utility room
{{Short description|A house's room where laundry is done}}
A utility room is a room where equipment not used in day-to-day activities is kept. "Utility" refers to an item which is designed for usefulness or practical use, so in turn most of the items kept in this room have functional attributes. A utility room is generally the area where laundry is done, and is the descendant of the scullery.{{cite web | title=Utility Rooms FAQ | url=http://www.utilityrooms.com/utilityroomsfaq.cfm | work=UtilityRooms.com | access-date=2010-03-17}}{{cite web | title=Utility Room | url= http://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/utility%20room | work= Merriam-Webster, Incorporated | access-date=2010-03-17}}{{cite web | title= Organized Utility Room | url= http://www.hihut.com/organized-utility-room.html | work=Hi Hut | access-date=2010-03-17}}
Utility room is more commonly used in British English, while North American English generally refer to this room as a laundry room, except in the American Southeast.{{Citation needed|date=March 2010}} In Australian English laundry is the usual term.
Uses
File:Laundry Room in the Student Residence Office in the City University of Hong Kong.jpg
The utility room has several uses but typically functions as an area to do laundry. This room contains laundry equipment such as a washing machine, tumble dryer, ironing boards and clothes iron.{{cite web | title=Utility Room Laundry Aids | url=http://www.utilityrooms.com/laundryaids/| work= UtilityRooms.com| access-date=2010-03-17}} The room is also used for closet organization and storage. The room would normally contain a second coat closet which is used to store seasonal clothing such as winter coats or clothing which are no longer used daily.{{cite web | title=Utility Room Closet Organizers | url=http://www.utilityrooms.com/closetorganizers/ | work= Utility Rooms.com| access-date=2010-03-17}}{{cite web | title=Utility Room Storage Cabinets | url=http://www.utilityrooms.com/storagecabinets// | work= UtilityRooms.com| access-date=2010-03-17}} Storage spaces would contain other appliances which would generally be in the kitchen if it was in usage daily. Furnaces and the water heater are sometime incorporated to the room as well. Shelving and trash may sometimes be seen at this area as not to congest the other parts of the house.{{cite web |title=Utility Room Trash |url=http://www.utilityrooms.com/trashcans/work=|publisher=UtilityRooms.com |access-date=2010-03-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602145713/http://www.utilityrooms.com/trashcans/work%3D |archive-date=June 2, 2013 }}
History
The utility room is a modern descendant of the scullery where important kitchen items were kept during its usage in England. The term was further defined around the 14th century as a household department where kitchen items are taken care of.{{cite book | title= New kitchen idea book| publisher= Taunton Press| url= https://archive.org/details/newkitchenideabo00bouk | url-access= registration| page= [https://archive.org/details/newkitchenideabo00bouk/page/115 115]| quote= modern sculleries.| work=Modern Sculleries, Joanne Kellar Bouknight | access-date=2010-03-17|isbn = 9781561586424|last1 = Bouknight|first1 = Joanne Kellar|year = 2004}}{{cite web | title=scullery | url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=scullery | work=Douglas Harper | access-date=2010-03-17}} The term utility room was mentioned in 1760, when a cottage was built in a rural location in the United Kingdom that was accessible through Penarth and Cardiff.{{cite web | title=utility room history | url=https://www.google.com/search?q=utility+room+history&hl=en# | work= Google Timeline Search for Publications on “Utility Room”| access-date=2010-03-17}} A utility room for general purposes also depicted its use as a guest room in case of an immediate need.{{cite web | title=Utility Rooms | url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ahIwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=204DAAAAIBAJ&pg=2960,5453559&dq=utility+room+history&hl=en | work= St. Petersburg Times – Aug 3, 1946 | access-date=2010-03-17}} A 1944 Scottish housing and planning report recommended new state-built homes for families could provide a utility room as a general purpose workroom for the home (for washing clothes, cleaning boots and jobbing repairs).{{Cite book |last=Great Britain. Scottish Housing Advisory Committee |url=http://archive.org/details/b32175024 |title=Planning our new homes : report by the Scottish Housing Advisory Committee on the design, planning and furnishing of new houses |date=1944 |publisher=Edinburgh : H.M. Stationery Off |others=Wellcome Library}} An American publication, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, on July 24, 1949{{cite web|title=Utility Room Vs. Basement |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=gL9scSG3K_gC&dat=19490724&printsec=frontpage |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120711163419/http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=gL9scSG3K_gC&dat=19490724&printsec=frontpage |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-07-11 |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |access-date=2010-03-17 }} reported that utility rooms have become more popular than basements in new constructions.{{cite web| title=Utility Room Vs. Basement| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GhkNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=SmoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5843,5734831&dq=utility+room+history&hl=en| work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette| access-date=2010-03-17| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408061034/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GhkNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=SmoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5843,5734831&dq=utility+room+history&hl=en| archive-date=2016-04-08| url-status=dead}} On June 28, 1959, in a report of a typical American house being built in Moscow, Russia, the house was described to have a utility room immediately at the right side after the entrance.{{cite news | title= THIS HOUSE MAY MAKE HISTORY | url= https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/565166052.html?dids=565166052:565166052&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Jun+28%2C+1959&author=&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=THIS+HOUSE+MAY+MAKE+HISTORY&pqatl=google | work= Chicago Tribune | access-date=2010-03-17 | date=1959-06-28}} The Chicago Tribune reported that the laundry room was then commonly being referred to as the utility room in a September 30, 1970, publication.{{cite news | title=LAUNDRY ROOM TODAY IS A UTILITY ROOM(2) | url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/621090232.html?dids=621090232:621090232&FMT=CITE&FMTS=CITE:AI&type=historic&date=Sep+19%2C+1970&author=&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=LAUNDRY+ROOM+TODAY+IS+A+UTILITY+ROOM(2)&pqatl=google | work= Chicago Tribune | access-date=2010-03-17 | date=1970-09-19}}{{Clarify|date=March 2010}}