Countertop above the washing machine in the bathroom

The countertop above the automatic washing machine in the bathroom is an excellent work surface on which you can mix up household chemicals and lean on your elbows if necessary. In addition, such a surface protects the washing machine well from drops of water that may accidentally fall on the body from a shower or tap.

But where to get such furniture, and most importantly, how to choose and assemble it correctly? Read about all this in this publication.

What are they?

There are a lot of models of countertops, and each such model has its own characteristics. How to choose furniture to your liking among this variety? First, you need to understand what kind of countertops there are and how they are classified. This information will help you to cover the maximum variety of such furniture, which will, in turn, lead you to a more informed choice. So, what kind of countertop can be in the bathroom?

1. Light wall. Such countertops, as a rule, have a simple design, are mounted on special brackets and take up very little space. However, they are not designed for heavy loads, and therefore heavy objects should not be placed on such countertops.
   
2. With support on the floor. These are more massive and capital countertops that can withstand significant loads. Such countertops often have support points on both the floor and the wall. Also, often such countertops have cabinets and hanging drawers, in which it is very convenient to store various useful little things around the house.
3. The tabletop is heavy, solid. For a large and medium-sized bathroom, a chic one-piece ceramic or stone countertop for a washing machine, which already has a sink, cabinet and drawers, is suitable. The modules of such countertops do not change, and the countertops themselves cost incredible amounts of money.
4. Table top with water lily sink. To be precise, this design is more like a sink with a countertop, and not vice versa. The countertop here acts as an auxiliary element - a continuation of the sink. You can read more about water lily sinks and other unusual sinks installed in the bathroom in the article Washing machine under the sink in the bathroom.
   
5. Worktop with the possibility of installing a sink. This piece of furniture can be anything you want in appearance, but it has one remarkable feature - it has a cutout for a specific sink model. There are even countertops with a unified cutout that can be adjusted to suit the parameters of a specific sink.

In rare cases, you can find countertops in the bathroom combined with shelves and even shelving. Such furniture can be mass-produced at the factory or made to order.

Requirements for a piece of furniture

A countertop for a washing machine is furniture that is interconnected with a piece of household appliance, and, therefore, both the washing machine and the countertop must correspond to each other. The tabletop must be located at such a height that an automatic washing machine can fit under it, and there is a gap of at least 1 cm wide between the tabletop cover and the top cover of the washing machine.

The countertop under the automatic washing machine in the bathroom must accommodate the entire body of the washing machine. It is unacceptable for the body of the washing machine to protrude beyond the boundaries of the lid, otherwise the protective function of the countertop will be reduced to a minimum. The countertop should not create obstacles to connecting communications, and these same communications should be securely hidden behind the furniture.

Please note that the countertop will be constantly exposed to temperature changes, high humidity and fairly strong vibration, which means that special requirements will be placed on the material from which your future countertop will be made. Fiberboard, chipboard and plasterboard are not suitable as materials for countertops, but textured plastic boards or artificial stone are fine. You can, of course, take a countertop for a washing machine from natural marble, but this will be too expensive.

It is advisable that the countertop be accompanied by some furniture elements that would allow you to store a basket with dirty laundry close to the washing machine, as well as small shelves for powder, conditioner and bleach.

Important! The installation site of the countertop must be prepared in advance: communications have been removed, surfaces have been finished, dimensions have been calculated.

Which washing machine should I choose?

To reliably hide a washing machine under the countertop in the bathroom, it is not enough just to ensure that the furniture itself meets certain requirements. It is necessary that the washing machine fits such furniture. Understand correctly, it’s not a problem to make a countertop that will cover even a standard-height washing machine and still have some space left, but what dimensions will this furniture be? Let's figure it out.

• The height of a standard non-built-in automatic washing machine is 85 cm. The gap between its lid and the countertop cover is 1 cm. Moreover, plus the thickness of the material of the countertop cover is 2, or even 5 cm. The resulting height is 88-91 cm, for the countertop and the sink located at such a height it is inconvenient to use.
• Next is the depth.A standard washing machine has a depth of 60 cm, which means the width of the countertop will be about 62 cm (taking into account the necessary protrusion in the front), it would seem that the furniture is normal in width, but that’s not the case. The width of the countertop should be larger, since the body of the washing machine is not placed tightly against the wall due to the hoses and power cord located at the back. This means we leave a gap of at least 10 cm, and this is already a tabletop with a width of at least 72 cm. How aesthetically pleasing is this? The question is, how much space will it take up in the bathroom?
• And finally, width. The washing machine has a width of 57-60 cm. The larger the width, the longer the countertop will be and the less space will be left for cabinets and shelves. Accordingly, it is more profitable to buy washing machines that are as wide as possible; in this case, it is worth fighting for every centimeter.

Considering the above, it turns out that the washing machine should be as small as possible in size so that the countertop under it does not take up a catastrophically large amount of space in the bathroom. But on the other hand, having received neat furniture in the bathroom by installing a small washing machine, we will lose the functionality of the equipment. After all, what is a small washing machine? This is, first of all, a load of laundry of a maximum of 3 kg, and what is three kilograms even for a family of 3 people? That's right - nothing! So there needs to be a compromise here.

There is no ideal automatic under-counter washing machine. You will definitely have to put up with some shortcomings. Be mentally prepared for this.

It is clear that a washing machine of standard sizes will not fit, but compact models It's not worth chasing. This means that you need a washing machine with dimensions slightly smaller than standard ones, but large enough to have an impressive drum load.It will be functional and fit under a normal-sized countertop without any problems.

We are talking about narrow washing machines, such as BEKO WKB51031 PTMA. This particular model has a height of 83 cm, which allows you to install the tabletop at least a little lower. The depth of this machine is only 35 cm, this allows you to make a bathroom countertop of normal width and significantly reduce the overall dimensions of the furniture. At the same time, the equipment itself has good characteristics: a drum with a capacity of 5 kg (not 3), a spin speed of 1000 rpm, 11 washing programs and a digital display.

So, in order for the future countertop for the washing machine in the bathroom to please you, you need to choose the right not only the piece of furniture itself, but also the equipment for it, achieve an aesthetic and functional compromise, and then you will definitely be proud of yourself. Good luck with your choice!

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