What Is a Utility Room?
It goes beyond laundry.
While not every home has a utility room, this unassuming space can be a life-saver when it comes to keeping a clean, well-organized home. If you’ve ever wondered what a utility room is and how it differs from a laundry room, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ll explore what a utility room is and the essential function it serves in your home.
What Is a Utility Room?
A utility room is a versatile space that can be used for a variety of purposes related to household chores. It provides a dedicated area to do laundry, store cleaning supplies and appliances, and carry out other tasks necessary for the upkeep of your home. In addition to a washing machine and dryer, utility rooms can contain larger appliances like hot water heaters or chest freezers that are essential to the function of your home. Depending on the layout of your home, a utility room may be conveniently located near the kitchen or garage, or in the basement away from your main living areas.
(Shop this image: yellow bath mats, striped towels, dog beds, and washer & dryer sets)
When comparing utility rooms vs. laundry rooms, these spaces have some similarities but vary greatly in their functional capacity and the purpose they serve in your home. Laundry rooms are just as the name suggests – a place to do laundry and all laundry-related tasks such as folding, ironing, and steaming. While some laundry rooms may have a sink and cabinets, the only real requirements are a washer, dryer, and space to store your detergents. Given the minimal requirements of laundry rooms, they can vary in size from a converted closet to a designated room.
On the other hand, utility rooms are typically larger than laundry rooms and offer more storage space in general. Most utility rooms include a large-basin utility sink and cabinets for storing cleaning supplies, equipment, and other household items, though they frequently include laundry appliances as well. In addition to storing large cleaning tools, some people opt to use their utility room as a place for their pet essentials – such as litter boxes, dog-washing showers, and feeding stations – to keep them separate from the rest of the house.
(Shop this image: white linen cabinets, stackable washer & dryer sets, rolling clothes racks, and laundry carts)
Ample storage space is the number one must-have in any utility room. Whether you have built-in cabinets or opt for shelving units in your utility room, having a place to store your household supplies is an essential function of this space. You’ll often find larger objects that aren’t used in everyday life being stored in utility rooms – such as dehumidifiers, carpet cleaners, vacuums, and mops. Keeping these tools in a centralized location that is out of the way can help with the general organization and upkeep of your home.
