IMHO any/every appliance that uses water should have a drain underneath it.....but very few do.

Assuming its a "normal" pan with raised edges to retain potential leaks.....it can be a pain to get the machine on it / in it without busting a gut or damaging the pan's edges. It can also be a pain to adjust the feet after its on it / in it. It can also be a pain if the raised lip obstructs access to things down low in front that may occasionally need service -- like the pump filters many machines have down there.

Without knowing your machine or the pan's characteristics, its hard to say. However, I think you can evaluate via eye-balling and imagining whether or not it will be a problem for you.

Oh gosh....I'm assuming because of the tight fit that the dryer will have to go in first, so lifting the washer into place will be a bear. Dang.

It's a relatively flat pan with low edges--probably standard? The washer is a new Maytag Bravos.

The washer is much heavier. Put it in first.

"Tight fit"? Oh, madame....you have my sympathy.

FWIW, statistically very few washers leak...ever. You might want to think about the idea of forgetting the pan and just getting the thing in there. If you're really serious about having that pan, there's nothing for it but to bear the inconvenience.

Our old washer had a mystery, part-time leak. My friend's had a leak that went undiscovered long enough that it buckled her parquet wood floors....so that's why I have concern about it--the laundry room sits right off my hardwood floors.

I don't know how easy it would be for the dryer to go in last given that you have to attach the vent. We've always put it in first.

Wonder if I can remove the pan but leave the drain (even if the floor doesn't slope down to it, it'd be better than nothing).

Thanks.

I have seen some laundry rooms where there is a pan with a drain to the sewer/washer drain or a concrete drain right in the floor under the washer which makes some sense but with a big leak I'm sure just a pan with a low edge wouldn't be of much help unless it was noticed right away. Our old 30+ yr. old Maytag (one of the original REAL Magtags!)had the water hoses replaced a couple times during it's lifetime only as a precaution (who ever turns off the faucets after each laundry as suggested?!!) but guess that would be the place where most leaks would occur?

Most new homes come with these pre-installed, it's a nice pre-caution to have. My Lowe's installers dealt with lifting the washer in. ;) They're made to handle the standard washer dimensions of today.

We added a washer/dryer closet when we remodeled an upstairs bathroom last year, and a drain pan was included. When the stackable washer and dryer were installed, the guys stacked them and attached the hardware that joins them together before lifting them into the drain pan. The smallest, most agile guy stayed behind the washer/dryer to attach the dryer to the vent, and then he climbed up and over the dryer, and then they eased the washer/dryer toward the back a bit, and the plumber attached the drain pan to the drain which is on the side.

I hope I never find out how well the drain works. Although I'm certain it wouldn't take care of a massive leak, I believe it would be effective for a small leak.

Thanks....

I still haven't decided whether to leave it or not. If a small leak happens to the washer itself, the pan is a good idea to have under it, but if a hose bursts, then the water isn't likely going into the pan--it'll go all over and not be able to go down the drain which is only accessed through the pan. Me thinks I'm over-thinking.....

I have a drain pan that has a removable front so it can still slide in. I'd also recommend putting a couple of little battery operated water alarms.

I have a drainpan and had to service then replace washer. Was not that difficult. I suggest when using a drainpan in narrow room put the dryer in first then washer. Doing this would make service or replacement easier. my opinion is that it would be too risky not usig one with wood floors. My only complaint: it is harder to clean down around the bottom washer. but you can get around that.

We had one in a house we had built, and loved it. I would do it again if we were building, and especially if it were next to hardwood. I have no recollection of the movers having any trouble putting the W/D in there. At the time it was the early 90's and we had a Whirlpool side-by-side large capacity standard machines.

Sounds like our builder does things right! Congratulations on your new house.

We have a GE frontloader that has leaked for at least 6 years. A small trickle out the front door. At our old house, the washer was in the basement on a concrete floor with a drain right in front. It was no biggie that the washer trickled. When we moved 5 years ago, the laundry room is on the main level with linoleum and plywood underneath. I didn't want to ruin the floor, so we bought a drain pan before we even moved in. We bought this one: Driptite Unbreakable Washer pan and it has been awesome! Totally protects the floor and really is unbreakable (unlike what we saw at big box stores). I highly recommend them. We paid $70 (after shipping) 5 years ago, and it appears that the price is still the same.

Here is a picture of our laundry room right this minute (from a baby monitor camera, keeping an eye on the dogs!). You can see the pan in front of the washer. It sticks out a little, which would help with draining (we never have to drain - the small amount that trickles just evaporates) and cleaning.

Wow John..

Very cool Closet project

Timely discussion as we are curreny upgrading a clients 2nd floor laundry closet.

The original cheap pan and weak substrate had a lot of deflection and the pan had a large crack.

Does the washer only need a cold supply line? Where is the laundry box Erik?

The plumbers coming next week, Gonna add some localized ball valves, and add a supply line for the dryer....... possibly route the 2" trap/drain line into the wall and add A box!!!

we will see what the client can afford/wants....

The electrolux dryer has a Steam option!!

We have an LG front load washer that has sprung 4 leaks in less than 4 years. First it was a water line coming from the cold water inlet valve, then the bellows hose, then the cold water inlet valve, and now the hot water inlet valve. The washer and drier are in a tight area in our laundry room, and the leaks have all been towards the rear of the washer. This makes them difficult to notice, as the water has been pooling up under the rear of the washer against the baseboard. My wife noticed water squishing out from under one of the 12 x 12 ceramic tiles in front of the washer a few days ago. I went under the house and found a water-logged OSB subfloor that is crumbling. Now I get to pull up the tile, hardyboard, and subfloor. I bought a drain pan from Home Depot that I'll have to install once the new floor goes down. My question is, is there a trick to getting a drain pan under the washer without breaking it, or should I set the washer down in it, then slide it in place?

At minimum I would overbuild subfloor w double layer 3/4" exp1 plywood glued and screwed( not OSB ) and add cross blocking between joists and at seams. take great care in glueing down your pan assuring 100% coverage. and use rubber riser blocks under feet when re installing washer.

you could get creative with some angle iron or metal and build a span/rack to carry the load over the pan and onto tiled floor at 4 load points.....

we ditched the pan and made a wetroom of the closet much like a shower pan and pitched the whole closet to drain and created a mini curb/threshold at door.

the problem with the plastic drain pan and your floor is its not pitched to drain, once the pan overflows youve got no backup at all.....simply waterproofing under your tile could also help but still theres no real grading.......

good luck, its good you caught it now.......

That may be an option, depending on the price. We plan on selling the house in the next couple of years, so we've decided not to make any further "upgrades" to it. I have to replace the subfloor and a lot of cracking tiles.

As part of a home renovation, I moved my laundry from the 1st floor (on a slab) to the 2nd floor and installed new LG washer and dryer on pedestals. My contractor told me that I'm required by code to have a smitty pan (aka drain pan) under the washer, so we placed one there.

After the installers left, I realized that I cannot open the pedestal drawer under the washer; it is blocked by the lip of the drain pan. Also, the washer rocks and vibrates even more than my previous LG washer. The installation instructions suggest that a drain pan can increase vibration.

I've not been able to validate that the drip pan is required by code. I've asked my GC to check on the city code. I'm tempted to have the pan removed after code inspection.

We need a class action law suit against these leaking lg washers its crazy that sooooo many leak I am ready to just sell mine and get one that does not have a drain in the front very disappointed at lg

I have no comment on the drain pan but I 2nd the battery operated water sensor. I would not be without one after an expensive dishwasher leak. Have one under every appliance with water including the water heater.

I think it's a ridiculous rule to begin with. Should be an option not a rule.he factory pre-stacked. The delivery guy said he could not install and setup because there was no drip pan. So I decided to do it myself. I went to Home Depot and got a 27" square plastic pan. Now comes the hard part. How do you get it underneath the unit? There is no way I could lift it. Bottom line, I skipped it. And prayed that I never get a leak. Otherwise a beautiful unit.