition) and think of how you'd reach the valves -- wherever you relocate them!

I monitor for water on the floor (a sign of a probable leak/failure), and "unattended" water running when not expected (e.g., if you are in the bathroom, I can expect water to be running; if you're in the bedroom and I notice water running, there are only a few places where it can happen without raising an alarm).

You can buy hoses that have a valve that *hopefully* won't be calcified from years of nonuse and will stop the flow of water FOR A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE. But, these only work if the flow rate is excessive: if there is no back pressure from the appliance. So, a pinhole rupture in the "armored" line like we encountered would continue unabated. Likewise, any failures inside the appliance (e.g., level sensor failing to signal the washer is full; door sensor failing to indicate door is ajar; door seal failure, etc.)

I also automatically turn the water supply to the washer/dryer off when the cycle is complete (as I only have one set of valves, there, I can't turn off the washer's water supply until I know the dryer is done, as well). So, a wheelchair-bound resident could load and unload the appliances AND be assured the water supply is disconnected even though he/she can't reach the stops.

Also, easier to clean the "lint trap" in the washer (without water spilling over the floor).

We've decided that the washer should be loaded/unloaded "up high" -- as should the dryer be UNloaded. But, the dryer should be loaded "down low" so you can lift the heavy, wet clothes from the washer and let them "fall" into the dryer.

Interesting. First I'd heard of shut offs used between every use of the washer or dryer.

Do you use stainless braided no burst hose to supply washer to your clothes dryer? What happens if the clothes dryer has the water turned off, in mid cycle? Do the clothes come out dry, instead?

My top loading Whirlpool would be impossible to load, if it were much higher. You must be very tall?

How tall are you? If my Whirlpool was much higher, I'd need a ladder. As it is, more than hip height. I can't imagine to put it up any higher.

If you left the water turned off to the dryer all the time, it would probably dry the clothes better, don't ya think?

Access to the washer supply valves is important only if you think it's important. There are some really strong, metal reinforced hoses out there. They work for me. And you can change them every ten years. Seems a better solution than screwing around, turning off the water each time. Or there are electronic safeties that you can install too. Any of those work for me.

Oh yeah. Mr. Johnny on the spot. Standing right there, watching for it to happen, he turns off the valve. God forbid the extra 30 secs to get to the main shutoff instead. And never mind that it can happen when you're in another part of the house, or not even at home.

The washer is a front loader. The overpriced pedestals from the manufacturer are 15 1/2" high. I was thinking of building our own that are maybe 18" high to leave space for pairs of "nested" laundry baskets underneath.

Perce

Ah... front loaders. Makes sense.

And, the space for baskets also is great idea.