We are buying a newly built house. It has 2 laundry areas. In both cases the water hookup for the washer is directly above the 240 V electrical hookup for the dryer. Is this safe? The Builder refuses to move them apart.
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No, and most jurisdictions specify a minimum distance between electrical and water outlets.
Move one and remember water falls due to gravity and sprays due to supply pressure.
Solar Mike
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I'd argue that this is not a particularly safe setup, but legal in the USA, as there are no minimum safe distance or positioning requirements that I've seen for laundry outlets, which are often specifically excluded from other rules about this. It may be different in different countries.
However, it's not necessarily a deal breaker - I'd check that the electrics to the socket are up to code, and include a relatively sensitive breaker. This is unlikely to be a socket you go near frequently, and the breaker will trip if water starts leaking into it. It should be on its own circuit, I think, for US safety standards
I'd also suggest prehaps, if it is going to be hidden behind the dryer, then one of those waterproof outdoor sockets might work really well, and might be a cheap thing for the builder to fit, that would be a reasonable compromise.
lupe
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While I wouldn’t personally arrange the water supply line and dryer hookup this way, I think there is a slim chance of anything unsafe happening in this scenario.
A dryer hookup is not a high use plug that has a lot of human interaction. For the most part, you plug it in and forget about it—-maybe unplugging once every few months if needed to clean out the dryer vent (personally, my dryer stays plugged in and I just move it for this activity since the cord is long enough). If the outlet gets wet, it is highly unlikely to find a dangerous ground path through a person. Electrocution (death and/or burns) are only a risk if your body has a chance of conducting electricity through it, particularly across your chest (which is unlikely to be part of the ground path if you rarely touch the plug). Also, for those commenting on puddles on the floor, common wall materials when wet aren’t very conductive (apart from metal studs, but those should be properly ground bonded anyway), and they would need to be in order to maintain electrical conductivity with a puddle of water on the floor to present a hazard. Electricity prefers paths with the least resistance to reach ground potential and it is more likely that it would short to ground or neutral and trip a breaker in a worst case.
In my opinion, you are more likely to experience water damage to your home (like any water leak) than a serious electrical hazard if you have an issue with the water supply leaking in this setup.
statueuphemism
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Hell no!!! Code or not to code. Do not stand where water seeps under at your feet. Its hidden so you don't know its leaking till you step in it. Hopefully its not crossing the outlet, but 220? You'll probably never know, your family will know though.
