Laundry room drain

-When I was building my new house, the plumber asked me if I wanted to install a drain in the floor of my second floor laundry room. This would be important in case the washing machine sprung a leak and flooded the laundry room floor while we were away. The water would go into the drain and enter the sewer system.

-We decided to have the laundry room drain installed into the floor, but when the tile contractor came by, he asked us if we were sure that we wanted to do that. It would look better and make his job easier if he covered up the drain in the laundry room floor. We followed his advice and got rid of the drain.

-In hindsight, I wish we had left the drain there and had not covered it up. I've never had a washing machine flood my laundry room in 20 years of home ownership, so I don't think that it is mandatory. If we had it to do over again, we would not have paid the plumber the extra money to install that drain and we would have just taken our chances. A laundry room drain is a personal decision, and if you are building a new house, you might want to consider it.