No power sockets in bathroom - does it annoy anyone else?

benjus

So the powers that be in this country have decided that for my own good I can't have a power socket in the bathroom (except for a shaver socket, which is no use for a hairdryer, hair straighteners and suchlike).

As far as I can tell the UK is in a small minority in this. I've been to quite a number of countries any pretty much every other country I've been to has permitted power sockets in bathrooms. Are there people dying by the thousands of bathroom electrocutions in all these countries, with just the UK (and maybe a handful of other countries) as shining beacons of reason? Or is it really quite safe as long as sensible precautions are taken (i.e. the circuit is protected by an RCD)?

I can understand that this was a good idea when the only thing protecting the circuits was a fuse, but things have moved on since then.

I know you can now have power sockets 3m or more from the bath/shower, but even this seems too restrictive. How many bathrooms are big enough to accommodate this?

Anyway, I'm just having a moan. Does this annoy anyone else?

rob7475

It doesn't bother me but I do get your point.

I can have an electric pump running the whirlpool in my bath but I'm not allowed a socket - the rules do seem a bit outdated.

The thing is though, I can see common sense disappearing through the generations as we become more reliant on so called smart technology doing everything for us. If we went back to being allowed sockets in bathrooms, the decision would be reversed within a few years because of the numpties who decide to dry their hair while they're having a bath :-)

shaun_from_Africa

benjus wrote: »

Or is it really quite safe as long as sensible precautions are taken (i.e. the circuit is protected by an RCD)?

An RCD should protect you from electrocution but only if the current is flowing from the live or neutral through you to earth.
It's possible to get electrocuted across the live and neutral and as long as there was no current flow to earth, an RCD wouldn't trip.

PasturesNew

It doesn't bother me at all. If I wanted to use hairdriers/straighteners etc I'd much prefer to be in a room where I'm not at risk of inadvertently electrocuting myself as I drop/try to save them ... or somebody else nudging them off the edge of the bath ....

The bedroom is the correct place to use such items, freeing up the bathroom for others to use the facility.

kathrynha

If I'm doing my hair I much prefer to do it in the comfort of my bedroom, with a large (unsteamed-up) mirror in front of me, and somewhere comfy to sit, than in a small bathroom without enough room to put everything down, and the only place to sit is the toilet

Gloomendoom

benjus wrote: »

Anyway, I'm just having a moan. Does this annoy anyone else?

No, not at all.

I have marveled at the potentially deadly locations of some foreign bathroom electrical outlets though, mainly in the US.

Wassa123

Actually if you have a quick google, quite a few people have died from using their charging phone while in the bath.

These people had used an extension cable to get the power so close to the bath. There would probably be many more deaths would occur if a power socket was within reach.

Easy for sensible people to avoid it, but children might not be that clever!

Eric_the_half_a_bee

PasturesNew wrote: »

If I wanted to use hairdriers/straighteners etc I'd much prefer to be in a room where I'm not at risk of inadvertently electrocuting myself as I drop/try to save them

Pah. Where is your sense of adventure?

Aylesbury_Duck

benjus wrote: »

Anyway, I'm just having a moan. Does this annoy anyone else?

Not at all. I'm glad of regulations that keep me safe and make it harder for uninformed DIY-ers and dodgy tradesmen to create circumstances with higher risks than there need to be.

keith969

benjus wrote: »

I know you can now have power sockets 3m or more from the bath/shower, but even this seems too restrictive.

The 3m thing is so that most items won't have a long enough power cord to drop into a bath or shower.

Sadly common sense is somewhat lacking these days, like the person recently electrocuted as a result of charging his phone whilst in the bath. The idiot had run an extension lead into the bathroom...

Jackmydad

Yes, it annoys the whatsit out of me. It means I can't vacuum while having a shower.
It also stops me from proving Darwin's theory about "Survival of the fittest"