Manufactured Homes in Kokomo, Indiana: Where the Laundry Goes and How the Dryer Vents

Kokomo is the county seat of Howard County, a working city ringed by farm ground and small towns like Greentown and Russiaville. Buyers from here tend to be practical about a new manufactured home, and the laundry room is a good test of that. Nobody chooses a home for its laundry, but every floor plan puts the washer and dryer somewhere, and you will carry baskets to that spot every week for years.

Where the laundry sits in a floor plan

Champion plans place laundry in a few common spots. Each has a trade-off:

• Off the back or side entry. Muddy boots, work clothes and towels go straight in without crossing the house. A good fit for farm work, a shop job or kids in sports.
• Near the bedrooms. The shortest walk from where clothes come off to where they get washed. The noise is closer to the bedrooms, too.
• A closet in the hallway. Saves floor space in a smaller home, usually with no room to fold.
• A full room with a sink or counter. Space to sort, fold and hang, at the cost of square footage elsewhere.

Walk the route in the floor plan drawing: from the bedrooms, from the back door and from the kitchen. Our Akron post covers reading a floor plan drawing if the symbols are new to you.

Hookups: check the spec sheet, then your appliances

Each plan’s spec sheet says what the laundry area is set up for. Before you order, confirm:

• Electric or gas dryer. An electric dryer needs a 240-volt outlet; a gas dryer needs a gas line, which only makes sense if the home has gas service at all. Our Cromwell post covers heating fuel on a rural lot.
• Side-by-side or stacked. Measure the space against the appliances you own or plan to buy, including the door swing and the depth with hoses connected.
• Whether appliances are included. Some plans and options include a washer and dryer; many do not. It is a separate line on our quote either way.

The dryer vent deserves a look on set-up day

A dryer pushes warm, damp, lint-filled air. That air has to leave the home through a vent to the outside. It should never end in the crawlspace or under the skirting, where the moisture rots and the lint is a fire risk.

Depending on the plan, the vent may go through a wall or down through the floor and out past the skirting. Any run that is finished on site is part of the set-up work your contractor does. After set-up, look under the home or ask your contractor to show you where the vent ends. Our Topeka post lists the other items to check on delivery day.

Keep it running well

• Clean the lint screen every load.
• Check the outside vent hood a few times a year. Birds and wasps like it.
• Use rigid or semi-rigid metal duct for the connector behind the dryer, not thin foil or vinyl.
• Check the washer hoses each year and replace any that bulge or crack.

Common questions

Can I move the laundry to a different spot?

Only within the options Champion offers for that plan. The plumbing and electrical are built in at the factory, so choose a plan with the laundry where you want it.

Do you install the dryer vent?

No. We sell and deliver the home. Set-up and any site connections are done by contractors you hire.

Where to next?

See our Howard County page, or browse floor plans and compare where each one puts the laundry.