Home Inspection Beyond the Breaker Box and with Power On

[trader_4]

in both baths, about as far as they could possibly be from the tub.

esterday. I believe this happened in the late 1960s or early 1970s, when I was net yet a teenager myself. The girl was from a well-to-do family and wa s in the bathtub, simultaneously soaking and drying her hair with an electr ic dryer. Maybe one of the old fashioned hair net versions? The dryer fell in the bath water. She was electrocuted and died instantly. This was severa l miles from where I lived, different school district and all, but the pape rs reported on it amply. All the parents were talking about it. Of course t hey were saddened for the girls' family and went to some trouble to make su re it did not happen to their own kids.

I'd wonder about the dying after the hair dryer fell into the water. I would think there is a much greater chance she killed herself while *holdin g* it, then it fell into the water. If you're holding it while sitting in the tub full of water, there is a direct path through you, across your heart, to ground. If it just falls in the water, you, or at least most of you, es pecially the chest area, are typically not in the main ground path.

[honda.lioness]

e in both baths, about as far as they could possibly be from the tub.

yesterday. I believe this happened in the late 1960s or early 1970s, when I was net yet a teenager myself. The girl was from a well-to-do family and was in the bathtub, simultaneously soaking and drying her hair with an elec tric dryer. Maybe one of the old fashioned hair net versions? The dryer fel l in the bath water. She was electrocuted and died instantly. This was seve ral miles from where I lived, different school district and all, but the pa pers reported on it amply. All the parents were talking about it. Of course they were saddened for the girls' family and went to some trouble to make sure it did not happen to their own kids.

especially the chest area, are typically not in the main ground path.

You're right. My wording does not do justice to the actual, physics-based c ause. I see discussion on this point on the net today, including reports of more recent accidents and despite GFCI requirements. E.g.

[Unquestionably Confused]

Our home was built in 1974. 200amp breaker panel and it does have a GFCI breaker. That breaker is a "double wide" so from what I've picked up from the OP's description, it sounds as if the current/previous homeowner added a circuit or two and may have needed the space in the panel. There goes the double wide GFCI and in its place are now two regular breakers.

[Tony Hwang]

Hmm, Price of some mistake is so ultimately high. On next life she will never do it again, Sigh. Now code specifies outlets, switches should be located out of reach from bath tub. If not, switch has to be outside the bath room. My last house had switch plate just outside wall of the

2nd bath room being little too small.

[trader_4]

e in both baths, about as far as they could possibly be from the tub.

yesterday. I believe this happened in the late 1960s or early 1970s, when I was net yet a teenager myself. The girl was from a well-to-do family and was in the bathtub, simultaneously soaking and drying her hair with an elec tric dryer. Maybe one of the old fashioned hair net versions? The dryer fel l in the bath water. She was electrocuted and died instantly. This was seve ral miles from where I lived, different school district and all, but the pa pers reported on it amply. All the parents were talking about it. Of course they were saddened for the girls' family and went to some trouble to make sure it did not happen to their own kids.

IDK what code says in Canada, but here in the USA I think the rule is only that switches/outlets can't be in the actual wet areas of the tub or shower. AFAIK, one on the wall, say outside a shower enclosure, but still reachable, is permissible.

[gfretwell]

True, they just talk about "tub and/or shower space", basically inside the shower curtain.

404.4 ...Switches shall not be installed within wet locations in tub or shower spaces unless installed as part of a listed tub or shower assembly. 406.8(C) Bathtub and Shower Space. Receptacles shall not be installed within or directly over a bathtub or shower stall.

[honda.lioness]

he tester should come on.

If they stay on, you don't.

Today I found one at Harbor Freight that cost me $5.13 after applying the 2

0% off coupon. See This morning I put three new GCFI outlets in the garage, then tested all outlets in the house, inside and out. All w orks perfectly now and per the discussion here. Put the "GFCI protected" la bels on the applicable outlets, and ready for re-inspection and/or report t o the buyer as needed. That GFCI tester is too easy and inexpensive. I can see why folks are saying a home inspector ought to have one.

Thanks to all. I will as always try to pass on the good will from folks her e to someone else in need.

[micky]

You do say garage here, but I missed it and thought you meant the bathrooms. So I retract the words "more than need be". Sorry.

[micky]

That was me. Thanks for explaining. A very sad story.

Well-to-do make the same mistakes others do, it seems.

I knew a woman, who is an M.D. no less, whose little girl, I'm told, drowned in the bathtub.

[micky]

I've thought about this too. It seems to me that the most likely time is when the dryer or something falls in, and the bather reaches for it to throw it out again. Once he lifts it above the water line, his arm is wet even if it wasn't before, there's water all over the inside of the appliance, the water has soap and dirt and other things that make an even better conductor of electricity than normal, and he's holding the dryer.

It seems the best thing to do would be to avoid the electric appliance and get yourself out of the tub asap.

But I'm not going to try this, in case I'm wrong.

[trader_4]

I don't think so either, because there is no "other breaker". What the "GFCI - garage" label means is that there is a GFCI located in the garage that is part of that circuit. It's there so that if the lights go out and you go investigating, you'll see the label in the panel and know that there is a GFCI on that circuit that could be the reason for the lights going out.

to the aforementioned breaker

He explained that the 2 baths, one garage outlet, and outside outlets are all on that one breaker. There is no reason it has to be GFCI. Around here, typically baths, garage, outside are protected by using a GFCI outlet in the stream. It's usually a lot easier to push the reset on a GFCI that you see all the time, eg in the bath. He's done that and has a GFCI in the garage protecting all the stuff on that list.

He says that he's already been there and done that. You have him saying it as part of your post, below:

that includes the two bathrooms and also, per discussion here, with my elec trician neighbor and my further checking, the three outlets mounted on the outside of the house (with the special weather resistant covers).

[micky]

I didn't know they used labels like that. I take back what I said. No reason to think the breaker was replaced. Just the outlet.

I guess so. OTOH, I rarely use any of them but one, so it's not so bad.

There's only one outdoor outlet, that I use for the electric lawnmower, weedwacker, or hedge trimmer, but only one thing at a time.

But when I do that, I'm not using any power in the kitchen or the bath. The bath has a tv, a clock radio, and a Powermid, so I can control the tuner in the bedroom. (The Powermid xmitter is on an inline swtich, because somehow it used to interfere with the remote control, even when the lights were off and the door to the bathroom was shut.) So usually only the clock is running. Like someone else, the outlets in the bathrooms are as far from the tub or shower as they can be. Maybe 8 feet. They're right next to the sinks however, but I don't touch them when my hands are wet.

I guess '79 qualifies as a very long time. The laundry room is actually half the basement, with the furnace too. It was bult with another outlet for the sump pump. I guess just those two.

I put 8 more in, 4 underneath the new work bench, none of which I've ever used, and 4 above the work bench, all one circuit (I guess that's bad) but I never use more than one tool at a time plus an overhead light and a lamp. I just didn't want to have to plug and unplug things.

I get that now. Thanks.

>

[micky]

FWIW, mine, from '79, is a single-wide. The breaker box is much bigger than what is used so space couldn't have been a problem.