St. Louis Real Estate - Building Inspection - Anybody got a Quarter?

LAUNDRY ROOM COMPONENTS by Harry Morrell, Allied Building Inspections

I love hearing from young first time home buyers about how excited they are about finally getting out of that small rental apartment and having their own washer-dryer in their own laundry room. No more pumping those quarters into those old dirty public machines in the middle of a cold night. It doesn’t take much to make these young potential home owners happy.

Your inspector should carefully inspect and operate all the components inside the laundry room for safe and proper service. The laundry room, whether it be in the main floor service area, a utility closet, or a basement is inspected and described in the report. Careful attention is paid to moisture or mold problems in this room. Dryer exhaust systems are carefully inspected and tested. A proper vent and dryer exhaust system is critical. One gallon of water must be disposed of for every typical load of laundry. Because of the moisture, exhausting the dryer to the exterior is a must. Indoor exhausting can create conditions that support mold growth and degrade indoor air quality. Proper exhausting is of particular importance with gas dryers. In addition to moisture and lint, a gas dryers’ exhaust duct carries the byproduct of combustion, including carbon monoxide. A lot of lint is produced during the drying process, and lint can restrict or block dryer ducts. A poorly exhausting dryer is not only less efficient, it can also be a fire hazard due to the extreme flammability of lint. Clogging can also cause moisture to accumulate and seep out the duct, leading to moisture damage. Finally, the inspector should check to see if the dryer exhaust vent is not venting directly at or near the exterior AC unit. Lint can clog and hamper AC unit operation.

Typically the washer and dryer are not run through a complete cycle do to time restraints, but are operated, and checked for age and condition. The deep sink is inspected and tested as well. The electrical outlets are tested for ground and polarity. The dryer 240 volt outlet is identified as newer or obsolete. Older 240 volt outlets are not compatible with newer and modern dryers. A gas line connection may or may not be present. This is not mandatory. If the house is serviced by natural gas, a connection can be installed for an additional fee by a qualified contractor. Drain and supply piping is identified and inspected as well. A stand pipe for washer drainage should be present.

Your inspector will make sure all your laundry room concerns are answered so all your washables come clean safely.

Harry Morrell
ASHI Certified Inspector

Tags: St.+Louis+Real+Estate, St.+Louis+Building+Inspections, ASHI, First+Time+Home+Buyers

This entry was posted on Monday, December 17th, 2007 at 4:03 pm and is filed under First Time Home Buyer, For Buyers, Real Estate News, Relocation Buyer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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I’d suggest hounding the inspector, too. Make sure he or she checks everything, and properly. Some inspectors — nice people though they may be — need to be shown that, indeed, you know what their job entails, and you expect them to do it.

Comment by RB — December 17, 2007 #