Gone are the days where you needed an extra room in your home for laundry. Nowadays, with a little planning, you can build a laundry room in the garage, which is just as functional as a dedicated laundry room. Quite a lot of homeowners have taken this route and are glad they did.
However, the garage is not like any other room in the house. For one reason, it can get dirty in the shortest possible time. And no one loves a messy laundry room. In this article, you will learn four tips on keeping your garage laundry room clean.
One thing you need to know is, to keep your garage clean at all times requires that you have a cleaning routine that you follow. It should be a habit to clean and organize your garage laundry room regularly. There are no two ways about that.
While there is no right routine time, cleaning the garage, laundry appliances, and essentials at least once a month is a sure way to keep your garage laundry always looking pristine.
Here are my four practical tips on how to keep the garage laundry room clean at all times.
1. Clean the Dust
One of the rooms that get dusty very quickly in our homes is the garage. Why is this the case? Our vehicles always enter the garage with dust from outside. And over time, they accumulate on the floor, the garage walls, and any other items stored in there, including your laundry essentials.
For this reason, frequently cleaning your laundry items and the garage entirely is vital.
Vacuum and mop the garage floor
You want to start cleaning your garage laundry room by first vacuuming the entire floor. Open your garage door, and put your vacuum cleaner on blower mode. This way, you can simply blow off the dust from the garage floor outside. You want to do it well enough to get all the dust off. Repeat the vacuuming process to ensure all the remaining dust and dirt on the floor is gone.
Once all the dust and debris are wiped off the floor, it will be easier to mop the floor. Fill a large bucket with warm water halfway. Now add your favorite cleaning solution. You don’t want to add too much because that will leave the floor sticky after mopping. You definitely don’t want that.
If the garage floor is very dirty, I recommend you go with slop mopping. That means, you take a bunch of water from the mop bucket without wringing it, and then you scrub the floor with the mop. Once that’s done, then you wring the mop completely dry and wipe off the dirty water from the floor.
If you clean the garage floor often, then you can do the regular mopping. Dip the mop in the water, wring it almost dry, but not completely. And then mop the floor.
Wipe the shelves, washing machine, and dryer
Dust and dirt will build on the shelves, washing machines, and all the other laundry essentials over time. To keep them clean all the time means they need to be wiped clean as often as possible.
How do you do this? Get a lint-free rag and dip it in water. Wipe the shelves off any dirt and dust. Start with the counter on the shelf if it has one, and then move to the other parts, like the drawers and cabinets.
Following the same procedure, wipe the body of your washing machine and dryers.
2. Keep Things Organized
Organizing your garage laundry room is one excellent way to make it look clean. It is not only essential for keeping the place clean; it will help you locate anything you need quickly. Which means you will actually spend less time doing laundry.
When it comes to organizing your garage laundry room, there are a million ways you can go about it. So I’m going to give you some ideas on where to start and some hacks to make a functional organization and add to the room’s aesthetics.
Use laundry baskets
One essential thing you need in your laundry room is the laundry basket. These are simply made storage units in which you keep your dirty clothes. It helps keep your garage laundry looking clean and organized by keeping all the dirty clothes in one place, instead of throwing it anywhere.
You want a laundry basket which is big enough to keep all the family’s dirty clothes. Alternatively, you can purchase small ones for each member of your family, or separate your white clothes from the colored ones, or however, you want to use it. Ultimately, you want to find something that is both functional and aesthetically pleasing.
Install a Wall Storage
Another thing that will help keep things organized and clean in your garage laundry room is a wall storage rack. These are inexpensive storage racks installed on your garage wall. You can keep your regularly used laundry supplies like detergents, stain removers, baking soda in them.
Storage Diversified’s Wall Storage Basket (on Amazon) is an excellent example. It’s a three storage basket combined into one, which makes it big enough to store all your laundry supplies. And because it’s a storage basket made with a wire mesh, you can see anything stored. This makes it very easy to locate anything you are looking for.
Another great option is Peter’s Good 2-Tier Floating Wall Shelves (also on Amazon). I particularly love this one for its aesthetics. The wooden shelves give it a warm and organic feel. With this being a 2-tier shelf, you can definitely fit all your laundry supplies on it. And these are very easy to install as well. You can fix it on your garage wall in about 15 minutes without any hassle.
As I mentioned earlier, there are a million ways you can go when it comes to organizing your garage laundry room. These are options to give you an idea of how you can do things. It’s all a matter of personal preference.
3. Ventilation is Key
Before you converted your garage into a laundry room, you barely spent any time there. You simply park your vehicle and get inside the living area. Which meant there was no need for any sort of ventilation. This is why most garages are not included in the home’s HVAC system.
But things have changed. Now, you’re probably spending more time in the garage than before, doing laundry. And to make it a bearable and comfortable space to be in, it needs ventilation.
The first reason you need to ventilate your garage is that laundry in the garage can cause a musty smell. Just as I explained in the Pros and Cons Setting Up Laundry in the garage, which I highly recommend you read, a lot of moisture will be introduced in the garage once you start washing there. And if there is no proper ventilation, this moisture will be stagnant, causing a musty smell.
Also, if you still park your car in the garage, the fumes from the vehicle can make the garage an unbearable space to be in. This is another compelling reason to ventilate your garage.
If the garage has windows or a vent, then you are in luck. Open it as often as possible. This will allow fresh air into the garage to exchange the stagnant air and moisture, and keep the garage fresh and clean. Another approach is to open your garage door as frequently as possible if there are no windows or a vent. This will bring in lots of air to the garage in the shortest possible time. However, this may also not be the best option for many homeowners due to home security concerns.
Here are my recommended ways to ventilate your garage
Install an Exhaust Fan
Installing an exhausting fan is one practical way of increasing airflow to your garage. They are relatively inexpensive to install compared to creating new windows, and they are far more effective. The exhaust fan will force stale air out of your garage and bring in fresh air into the garage with the help of the fan blades.
These fans will also improve the overall temperature in your garage. Although they are not as effective as installing a ductless mini-split air conditioner, they can exchange hot air in the garage with cold air from outside, and vice versa.
Most of the newly designed exhaust fans are easy to install, especially for DIY-savvy homeowners. Which means you will save some cash doing it yourself.
Use a dehumidifier
If you are on a tight budget, a dehumidifier might be the best option for you. What this device does is, it absorbs all the moisture in a room and then drains it. It helps keep the garage laundry room smelling nice and fresh at all times because there will be no stale air and moisture in the room.
An exhaust fan is more effective, but a dehumidifier gets the job done, especially in situations where you can’t install the fan, and you are on a budget. These devices are not only great for a laundry room but any humid room such as the bathroom.
4. Fix all the leaks
Washing machine and pipe leaks are one thing that can really get your garage laundry room very unclean. That’s because garage floors are usually dusty, and water leaks on a dirty floor will leave the floor looking muddy. No one loves that scene.
If these leaks are left unattended, that can also lead to your garage smelling very bad. That’s because some of the leaked water will find its way in the corners of the room and the garage walls. That is the perfect condition for molds to grow in the garage. You certainly don’t want that to happen.
So, if you have a problem with your washing machine leaking, I recommend you fix it as soon as possible. Repairing a leaking washing machine is beyond the scope of this article. So, here is a guide on how to fix it. See here
Final Words
To keep your garage laundry room clean, you need to frequently clean the garage and wipe off the dust from the laundry appliances and supplies, ensure the garage is organized at all times, fix all washing machines and pipe leaks, and keep the garage ventilated.
This has to be developed into a habit. For instance, you can decide to clean the garage every time after doing the laundry.
