Sadly, given that she’s writing in The Guardian, she didn’t in fact note anything about the economics that Paul Krugman tells us about:
made me figure out what was really important: having a washing machine in my house. They are surprisingly hard to come by in Manhattan.
That’s actually the joke that Krugman made about how he was going to spend his prize winnings…..
IS this something to do with rent controls? Everyone who still has a 1962 tenancy agreement happy to pay the peppercorn rent and forego mod cons?
Size of apartments…..
Isn’t it also something about paranoia about the strength of the floors? Though surely if the floors can stand the weight of a family of typical Americans it can stand the weight of a washing machine. From that amazing documentary series on American family life “The Simpsons”, washing machines all live in basements, if you don’t have a basement, it’s impossible to have a washing machine.
Right, that’s the Swiss solution. A big laundry room under every block, sometimes doubling as the formerly mandatory nuclear bunker*. And signs threatening ominous penalties if your machine runs at the wrong time.
*: If we ever do have world war 3, the planet will be repopulated by the Swiss.
And the whole world will have to ensure its washing machines have finished the spin cycle by 20:00.
It’s often because the plumbing isn’t up to the demands of a washing machine. Like most American appliances standard US washing machines are often massive compared to European, so size will be a factor too. And they also seem stuck in the sixties with a fixation on top-loaders and twin tubs.
Looking at Walmart’s page for “washing machines” many of what comes up are described as “portable washing machines” which seems to be used to describe something that is not permanently plumbed-in. The few front loading machines are three to four times the price.
So much for the land of progress.
Annrq
Ummmm Walmart is for people with no money.
Try looking at the ads for washing machines at Home Depot…
I got up this morning, showered, dressed ate a couple of pieces of toast, did some light vacuum-cleaning and made some comments on a blog. Does that qualify me for a newspaper column? Why does anyone read this dross?
When I last lived in an apartment that was absolutely one of my requirements.
Washing machine and drier came installed upstairs in the new-build house we had in Tx. It was very convenient, washing never comes downstairs. No problem with the floor loading.
rhoda
Being a injinur, I simplified the problem so there was only one floor in the house in Tejas.
Trouble is, turns out that climbing and descending stairs is good for you while you can still do it. So the place in Normandy is very good for us…
The thing to love about German houses is the full cellaring. Including a laundry.
Those long winter evenings sitting in the lounge watching your own Y-fronts dry become a thing of the past.
When I lived in Hong Kong I did my laundry in a copper tub filled from the kettle. When we moved to Tuen Mun the first thing we bought was a washing machine. We then discovered that the fitted drain in the kitchen was two feet up the wall, so I molished a stand to sit the machine on.
Here in the UK I now have my washing machine in the cellar, purely to free up space in the kitchen for kitchen stuff.
@Rhoda
That’s one thing I will never understand. Why the default is to have washing machines in the kitchen? My London flat, I installed it in the bathroom. It was on an acoustic pad & the lightweight bathroom door was replaced with a firecheck. With the door closed, you couldn’t hear it even on spin. Here, like most Spanish flats, we have a laundry room including a laundry sink. It’s something Brit architects don’t seem to be able to get their heads round. When I was doing flat conversions, I’d draw in a washing machine/dryer cupboard on the plans – plumbed in & ventilation ducted – & tell the asshole to sign off on it & not to argue. They proved to be good selling points.
It’s because Britain builds rabbit hutches. Laundry rooms, hell even pantries, no room for them because Green Belt!
Surely ‘utility rooms’ are fairly common in British homes, once they get above the ‘rabbit hutch’ size?