Many municipalities disallow laundry chutes in new home constructions. They can create a chimney effect allowing a fire to travel faster between floors. Also kids like to play with them and not all kids are smart enough not to try and slide down it.

Install a proper slide, safe and suitable for kids, that happens to end in the laundry room.

BTW, build it with the assumption that it will get soaked in disgusting things. Drywall isn't strong and isn't really washable. Non-stick coatings are best; metal is OK.

Yeah it's really bizarre. It reads like the editor didn't think the original article was interesting enough, and had the author rewrite it with a sinister tone.

They're banned by some fire codes, or you have to install weird temperature operated closures.

There is also a conspicuous consumption aspect that someone who has a washing machine anywhere but the basement is wealthy and care free enough to do substantial repair work, because there's only two kinds of washing machines, the ones that will flood and ruin everything underneath them, or those that already have. Putting a washer on the 3rd floor by the bedroom seems very practical and convenient until the first expensive flood. Of course the trend to fancy up basements means a leak will cause $10K of damage and mold where ever the washer is located, so may as well located it conveniently.

If you want a laundry machine on a higher floor, just add tile and a drain when building the house. Getting a washing machine up to the 3rd floor can be a significant issue. But, combining a laundry room with a bathroom is a very sensible design choice. (As is having a drain on the floor for every room with a sink.)

The downside is just noise when running the washing machine.

I've seen several middle class houses that had the laundry room on the second floor (1st floor = ground floor here). Most homes have the laundry on the 1st floor here.

I would like a house with the laundry on the 2nd near the bedrooms. But I'd make sure it has a spill basin and drain for the inevitable massive leak.