Random fan fic question.

[besleybean]

I don't really do fan fic...

but I do carry a set of characters around in my head.

Does anybody know if there is a washer/dryer in the boys' flat?  
I am assuming Mrs H does their laundry.

But does she do it in her flat?

[J.P.]

Not in the Kitchen. https://www.google.com/maps/@51.5262505,-0.1369613,2a,87.3y,335.66h,48.05t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sYq_higYx9iQAAAQvxSNYfg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=de&entry=ttu
I also didn't see a washer in and of set photos of Mr. Hudson's kitchen.

[besleybean]

Yeah, I certainly didn't remember seeing one in the boys' kitchen...

but we only really get a very clear view of cooker. fridge and microwave.

I suppose with Mrs H, we only really get clear views of the sink, table and window.

 

EDIT: ooh, thanks for the 3D view...

annoying that they wouldn't let us see through to the bathroom, bedroom and back hallway.

[Carol the Dabbler]

  

5 hours ago, besleybean said:

I don't really do fan fic...

but I do carry a set of characters around in my head.

Be careful -- that's where fanfic starts!  

It used to be very common (at least here in the US) for a washer and dryer to be in the basement, so it could be downstairs behind flat "C", where everyone in the building could use it.

 

[besleybean]

I didn’t think there was anything behind C and I really can't see Sherlock doing his laundry.

[Carol the Dabbler]

12 hours ago, besleybean said:

I didn’t think there was anything behind C

Then where is the heating system -- the boiler or furnace?  Back when #221 was built, individual rooms presumably got their heat from fireplaces or stoves, but Sherlock and John hardly ever use their fireplace, so there must be some sort of central heating system now.  I'm trying to recall -- are there radiators or maybe heat vents?  There's presumably also a water heater somewhere.

If those systems were installed when the building (presumably once a single-family house) was converted to flats, the heating system may have been put in the basement of the new wing (i.e., underneath Sherlock's bedroom).  In any case, there could well be a laundry area down there as well.  Either that, or they tote their used duds to the local launderette -- or a laundry service sends someone to pick up and deliver.

12 hours ago, besleybean said:

I really can't see Sherlock doing his laundry.

Me neither.  But John seems like the sort of self-sufficient fellow who would wash his own clothing (and possibly Sherlock's too, though I certainly wouldn't bet on that).

 

[besleybean]

These days possibly back boiler behind a fire...or a wall boiler somewhere...can't remember seeing one, anywhere.

[Carol the Dabbler]

3 hours ago, besleybean said:

possibly back boiler behind a fire...or a wall boiler somewhere

I'm not familiar with that terminology -- and apparently not with those particular systems either.

OK, here's an explanation of back boilers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_boiler -- that appears to be a British concept, and seems to require an actual fire in the fireplace, to supply the heat.  I don't offhand recall that Sherlock and John generally have a fire going -- though of course they wouldn't need it in the summer.

And this site says "A boiler is normally in the basement, but modern wall-hung boilers can be almost anywhere."  That's an American site, so I'm apparently behind the times.  Like you, though, I don't recall seeing anything of that sort at 221B, and it would apparently be visible -- maybe it's in the bathroom?

 

[besleybean]

Bathroom was my next consideration,for both boiler and white goods!

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

I've encountered the term "white goods" on the British TV show Escape to the Country, where it seems to mean basically "washer and dryer."  Over here, though, it means "household linens."

In mid-Atlantic, I suppose one would use one's white goods to wash one's white goods.

 

[Caya]

Funny, the German term Weißware (which means white goods) is for all household items using electricity that are "work" items, like washer, dryer, fridge, microwave, you name it. Whereas Braunware (brown goods) means electric household items that are "fun" items, like the TV, radio, consoles or whatever. Both are a bit dated though and not much in use anymore.

[Carol the Dabbler]

I checked the British usage online, and (unlike what I've heard on "the telly") the term "white goods" actually seems to mean the same thing as the German equivalent, including even small appliances such as electric tea kettles.  And according to the Collins Dictionary entry, "brown goods" also means the same as in German, in both the UK and the US, but I had never encountered the term till just the other day.  It sounds like both "white" and "brown" may be used here by people in the appliance business, but not by the general public.

Apparently both terms are also used in the liquor trade, with reference to clear and dark-colored beverages, respectively.