Washing Machine in Bathroom

S

Stronge

Registered User
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My friend has a large bathroom in her apartment and she wants to move her washing machine into it. I was under the impression that you could not have an electric socket in the bathroom but she said that she intended to bring the current in through the wall from her adjoining bedroom. Is this allowed here ? She lived in France and apparently washing machines are often put in bathrooms where losts of people line in apartments. Has anyone any thoughts on this ?
 
Your impression is correct.

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ONQ

[broken link removed]

All advice on AAM is remote from the situation and cannot be relied upon as a defence or support - in and of itself - should legal action be taken.
Competent legal and building professionals should be asked to advise in Real Life with rights to inspect and issue reports on the matters at hand.
 
Also - apartment owners/dwellers are often restricted in what they can do in terms of structural alterations so if she plans to knock a hole in a wall or whatever to supply power to the machine then she could be on dodgy ground. She should check the documentation that relates to the apartment - e.g. management agreement etc.

Having said that I have indeed seen washing machines in bathrooms in other countries including France.
 
When I lived in Netherlands we had washing machine in bathroom. Wire was out through the window into the hallway. can she drill a hole in teh wall, take pug off wire, bring it through to the socket and put back on plug so plugged in outside bathroom. Cos' that's what I intend to do in our house some day soon.
 
Whatever about doing this in a private house (and if you want to do it in spite of it potentially being a hazard or in breach of building regulations or whatever then that's your prerogative) doing it in an apartment is another matter since it could be in breach of the house rules/management agreement/other covenant and could undermine fire or other safety for the whole development and not just a single unit.
 
I find it hard to understand how in hotels you can have hairdryers and shave sockets and in the states and europe they can have electrial items in bathrooms and light switches in bathrooms yet in Ireland you can't. Either you can or you can't. If the plug itself isn't in the bathroom I don't see the issue.
 
Could the fact that the US and some other countries use 120V at the socket while we use 240V be a factor here? And I think that shaver sockets are allowed here but perhaps the low fuse/amperage rating of these is also a factor? I just can't remember or bother looking it up...
 
Water and electricity are potentially very hazardous, but obviously we can have properly installed electric showers, heaters, shaver sockets, fans, jacuzzis etc in bathrooms. I read up on electrical regulations myself a few years ago as was putting in a panel heater in parental bathroom. A three pin socket in a bathroom was a definite no no and presumably still is and I don't think anyone would want that. If I was determined to put a washing machine in a large bathroom, then I would do the following:

consult a qualified electrician.

it might work this way:

Plug is taken off washing machine and discarded. Electrical lead from washing machine goes through wall of bathroom and is connected to a fused connection unit on the wall outside the bathroom. The fused connection unit can/will have an on/off switch so power can be off to the washing machine when not in use. This is how the spashproof panel heater was wired in parental bathroom.
 
Electrical items suitable for use in bathrooms are all double isolated, to minimse the risk of electrocution. They are specifically designed to operate in that environment. Washing machines are not. You'll find both your washing machine warranty and your house insurance will be invalidated by such an arrangement.
Leo
 
+1 what Leo and Clubman have posted.

The issue is the "220-240 Volts" used in Irish Electricity transmission systems, although I understand that high current (amperage) is also a factor.
In theory 240V is a less wasteful method of electrical transmission in terms of the voltage -vs- line losses, but it results in a lethal voltage in the house circuit.
If you have wired in electrical appliances to a bathroom that should not be there you are putting yourselves and others at risk and may have invalidated your house insurance.

"Act in haste, repent at leisure".


ONQ

[broken link removed]

All advice on AAM is remote from the situation and cannot be relied upon as a defence or support - in and of itself - should legal action be taken.
Competent legal and building professionals should be asked to advise in Real Life with rights to inspect and issue reports on the matters at hand.
 
ClubMan said:
As the geeky cliché goes ... volts don't kill - amps do.
Click to expand...

Indeed, but the ampage is dependant on the voltage and resistance of the load and if the resistance of the human body is taken as a constant then the resultant current (amps) will be directly dependant on the voltage.
So if the voltage increases then the current will increase and so the higher the chance of receiving a lethal shock.

Think I'll plug meself into the mains after that................

On a serious note to the OP, NEVER plug/bring any electrical item into a bathroom unless it has been specifically designed to operate in that environment.
It is extremely dangerous!!
 
Thank you for all your informative and helpful replies. Her intention was to route the washing machine power cable through a small hole in the wall out to either a fused connection unit or a standard socket protected by an RCB. Obviously the washing machine would be protected from falling water as such. Since infra red heaters are allowed in a bathroom operated by a cord switch located on the ceiling presumably it is the possibility of operating an electricial appliance in the bathroom while ones body is wet or standing (naked !) on a wet floor for instance that is the main source of disquiet.
 

That's part of the story, but not all.

As I mentioned earlier, items designed for use in bathrooms are isolated, that is, they use an isolating transformer so there is no physical connection to elements exposed to moisture (including vapour) to the power source.

In a washing machine, live components are exposed internally. In a damp humid environment, condensation will build up on the internal metal parts of the machine. Get enough of this and you will end up with a short circuit. Most of the time, you'll be lucky and the short circuit will be localised and the RCD will kick in and cut the power. But you need to take the exceptions to that case into account.

Irish Regs can be purchaes [broken link removed] for a 'mere' €97.50. I haven't been able to find an online source, but much of the Irish standards will be based on the IEE regs., so a similar bathroom zoning setup may well exist here. The problem will be finding a washing machine that is specified as being suitable for use in such a zone.
Leo
 
Just FYI - In Germany, Austria, Netherlands and Italy (I know them for sure) there is no problem with having washing machines and dryers in the bathroom, or (240V) sockets for that matter.
Without going into to much detail, building regulations in these countries say that you are only allowed to put them into a so-called "zone 2", which is more or less any area that is more than 60cm from a bath tube, basin etc. A razor socket can go inside those 60cm, and other stuff (12V DC for example) can go directly above a basin.
However, you generally need a fault-current circuit breaker for you electrical installation in the house, something that I have not necessarily seen everywhere in Ireland.
All this is a big no-no in Ireland (unfortunately I have to say).
 
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