I want to give them the benefit of the doubt and say perhaps it’s a deep freezer that is only opened occasionally, and I guess is pretty well sealed as long as it’s closed.
The kitchen appears to have one of those built-in fridges that matches the cabinets:
I’m in the USA in a house built pre-1900s. Our washing machine is in a nook off the kitchen (as in the same room, but in the corner). Growing up our washing machine was in the bathroom. From a plumbing standpoint it makes a lot of sense to have the washing machine in the same area as other plumbing.