Socket under the kitchen sink

[DIYspanner]

I moved into the house last year. The socket for the washing machine is fixed on the wall under the sink, the sink being set into a worktop.

Is it practical to change the socket for an external type so should there be a water leak, the risk of water getting into the plug/socket is considerably reduced?

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Is it practical to change the socket for an external type so should there be a water leak, the risk of water getting into the plug/socket is considerably reduced?

Practical yes, absolutely necessary - no. Outdoor sockets are much more expensive, than normal indoor ones.

 

[flameport]

It could be changed if there is sufficient space to do so.

No point in doing so.

 

[DIYspanner]

What is the norm for the location of a socket for a washing machine if the machine is adjacent to a sink?

Seems odd for a socket to be directly below a sink, adjacent to water/waste water pipes.

 

[EFLImpudence]

You must move the sink.

 

[EFLImpudence]

...and pipes.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

What is the norm for the location of a socket for a washing machine if the machine is adjacent to a sink?

Normal is a socket at the back, fed from an isolator switch in a more accessible place, like above the worktop.

 

[wundaboy]

It's borderline unsatisfactory due to the risk of a water leak, but very common/normal.

 

[robinbanks]

What bad thing are you expecting to happen if there is a water leak?

 

[FrodoOne]

I moved into the house last year. The socket for the washing machine is fixed on the wall under the sink, the sink being set into a worktop.

Is it practical to change the socket for an external type so should there be a water leak, the risk of water getting into the plug/socket is considerably reduced?

OMG!
Socket-Outlets for Dish-Washers (Washing Machines etc.) are often under a Sink in a Worktop.

Assuming that the circuit is "protected" via a RCD/RCBO (as it should be), the operation of the "Protective device" will be an indication that you now have a really big problem of leaking water.

Just consider it as an "early warning device".

 

[ebee]

It's borderline unsatisfactory due to the risk of a water leak, but very common/normal.

Oh no it is not! it is not uncommon to have sockets underneath water/waste pipes.

How many of you do not have a socket in a downstairs room that is underneath first floor bathroom pipework etc? leave a bathroom hand basin tap running with plug in place and watch the downpour into your living room socket.

Mind you I guy I know did the age old trick of mistakingly using the bedroom wardrobe as a loo.
So much so that it leaked thru the ceiling and blew up his telly whilst his daughter and boyfriend were watching a TV prog.

 

[ericmark]

I have had a socket under the sink for years feeding the waste disposal unit, if some thing does go wrong, the RCD will trip, what's the problem, if you see the sink has leaked, then isolate elsewhere before correcting. I have had a socket in my flat under a leaking roof warp and clearly the socket was damaged, but the RCBO did its job and disconnected it.

 

[DIYspanner]

It seems all is well then. Yes, there's an RCD at the board and an isolator switch above the worktop although I find it odd to have two fuses of the same size (13A) in series, isolator and plug.

Thanks All!

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

It seems all is well then. Yes, there's an RCD at the board and an isolator switch above the worktop although I find it odd to have two fuses of the same size (13A) in series, isolator and plug.

Would a 10amp fuse work in the more convenient to access place?

 

[ebee]

Would a 10amp fuse work in the more convenient to access place?

Probably not much discrimination to be effective in real terms there Harry. I would suggest a 20A dp isolator above the worktop but then some of the more pedantic might put a stopper on that one. My pref is either/or but yes strictly speaking I could be in error to BS7671 or at least the OSG on that one, in practical terms not a lot wrong either way methinks.

Dare I mention, get a bit of bar of the right diameter and make yerself a "Red Link" - head ducked down below the parapet now!