Absolutely. The reason it is there is to protect from water damage. Removing it would invalidate insurance coverage for damage resulting from it.
Even with it there, the water is still likely to overlow the pan. And how would the insurance company even know they’d removed a pan? (I would not remove it if I were them, though, I’d just get the right size.)
Depending on how high the deductible is, it might not be worth filing a claim, especially if it raises the rates. My agent warned me after filing 2 small claims in 20 years.
If you’re concerned about the mess resulting from a blown washing machine supply line, you can get a valve that needs to be manually turned on when you go to use the washing machine, though you then need to turn it off when the cycle is over.
Or you can get a washing machine valve that automatically opens and closes, based on sensing the current flow from the machine’s electrical connection.
But as said upthread, a burst washing machine hose is only one way that water might end up around the machine. For one example, I’ve had washing machines leave the clothes sopping wet (due perhaps to an insufficient spin cycle), so the wet clothes drip water all around when I remove them from the machine.
I don’t think you can make absolute statements like that because it totally depends on the terms of the policy, and relevant building code and/or condo regulations. As I said upthread, my home insurance policy doesn’t even mention washing machines, let alone a requirement for a drain pan. It covers all water damage except for the explicit exclusions of natural floods and water heaters. Sewer backup is also covered but it’s an extra-cost endorsement, otherwise would be excluded. Wise words to all: read your policy and your condo and building code obligations!
Most insurance companies require them if the machine is not on a ground floor. So if there were ever a claim for a water damage and the adjuster noted it was missing, it would be a reason to deny the claim, whether it had been removed or was never installed in the first place.
That’s just common everyday household problem.
If you own a home and never mopped up water from something you are lucky, indeed.
One little overflow will not cause that house to come tumbling down. Sustained leaks will rot floors, but even that takes a long time.
Fair enough. But this exact situation happened to my mother several years ago and the claim was denied because there was no drain pan. It was neither required by local building code, nor specified in the policy documents. It was determined to be improper maintenance.
Ah, okay.
Wow, that sounds like the much-despised insurance company shenanigans we hear so much about!
My own view of things is that if there’s a small leak under the washing machine for whatever reason, I’ll see water pooling harmlessly on the tile floor and will deal with it. If there’s a massive leak from a burst hose or a failed valve, a silly little drain pan won’t do anything to mitigate it.
Since my laundry room is upstairs as already noted, I use high quality armoured hoses between the taps and the machine. There’s nothing I can do if the machine valve fails catastrophically except say my prayers that this never happens.
Some suggest turning off the taps when the washing machine is not in use. I don’t bother. I just silently say my prayers and trust technology!
When my in-laws moved to a condo with an inside laundry (their previous house had the washer and dryer in the garage), my MIL got in the habit of turning the water on and off to the washer every time she used it.
In my mother’s case, the water leaking from a worn bushing in the tub wasn’t enough to cause alarm and went unnoticed. Several years later she found a serious mold infestation underneath it in the basement. ETA: It took so long because she almost never went down there. I noticed it when we were cleaning out the house to sell it.
That thinking leads to escalating projects! lol I agree! There may have been a history of drainage overflow, however minor. I don’t see a stack pipe for drainage must be behind the machine.
I bet the doors at one point had to come off to replace appliances. Doors are in great condition I hope you can get them working
Another suggestion: Take a hammer and chisel and gouge out the base of the wall behind the washer so you can shove the pan further back.
That won’t work unless you also cut into the studs that hold the wall up. And remove the baseplates: the 2x4 or 2x6 that are laying on the subfloor that the studs stand on.
If you only needed 1/2-3/4", then yeah, removing the bottom couple inches of drywall and baseboard would get you that. But if you need more depth, and to my eye they need 2-3", you’re going to be cutting out the structure of base of the wall. Not a good plan.
Since this is a condo, there’s also the distinction between what parts of your unit you own versus the Association owns or is responsible for. My personal experience is with mid-rise & high-rise buildings in MO & FL.
In those jurisdictions the homeowner owns the paint on the walls and ceilings and the decorative flooring atop the subfloor. And everything inside that bounding 3D box. The building AKA condo association owns the drywall, the studs, the ceiling, the subfloor, the plumbing, the wiring, etc. You cut into any of that stuff in a big building and you’re going to have a problem with the condo Association.
We don’t know what sort of building this is, what state it’s in, what the laws are in their state, what their condo docs say about who owns what, etc. But those are questions they’ll need to know the answer to before they start digging “backstage” inside their condo.
It was mostly tongue in cheek. Mostly.
Once again, why not just trim an inch or so from the bottom of the closet door? It doesn’t appear to run in any track at the bottom, so I don’t think functionality will be affected.
Why not fix the problem that had the previous owners slide that tray in there in the first place. This is not normal for a washing machine.
You will have to do this sooner or later. It could be as simple as replacing the hoses (first place I would look).
Amazon sells dozens of varieties of washing machine catch pans. Home Depot sells 64 kinds. Lowes sells 40 kinds. Clearly somebody is buying them. Even if you or I first learned of them in this thread.
I suspect that, like HWH catch pans were 20 years ago, this is a fairly new idea that’s rapidly becoming 100% normal, and maybe even be required in at least some parts of the country.
Some of these pans are like HWH pans in that they have provisions to plumb them into a drain line. Most seem to not have that feature, so they’re intended to manage slow or intermittent leaks, not a valve body splitting open, or worse yet an inlet hose failure.
It’s “normal” enough many others use the pans.
I think they are a waste of time. If you have a leak that fills that pan you got other problems doors can’t hide, if they closed.
I have an under counter ice maker that developed a leak. It had a factory installed leak catch pan. Alot deeper than the washer pans.
I thought the kids were dropping ice cubes and leaving them on the floor for awhile. It was a small amount of water occasionally. One morning a nice size puddle was there. I have uber pricey pecan floors. I was much annoyed.
I implored(rudely) for MisterWrek to pull it out.(voiding the warranty) Sure enough the pan was cracked and apparently was so full it was clear something was not working properly. It never had water when I checked periodically. Little damp is all. It was meant to evaporate like refrigerators do.
No way that was my fault. Warranty wouldn’t cover it. My homeowners said “too bad, too sad”. About $2000 later I had a new ice maker and a new patch of pecan flooring. (that’s never actually matched properly). The subfloor was not hurt at all. We pulled everything out. And I dried that hole… It was completely dry before the new one was put in. Now I say I’m on ice maker watch. It’s my main job.
Ice makers are prone to never working properly. PITA. It’s not a washing machine.
It truth washing machines are pretty reliable. Til they are not. Water leaks are ‘mostly, not always’ minor. It’s usually a mechanical problem and I’m the spin or rinse fouls up. If it has a computer screen that’s gonna screw it up.
It’s maddening.
Home ownership is not for weaklings.
Guessing because the manufacturer can’t make a proper machine, and is certainly cutting corners.. I’ve never seen it and would certainly not accepted it.
I’ve done a LOT of plumbing work. “It’s just a little leak” is completely unacceptable.