What is a European laundry?
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A European laundry is a washing machine and dryer built into a cupboard rather than given a dedicated room. The appliances sit behind doors, usually stacked, often in a hallway, kitchen or bathroom. The name is an Australian real estate convention rather than anything genuinely European.
What it actually needs
More than a cupboard. Plumbing and drainage, a waterproofed floor or tray, a power point rated for the appliances, and ventilation so the space does not hold moisture. A dryer in a sealed cupboard without extraction will grow mould, and it is the single most common failure.
Where it works
Apartments and smaller homes where a full laundry would cost a bedroom's worth of floor area. Stacked front loaders in a 900mm cupboard handle a couple or small family comfortably.
Where it does not
Households that wash constantly, or anyone who needs a bench to fold on and a sink to soak in. A European laundry removes the room where all of that used to happen, and nothing else in the house replaces it.