Important poll about my life

[dreamcrisp1]

I’m still so fascinated by the use of a utility sink. I have 3 kids 4 and under and a dog and still never needed it. And one of those kids has allergies and EoE so pukes a lottttt.

[sonrisa]

Would your husband use it if you put one down by his work bench? If so, go for it. Otherwise, don’t bother if you don’t want one.

[eddy]

We have a utility sink but it also serves a purpose to be a back up for the line that connects to our disposal/kitchen sink. So there has been instances when it has served a purpose of allowing us to not deal with mess when that line gets partially clogged. I don't know if it serves that purpose for other houses or just the quirkiness of our old home. Otherwise I rarely use mine. 

We also just use the outside hose to clean dirty stuff. It seems more of a pain in the ass to haul stuff into the house to clean it. The barfing example is an excellent example of using a utility sink tho....

[bex1973]

I'd rather have storage personally. Our last 2 houses had them next to the washer/dryer and we rarely used them. We have one in our current house but it's in the basement where the W/D used to be but now they're upstairs so we've not used that one at all in the past 4 years that I can recall.

When we were planning to remodel our current laundry room we planned to put in a mop basin versus a sink because that felt more useful and we could have storage above it.

[lolalolalola]

I use my utility sink all the time. But I wouldn’t pay to put one in or to plumb it if I didn’t use it. Not going to make any difference for resale.

ETA- in the last week I have used it twice 1. To clean off muddy shoes and 2. to scrub blood out of my DD’s sheets
Our utility sink is stainless and has a counter and cupboard underneath.
It’s nice to have but obviously no one thinks it a a necessity.

[glw]

We use ours all the time. It's in the basement and right by the door to the driveway, so anything dirty or wet from outside (gardening gloves, hiking shoes, wash rags) goes right into the shopsink. Otherwise I'd have to carry dirty/wet stuff through the finished basement, up the carpeted stairs, across the kitchen, to the kitchen sink. It's also where we fill buckets for washing outdoor stuff.
I don't think a laundry room needs one, but I would put one in the basement, unless your outdoor spigot is right by the door also.

[macmars45]

Apr 7, 2024 16:37:54 GMT -5 VillainV said:

Apr 7, 2024 16:16:50 GMT -5 macmars45 said:

TMI

I have a kid who barfs a lot (every time he's sick he barfs due to his overactive gag reflex and inability to blow his nose). I use the utility sink to rinse his bedding before I put it in the washer at least a 6x/a year. For that the utility sink is priceless. H put the barf bedding directly in the wash last week. I was cleaning gross food bits out of the washer and dryer for a week!

So sorry if this is gross….but do the chunks just go down the sink? Do you have to like….fish them out? Our utility sink has very small drain holes so it can really only handle liquids. Chunks would need to be scooped out, and I’m not doing that.

I have a drain cover that catches chunks. I use the detachable faucet to make sure they get in the drain cover and then put that in a bag directly in the garbage can. It has a normal size drain though so it can handle any that sneak through.

[nicolewi]

I didn’t read everything. I’m sure there are a bunch of posts about how people love their utility sinks, and an equal number of posts about how people never use their utility sink.

In our case, our laundry room is right off our garage entry and mudroom. We have a large utility sink with a pull-down sprayer faucet and I love it. Since ours is basically in the mudroom, we use it to wash hands a lot when coming in from outside. I use it to spray off muddy shoes, fill cleaning buckets, rinse large buckets, and sometimes actually spray out laundry stains. I definitely use it anytime someone throws up. I think it’s a really nice convenience to have it. That said, I don’t see much use for putting one separately in the basement. So if I were you, I would try to put a small one in the laundry room if possible. But if it doesn’t fit there, then I would probably just skip it.

[rubytue]

Apr 8, 2024 5:30:16 GMT -5 dreamcrisp1 said:

I’m still so fascinated by the use of a utility sink. I have 3 kids 4 and under and a dog and still never needed it. And one of those kids has allergies and EoE so pukes a lottttt.

I bet this is a case where if you had it, you’d use it. But since you don’t, you don’t need it. 

[dragon's breath]

Apr 7, 2024 14:10:39 GMT -5 cville said:

(I moved this out of the randoms)

We have decided to build a laundry and mudroom addition. I am SO EXCITED.

We decided to go for that rather than laundry closet.

Either way I won't be doing laundry in my murder basement.

Query: I have 0 use for a utility sink in my laundry life. If something is gross, I hose it off outside. If laundry needs to soak, my washer has a soak function. If things that aren't laundry that need to soak, I use the kitchen sink. Nevertheless, for resale reasons should we:

1. Put a small utility sink in the laundry/mudroom.

2. Put a small utility sink in the creepy basement where my washer/dryer used to be and where my husband will be putting in a workbench.

3. Fuck utility sinks, who needs 'em

I'd probably put one in the basement if there will be a workbench and no other source of water down there (like a bathroom).  Probably even with the bathroom.

Since you do not want one in the new laundry room, don't put one.  However, I'd have them put the lines in place to add one if it's ever desired.

I have a large utility sink my washing machine drains into.  I'd use it much more if the faucet handle didn't leak when I turned it on, because then it drips down the clip for the washer hose and goes behind the sink (it has not been worth my energy to fix it since it doesn't leak when closed, and it's been 19 years.)  I use it for filling buckets (no other big sink in the basement), dumping the carpet cleaner water, washing furnace filters when I had reusable ones, etc.  I'd use it for soaking if it didn't lock up my ability to use the washing machine.  I've also hooked up a hose on it to use a water weenie on a clogged drain in the shower.

[DotAndBuzz]

I cannot fathom not having one, BUT, since you've seemed to be reasonably successful in adulthood without one so far, I wouldn't put one in during the remodel.

But I definitely would plumb for one in the laundry room. I'd definitely want the option of adding one in a house that didn't have one. Don't bother putting one in the basement, they're most useful next to the laundry. Keep all the cleaning situations together.

[egeiger]

If I had a utility sink, I would take it out and use the water line to install a dog washing stall / a place we could hose off rubber farm boots. So, that is what I would install instead.

[rhian]

Apr 7, 2024 17:24:54 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

Apr 7, 2024 15:54:00 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

I’ve never had a utility sink, so I’d pass.

Once again, my life is nothing like many ML posters who wash paintbrushes and shoes enough to need a utility sink.

Agreed. Also, if I had to do those activities I would just use another sink or the tub. I mean I guess if I had a utility sink and I did those activities I would use it, but I don’t understand the omg, where do you wash shoes, brushes, etc? It’s not like the rest of us are living without any sinks or running water lol.

Lol this! I've literally never painted anything so never washed paintbrushes and I can't remember the last time I needed to wash my shoes? But we have 2 bathroom sinks, a kitchen sink, and a bathtub, so we'd figure it out. The only times I've thought a utility sink might be nice have been related to my kid (usually diaper blowouts), but I just use one of those other running water sources, it's really not a big deal!

[meanie]

I don't see a lot of utility sinks in houses anymore, so I wouldn't think of it as a plus or minus for resale. Sounds like you don't personally have a use for one.

Sigh....I'm so jealous. I too have a w/d in my murder basement so this is my dream.

[livinitup]

#3 - I have a utility sink in my basement and use it infrequently.
It’s mostly a surprise every time “Oh, right, I have a deep sink over there.” I absolutely do not need one in the laundry room and would not spare one inch of space to add one.

ETA: Upon reflection (and reading other posts), I should add that something drains into the basement utility sink (infrequently). I think it’s the water softener. And my parent’s have one (and use it, it’s solid, heavy, and deep) and their laundry drains into it. And I have cleaned up after water leaked on the basement floor in the winter when dumping outside would be a pain. So, having a source to drain in the basement might be a consideration. Maybe especially with a work table.

2ETA: Congrats on the planned new mud & laundry room!

[mcppalmbeach]

Oh I would love a utility sink so much. But I don’t think they are a huge resale draw so if you have literally no use for one leave it out.

[Gato]

A utility sink is great if you have a kid (or two kids, in my case) who like to dye their hair. I don't care how messed up a utility sink gets. Then you can just throw the towels they use in the laundry!

[dreamcrisp1]

Apr 8, 2024 9:49:07 GMT -5 rubytue said:

Apr 8, 2024 5:30:16 GMT -5 dreamcrisp1 said:

I’m still so fascinated by the use of a utility sink. I have 3 kids 4 and under and a dog and still never needed it. And one of those kids has allergies and EoE so pukes a lottttt.

I bet this is a case where if you had it, you’d use it. But since you don’t, you don’t need it. 

Technically my current house does have one actually! I only use it to dump out the water from the dryer. 😅

[jlt19]

This will not be a deal breaker for any sane buyer. I would definitely not sacrifice new space and I wouldn’t be thrilled about spending money on something that I don’t care about in the basement. But since there’s already plumbing down there, it may not be that much money to put one in. Honestly, you could probably do it yourself if you really wanted to.