How Laundry Chutes Work

What is a laundry chute?

A laundry chute is a vertical tube that connects upper floors of a building to a ground-floor collection point, allowing laundry to be dropped directly from bedrooms or bathrooms to a utility room or laundry area below — without carrying it down the stairs.

How does a laundry chute system work?

Laundry is placed into an intake door — typically fitted in a bathroom or landing wall — and falls through the chute tube to a discharge point at the base. The discharge can be into an open collection area, a laundry basket, or a purpose-designed collection bag frame.

Access doors can be fitted at each floor level to allow maintenance. For multi-storey commercial buildings, access doors are standard at every served floor.

Choosing the right diameter

The internal diameter determines the maximum size of item that can pass through the chute.

• 250 mm: Suitable for small to medium family homes (2–3 floors). Fits within a standard stud-wall cavity.
• 300 mm: Our most popular domestic size. Handles bulkier items and suits most family homes up to 4 floors.
• 350 mm and 400 mm: For larger family homes, townhouses and properties with higher laundry volumes.
• 500 mm+: Commercial sizes for hotels, care homes and apartment buildings.

Building Regulations and fire safety

A laundry chute that penetrates fire compartments within a building must be treated as a fire hazard. UK regulations require fire-rated, self-closing and lockable access doors complying with BS 476: Part 22 (or the European equivalent, BS EN 1634-1), together with fire-stop collars at each floor penetration. Chutes are manufactured from steel rather than plastic or wood for added fire resistance, and pipework is firmly clamped to prevent smoke escaping between floors.

For safety, access doors should be fitted with lockable handles and positioned at least 1 metre above floor level so they cannot easily be opened by young children, with no sharp edges on the door furniture. Buildings of more than three floors should use self-closing doors as standard. Easyline can advise on the specific requirements for your project.

Installation overview

Installing a laundry chute involves creating a continuous vertical opening through the building structure, fitting the chute tube sections, securing the intake doors, and connecting the discharge at the base. For new builds, the chute is typically installed before first-fix plasterboarding. Retro-fit installations are also possible, including in masonry and timber-frame construction.

A typical two-storey domestic installation takes around 2–3 hours, with minimal disruption to the rest of the property. Chutes can be run as a straight vertical drop or angled using elbow sections up to a maximum of 45°, giving flexibility where a straight run isn't possible.