Anonymous wrote:A dumb waiter per multiple codes (ICC, IRC, NEC, etc) is a potential fire hazard and should meet current code requirements. Particularly for the prevention of a fire spreading quickly from one floor to another.

A (closed) duct system for heat/ac is not treated as one/for/one the same in the eyes of the code.

A dumb waiter, or similarly, a laundry chute, or other means of travel such as an elevator, have strict requirements or
Mitigations for life and building safety requirements, whether they are apparent to the homeowner or not.

I'd be hesitant after seeing so many mishaps in murder mysteries

No dumb waiter in any houses, but laundry chutes...friends had a chute that was built into stairs that went to their attic. Opened up the door to the attic, flipped up a stair tread and there was the chute.

Cousin has one in her house is in one of the bedrooms. That one is built into an internal wall with a hinged door. Clothes land in a cabinet over the washer in their basement.

Always thought they were neat when I was a kid.

A dumb waiter per multiple codes (ICC, IRC, NEC, etc) is a potential fire hazard and should meet current code requirements. Particularly for the prevention of a fire spreading quickly from one floor to another.

A (closed) duct system for heat/ac is not treated as one/for/one the same in the eyes of the code.

A dumb waiter, or similarly, a laundry chute, or other means of travel such as an elevator, have strict requirements or
Mitigations for life and building safety requirements, whether they are apparent to the homeowner or not.

Never had a dumbwaiter. But I loved the laundry chutes we had in two different houses that I lived in growing up. As a teenager, all of my dirty clothes went straight into this little door in the hallway. I never had a laundry hamper or pile of dirty clothes in my room. I did do my share of laundry, but I never appreciated how nice it was to not have the pile of clothes sitting in my room

As an adventurous nine year old, I loved crawling into the bottom opening of the chute and wriggling my way up to the top. Basement to second story! Hate to thing of what would have happened to my legs if I'd fallen from halfway up.... Yikes, good thing my kids don't have a laundry chute in our house now!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This just reminded me that my grandparents had a laundry shute. You could just chuck the dirty laundry down and it landed next to the washing machine. I thought it was the greatest thing ever. Now that I'm an adult, I realize that they still had to carry the clean clothes up the stairs. Do people still have laundry chutes?

The house I grew up in had one and it was great! They don't put them in houses anymore because they are a fire hazard.

This isn't true. The shaft is no more of a fire hazard than any duct work going to other gas or electric appliances. We have a dupont circle home that originally would have had one from the service kitchen in the basement to the butler's pantry on the main floor. There is also a service staircase going between the two. We just redid the main kitchen (which would have been the service kitchen in the staff quarters in the basement) and added a two stop, electric dumbwaiter. It's basically just a mini-elevator. There were all types of options for the cab, but we kept it pretty simple. We got it from a company where that is all they do. They required a ton of measurements, and our GC and electrician installed it. We have it behind kitchen cabinets on both floors, and it comes with electric latches so you can't open the cabinets unless the cab is on that floor, just like a little elevator.

Anonymous wrote:This just reminded me that my grandparents had a laundry shute. You could just chuck the dirty laundry down and it landed next to the washing machine. I thought it was the greatest thing ever. Now that I'm an adult, I realize that they still had to carry the clean clothes up the stairs. Do people still have laundry chutes?

We have a laundry chute. 1940's cape cod. You can access from the upper level or 1st floor. We love it, except when each kid went through the phase of chucking stuff down it that shouldn't. Think shoes and toys, not each other

I lived in a 1901 Sears House and the dining room was right next to the kitchen. So modern! Sadly, no dumbwaiter.

Ours had an elevator in the living room! Sadly, parents had it removed prior to our move in.

Anonymous wrote:This just reminded me that my grandparents had a laundry shute. You could just chuck the dirty laundry down and it landed next to the washing machine. I thought it was the greatest thing ever. Now that I'm an adult, I realize that they still had to carry the clean clothes up the stairs. Do people still have laundry chutes?

The house I grew up in had one and it was great! They don't put them in houses anymore because they are a fire hazard.

This just reminded me that my grandparents had a laundry shute. You could just chuck the dirty laundry down and it landed next to the washing machine. I thought it was the greatest thing ever. Now that I'm an adult, I realize that they still had to carry the clean clothes up the stairs. Do people still have laundry chutes?

My old condo had the shaft and doors still. I am wondering if it had been more of a boarding house and meals were sent up from the basement? It was definitely always a condo type building, not a large family home that was later split up. Built in 1911. But each unit had a sizable kitchen with a stove, so I don’t know if the meal delivery idea makes sense. Wondering if it was more used for laundry or coal? But the shaft is quite a large square.

Is your kitchen in the basement?

I've repurposed them as chase for ductwork a handful of times over the years.

No, but I wish I had one for that one or two times a year that I host formal dinners.
I have a very open kitchen on the main floor and have a small tiny kitchen/ laundry area in the basement. I just wish we could get all the dishes down easily to be cleaned instead of the kitchen being cluttered with dishes, pots and pans.

If so, I want to hear all about it. We live in a early 1900s house, and I was wondering if our house at one point had a dumbwaiter. Does anyone in the DMV who is living in an old, historic home still have a dumbwaiter? Where is it located? How do you keep it in good shape?