Sockets in bathrooms

[littlespark]

I think there is a modular USB charger already on the market that has the isolating transformer (MK if i recall) , but not the one ive already bought.

Sorry, were taking this thread off subject a little way.

 

[pirate]

I am again indebted to Instagram for providing an appropriate image.

 

[DefyG]

Somewhat back on track, sometimes come across appliances in bathrooms, sometimes in a cupboard sometimes not. Sometimes an inaccessible socket (albeit an isolator may be elsewhere outside the bathroom, sometimes no isolator). Sometimes socket clearly accessible.

Clearly an accessible socket is a no no but what are views on other scenarios?
1. In a cupboard but within 3m of zone 1?
2. Inaccessible socket due to position of appliance?

 

[pirate]

1. In a cupboard within zone, wouldn't worry me much. I have a socket in the bathroom cupboard where the hot water cylinder is located. It serves the pump for the shower and bath.
2. Inaccessible due to appliance. I'm not sure about this, but it is very common on the Continent, Spain especially, to have the washing machine in the bathroom. I guess you aren't going to drag that out to plug a hairdrier in, but an extension lead might be tempting...

 

[littlespark]

I don’t see this “appliance blocking the socket” as being safe at all.

if it’s a washing machine, you’ve got a big lump of metal there.
if there’s a fault with the socket and everything else has failed, (ADS, RCD etc) then you could have a big lump of live metal there, possibly in a zone whereas the socket itself may be outside.

 

[pirate]

Very good point littlespark

 

[7029 dave]

I would not even fit a light switch in a bathroom let alone a socket.

 

[pirate]

Quinetic switches would be ok...

 

[Zerax]

Or a nice pull cord one...

 

[Electrics]

I don't think it's necessarily automatically dangerous to have a plug in a bathroom but more a case of it being that idiots will try to plug stuff in and perch it near the bath/shower etc. Lots of people get electrocuted every year from playing with plugged in phones/ipads etc while in the bath.

I think it's more likely that things like integrated speakers/smart TVs in the walls/bluetooth set ups etc will become more commonplace, 'smart' homes if you will. Then teenagers never ever have to look away from Facebook.

 

[Mike Johnson]

Just seen this thread and thought I would add my t'pennyworth, French regulations say no electrical appliance/socket within Volume 0 & 1 which are the area's encompassing the water and bath, or Volume 2 which extends 600mm beyond that area, however showers are treated slightly differently in that Volume 1 extends 1200mm beyond the shower head unless completely enclosed in which case the inside of the enclosure is Volume 1 and Volume 2 is 600mm beyond this, it then gets a bit complicated where the height of all Volume's are 2250 from the water level in a bath, but 2250mm from finished floor level in a shower room, it is normal practice for washing machine's etc to be located in a Shower/Bathroom all supplied from outside the Volume's as above, but all RCD protected as Regulation requirements to any socket, pull cords for lights and extracts are unusual, normally a standard switch is used.

 

[pirate]

Same in Spain, washing machines in bathrooms very common. My shower room has a socket 300mm from the whb, and 300mm from the bidet, so you can plug stuff in while you sit, so to speak...except when the CU was upgraded the spark took the socket innards out and fitted a blanking plate, helpfully leaving the bits behind for "retro-fit"! The lights are operated via a standard rocker switch just inside the door at the WC...this is common practice. There is a shaver outlet on the lighting pelmet above the WHB, unswitched and fed from the lights, and its terminals were exposed, so could be touched if you were scrabbling for shampoo or whatever on the pelmet top shelf...easily cured with a strip of duct tape...or in my case, a socket blanking plate screwed over the top.

 

[EricMark]

I know in mother's old house it did not comply, the socket was likely only 2 meters from the shower, I really do not see a big problem when the floor is carpeted and one is unlikely to really put anything too close to the shower cubical in the bedroom, it really makes no difference if the socket was the full 3 meters everything in the bedroom would be the same, just a longer lead would be used and so cause more not less danger.

I could see the whole idea of not defining the room as a bedroom with shower and saying any room big enough so you could get 3 meters from the shower then allowed a socket, but in the bedroom the shower went in after the socket.

In the bathroom why would you want a socket? It is a bathroom, why we want to shave in the bathroom I don't know, and why you want to charge things where they can fall into the sink? Yes I use an electric tooth brush, but it is charged in bedroom not bathroom, I will admit cutting my beard there is an advantage having a toilet below me to catch the hair, but never stood in the bath to trim my beard, the hair would not go down the plug hole so would need to gather it up anyway.

I know there are some electric teeth cleaners that are hard wired and use more than the 200 VA a shaver socket can deliver, so can see the requirement for a 500 VA shaver type socket in the bathroom.

I bought in the UK a caravan, which has a shower cubical, and the shower cubical is in an area with toilet and sink and wardrobe which has the consumer unit for whole caravan inside the wardrobe, I looked and thought that's shortly not right, but the door on the shower cubical reaches the ceiling, so it actually passes.

So big question is why not make shower cubicles 2.25 meters high? then you could have a socket in the same room.

 

[littlespark]

A caravan with the consumer unit in an accessible place? are you sure?

Mine is under the front seat... so you've got to move all the cushions, the other soft furnishings, the heavy seat foam and the seat itself, which is too heavy to hold up on its supposedly supporting hinges... just to flick a circuit breaker which are on the top...
Why they couldnt put the board verticle, just behind the little drop down door below the seat.... or in a sensible place.

Light switches accessible from shower in a caravan? Thats ok... they're 12v

 

[EricMark]

Accessible yes, but when it did trip it took me ages to find it, last place I expected to find it, within a foot of the shower.