"Illegal" washer/dryer

Please disregard (unless you wish to add comment). I found a long prior post on this which is recent enough. I'm just jealous as we did not do it but want to.

I guess the risk is getting sued if you flood your downstairs neighbor and facing a denial by your insurer. If the prohibition is outdated, I would try to either get on the board and advocate for change. I've done it and I know it's a pain. On the upside no-washer buildings are often small, old and in need of volunteers for board. But before I did anything, I would want to know exactly why they banned machines. Maybe the reasoning was better than you think.

The risk is that should something happen and it's significant, the proprietary lease could be terminated and your sister will be out on the street. And her insurance won't cover the cost of the repairs, because it wasn't an approved installation.

Or maybe you could flood the person below you and they could drown? Or maybe you could flood the whole street and thousands could drown? Sounds about as risky as getting killed by a vending machine.

Both good points though at opposite extremes. I guess it's a matter of risk tolerance. Very low likelihood, potentially rather high stakes in the event of that unlikely event happening. Thanks.

It is not just about flooding, Some buildings can only handle so much water being drained, they just cant handle the extra water, that is probably not just for one unit but if everyone was allowed their could be problem.

Bingo.

I would not do it. Consequences could be steep from the building and in direct violation of house rules. Not worth it.

Agree with Primer - the risks are multiple. Liability via flooding, water capacity through the building's systems, vibration from the machines, etc. I would advise against taking that on if I were you.

Or, you could have a big shot actor experience like Bobby DeNiro, with the rare "dryer fire" phenomenon:

http://www.brickunderground.com/blog/2012/06/robert_deniro_new_poster_child_for_getting_rid_of_that_icky_flammable_lint_from_your_dr

:-)

Even with a drain pan and leak sensor, I'd be too worried. If a pipe bursts and floods the building, do you really want to be on the hook for six figures worth of damage that insurance won't cover?

More than that, do you want to sink $2,500 - $5,000 into a purchase that may get discovered within days or weeks and becomes worthless? The quietest unit is still going to have some vibration and noise. All it takes is one neighbor to hear it.....

prime, this time you are wrong. study shows even the very old small pipe can handle family size washers in condo/coop buildings. i saw that article on city-data forums.

also, it's impossible to have all the washers in the building drain at the same moment

"study shows even the very old small pipe can handle family size washers in condo/coop buildings."

Only if the water drains into a sink or tub, rather than being forced directly into a drain pipe. Simple physics would then force the water to back up into neighbors' sinks and tubs.

The "plumbing can't handle it" thing is a myth. I live in a pre-war building with all units having w/d and there has never been a problem. I think it has to do with the Boards not wanting to lose money from their contracts with companies that supply machines for their communal laundry rooms in lots of cases.

Regardless of the debate of whether the pipes can handle it you would be installing something illegal in your apartment. This is explicitly against the rules of the co-op which as we know yield exceptional power. In no way is this a good idea.

Not all plumbing is created equal. Even though dmasonmd lives in a pre-war building with all units having w/d's that doesn't mean most other buildings could handle the pressure issue. I have had first hand experience with newer buildings with washer's and dryers in each unit- but the pipes were too narrow to handle the pressure (I have seen this in a smaller building and large "brand name" developer building). Each building had no contracts with companies supplying machines for a communal laundry room- because everyone had their own machines. The solution is to replace the entire line, and that is not a cheap or easy thing to do.

If you are thinking of adding an illegal washing machine- think twice about the repercusions. You can build all the bells and whistles to stop an overflow- but it does nothing to address the issue once the water drains out of your apartment down the line. If there is ever a problem and it traces back to your machine- you could be on the hook for a massive amount.

Thanks for all the comprehensive feedback.

"The "plumbing can't handle it" thing is a myth. I live in a pre-war building with all units having w/d and there has never been a problem."

In YOUR building.

As semerun put so succinctly, "Not all plumbing is created equal."

NYCMatt, i bet you never studied real physics. so do a lot other people on the forum. you guys don't understand the most basic college physics at all.

i alredy went through quantum physics and i can tell you, there's no such thing as "force the water to back up into neighbors' sinks and tubs". there's similar phenomenon but not in the way you described

And yet ... it's happened when people used their illegal washers.

Some mysteries of the universe can't be boiled down to mathematical formulas.