In much of Washington, the laundry room is a closet. Hallway closets in renovated rowhouses, alcoves in Columbia Heights condos and bifold-door nooks in Southwest apartments all hold full-size or compact laundry. Manufacturers allow closet installations, but they attach conditions: air openings in the door, space behind and beside the machines, and, for gas dryers, a rule about what else can live in the same closet.
Here is what Whirlpool's washer and dryer guides specify, and how to tell whether your closet meets it.
The numbers in the guides
Electric dryer (Whirlpool 29-inch models, guide W10617663C)
The Whirlpool electric dryer installation instructions require a closet door to have minimum ventilation openings near its top and bottom, noting that a louvered door works if its open area is equivalent. The spacing diagram lists the openings as 48 square inches and 24 square inches, set 3 inches from the door's top and bottom edges.
Other points from the same guide:
- •Most installations need at least 5 1/2 inches of space behind the dryer so the vent elbow fits.
- •An extra inch of space on all sides is recommended to reduce noise transfer.
- •The location must be large enough for the dryer door to open fully.
- •Some codes limit or don't permit dryers in garages, closets, mobile homes or sleeping quarters, and the guide tells you to contact your local building inspector.
The planning guide for Whirlpool's WED-series electric dryers repeats the door-opening rule and the same 48 and 24 square inch figures, but lists 5 inches of rear clearance. That difference is a good reminder to use the guide for your exact model.
Top-load washer (Whirlpool guide W10150593A)
The Whirlpool top-load washer instructions call for minimum air openings near the top and bottom of any closet door, and the drawing uses the same 48 and 24 square inch figures. They also recommend an extra inch of spacing on all sides to cut down on noise.
Gas dryer (Whirlpool guide 3405338)
The Whirlpool gas dryer installation instructions add a rule electric dryers don't have: a gas dryer can't share its closet or recessed area with any other fuel-burning appliance. That rules out sharing the closet with a gas water heater or furnace.
What each rule protects against
Starving the dryer of air. A dryer pulls room air in, heats it, runs it through the clothes and pushes it outdoors. Once the door is shut, those openings are where all of the replacement air has to come from. Without them, airflow drops and every load takes longer.
Heat buildup. The openings are placed high and low on purpose. Warm air escapes near the top while cooler air comes in near the floor.
Combustion air for gas. A gas burner needs oxygen. Put a second burner, such as a water heater, in the same small space and both compete for it.
The vent elbow. The 5 to 5 1/2 inches behind the dryer is space for the vent to turn without being flattened. A crushed elbow is one of the most common causes of overheating we see in closet installations.
Noise and service access. The recommended inch on each side keeps cabinets from drumming against walls and gives a technician room to slide the machine out.
Measuring your closet
- Depth. Add the dryer's depth to the rear clearance in its guide. Then check that the door still closes with the machines in place.
- Width. Subtract both machines' widths (or the stack's width) and see what's left for side spacing.
- The door. A solid door with no vents doesn't meet the requirement. Louvers are deceptive: the slats cover most of the panel, so the real open area is a fraction of the louvered section's size.
- What else is in the closet. For a gas dryer, check for a water heater, furnace or boiler sharing the space.
- Door swing. Open the dryer door all the way with the closet door open. Nothing should block it.
- The vent path. Look at where the vent leaves the closet. A closet in the middle of a rowhouse often means a long run to the rear wall, which brings its own limits. See how long a dryer vent can be.
Situations we see often in DC
- •Bifold or solid doors added during a renovation. A flipper may have hung a nice solid door on the laundry closet. It looks clean but traps air. Swapping it for a louvered door, or adding grilles of the right size, is usually the fix.
- •Gas dryer next to a water heater in a rowhouse basement. This arrangement can be fine in an open utility room. Wall it in as a closet and the gas dryer guide's rule comes into play.
- •Condo closets with compact machines. Compact 24-inch pairs have their own guides, sometimes with different clearances. Ask building management for any rules about dryer type or venting before buying.
- •Bedroom-adjacent closets. Because some codes restrict dryers in sleeping quarters, check with the DC Department of Buildings before putting laundry inside a bedroom.
Symptoms of a closet that's too tight
- •Clothes still damp at the end of a normal cycle.
- •A closet that feels hot, or lint collecting on shelves and walls.
- •The dryer shutting off mid-cycle because a safety thermostat tripped.
- •On a gas dryer, a burner that cycles more often than it should.
If the closet meets its guide and the dryer still runs hot or slow, the cause is probably inside the machine or in the vent run. Our dryer technicians can test the heating system, thermostats and airflow.
Who handles the fixes
- •Door changes or cut-in grilles are carpentry.
- •A new or relocated dryer outlet is work for a licensed electrician.
- •Gas dryer moves, new gas lines or separating a dryer from a water heater belong to a licensed gas fitter. The DC Department of Buildings issues gas fitting permits only to licensed contractors.
For stacked pairs in a closet, the stack kit sheet adds its own requirements. See what a stack kit requires.
Documents referenced
- •Whirlpool 29-inch electric dryer installation instructions W10617663C: top and bottom door vents, 5 1/2 inches behind the dryer, extra side room, local code warning.
- •Whirlpool WED-series electric dryer dimension guide W10573709B: door openings, 5-inch rear space.
- •Whirlpool top-load washer installation instructions W10150593A: air openings for a washer closet door, extra side room.
- •Whirlpool gas dryer installation instructions 3405338: one fuel-burning appliance per closet or recess.