This is to any one out there who knows what the safety rulings are in the UK for installing an electrical socket under my new sink to power the dishwasher? I always was told that this should never be the case, as it is dangerous!! Should I ask my electrician to move it to a safer place? Many thanks. Phil Macleod in the North east of England.
I would say whatever the regulations permit, it would clearly be safer to relocate the socket away from water. I would ask for it to be removed anyway for peace of mind.
And whilst you are at it you might as well remove the kitchen lights that are under the bathroom;-)
A socket under the sink is absolutely fine.
I thought there was a regulation that said sockets had to me 400 mm or more away from a sink?
And how different is the safety risk of a kitchen sink & wall socket any different to a bathroom sink & wall socket in bathrooms (where they have to be more than a certin distance away and that the llighing had to comply with the requirements for Sone N it is placed into?
One does quite often stand around wet and naked in the bathroom and even in the bath. One doesn't tend to do such things in the kitchen.
No requirement as AFAIK, but there are preferences - the IET says "Accessories should be installed at a minimum of at least 300mm away from the edge of kitchen sinks and draining boards to reduce the risk of being splashed by water."
Of course, *under* the sink, it can't be splashed.
You are not usually stood barefoot, dripping, on a wet floor, in a kitchen.
I have, on rare essential occasions (came in utterly drenched and didn't want to drip water all over my living room oak flooring trying to reach the stairs).
if the socket is on an RCD the worst that might happen is a nuisance trip.
And did you decide the first thing you would do upon entering the kitchen was to start plugging in electrical appliances or get naked and use a towel:-)?
Or hold something capable of spraying water a considerable distance.
>
You mean a nuisance trip to the under stairs cupboard, to reset it. :)
You can get drips from leaking pipes etc, and it's probably good practice to mount sockets around halfway up the cabinet, both for convenience and safety?
When I was about five mum pulled the twin-tub across to the sink and connected it to the taps and filled it but dropped the plug into the hot water. She fished it it out and plugged it in with the same wet hand and switched on. She flew across the kitchen but survived.
Or better still leave the back off the cabinet where the sink is installed and mount the socket on the wall itself ?.
She did this just the once, I hope? :)
I think this is a case of people inventing rules they think ought to exist because it sounds logical to them and they have not really thought it through!
In a cupboard under a sink is a common place for a socket.
Note that "under a sink in a cupboard" is on the the dry side. It is a different situation from fitting a socket close to the wet side of a sink (where there is a recommendation to keep at least 300mm to the side)
Sockets ought to be fitted to the fabric of the building and not installed on "furniture". However it is arguable that a fitted kitchen cabinet can be considered part of the fabric of the building.
(and it is common to see sockets for under counter appliances placed on the cabinets rather than the walls, since it makes them more accessible for isolation etc)
I've got something that does that, though it's not pure water
Nothing can be 'absolutely fine'. The risk is low but why create an unnecessary risk at all?
So have no electricity at all. Everything we do is 'risky', we just need to try and understand which risks are worth worrying about and which aren't.
Are we talking directly under, or the next cupboard along? I think it would be asking for trouble to have a dishwasher and its socket under a sink. You can of course get waterproof housings with lids, but I'd not trust one myself. How long is the dishwasher mains lead, as it obviously has to be legal to put the socket within reach of the device. Brian
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.