Washer and dryer in a shower room

studentspark said:

(They would not even put them in the same room, still in the packaging, as its illegal!)

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I would say that is incorrect. BS7671:2008 is not law although in can be used in a court of law. The problem arises where the retailer has charged for fitting before the event very hard to back out after money has changed hands.

So to nitty gritty (Safety) Regulations 1994 if designed to be supplied with a plug and socket arrangement then a plug to BS1363 must be fitted. For the supplier to cut off the plug could be seen as breaking the law. But likely that is the only way it could be considered as illegal.

But for an electrician to install then we look as warranty of skill. Once we leave the protection of BS7671:2008 then we need to look at method statements and risk assessments. We move from public liability to professional indemnity were we are using our skills as an electrical engineer to assess the risks. As said before all academic unless something goes wrong.

The other point is of course any contracts entered into by the electrician when becoming a member of a professional body. If an electrician in order to self certify becomes a member of a scheme then he is bound by the agreement signed when he enters the scheme.

So what is required is that risk assessment. What are the risks of installing an appliance in a damp situation?

So first splashing water. It states you can hook discharge hose over the edge of a sink and warns that water may over flow if sink can't empty quick enough. So it should be resistant to water splashes in case this event should happen so no real problem with splashing water.

Humidity again one would expect any laundry room to have high humidity and I can find nothing in technical data to limit the humidity it can work in. Although one would question ability to dry cloths in high humidity.

Temperature other than protect against freezing nothing about working temperature.

It states not suitable for use in a non-stationary location (e.g. on a ship) and protect from damage by cockroaches or other vermin. It states the electrical socket must be easily accessible after installation so that the machine can be disconnected from the electricity supply is necessary. Not to use an extension lead or multi-scoket adapter. And it must be correctly earthed. And it should use a mains electrical supply I assume no portable generators should be used?

So it would seem nothing to stop you using it in a bathroom outside the zones, other than need to cut off the plug. As I said I would not code one if I found it installed.

It is of course a fixed appliance weight is over the limit to be classed as portable so one would need to ensure the load would not cause an overload to the supply circuit. If need centre of a ring final this is not a problem. However near the consumer unit again down to risk assessment or follow the suggestion of using a dedicated supply when over 2kW.

What one has to remember should anything go wrong you will need to show you considered the risks, personally I would be considering a second earth and not rely on the flex alone. Of course RCD protection and a record of trip current and times to show you were sure it was working.

Personally I don't think it's worth the risk. But can't find anything to say you should not do it.

My concern would be the high humidity in the room resulting in condensation on the internals of the washer and dryer.

Don't kitchens/ utility rooms have the potential to generate the same level of humidity?

It was the humidity which also had me wondering but as I thought it through any utility room has large sink and drying areas so as said it would be the same. I looked at a random Miele instruction set. I expected to see some limit on humidity however there was non published. Neither was there a limit set on temperature other than must be above freezing.

EFLImpudence said:

It's just like light switches - NO manufacturer is going to say the product IS suitable for a bathroom (unless it is a specific product) - because they don't need to.

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But would the manufacturer say that they do not recommend installing in a bathroom?

securespark said:

Don't kitchens/ utility rooms have the potential to generate the same level of humidity?

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Not as much as a shower.

JohnW2 said:

I suspect that you might even have trouble finding standard accessories (including pull switches for lights and showers), the MIs of which said explicitly that they were suitable for use in bathrooms (or saunas, or outhouses), and I definitely doubt that you would find cables whose MIs said that they were suitable for use in such locations.

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But I doubt if the manufacturers of those accessories or cables would state on the telephone that they do not advise installing those accessories or cables in shower rooms.

We wanted a washing machine which would work on a narrow boat using a simulated sine wave inverter. Every manufacturer said no except for LG who said we can see no reason why it would not work.

It seems because the LG machine used an inverter drive it was not really worried about the wave form of the supply. However no one would say it will work. The LG machine did work however the inverter proved faulty giving out blue smoke.

stillp said:

EFLImpudence said:

It's just like light switches - NO manufacturer is going to say the product IS suitable for a bathroom (unless it is a specific product) - because they don't need to.

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But would the manufacturer say that they do not recommend installing in a bathroom?

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If it definitely should not be, then they would but if it is just an ordinary appliance they would not mention it one way or the other - understandably.

When contacted they say "we would not advise it".


I am not sure what the issue is.
Either possible electrical hazards due to condensation, danger because of the environment or the machine may just prematurely go rusty.

If someone wants to put the machine in a shower room then do so but be aware.
You cannot expect the manufacturer to assume responsibility.