Electrical socket under sink for the dishwasher

[Thisischocolate]

Surely this is illegal and dangerous?

The house we bought has a double socket to connect the dishwasher located under the sink and next to all drainage pipes.

It also looks to me like the original pipe work looks corroded and should be replaced?

Looks totally normal to me, I think every house I've lived in has this set up, our current one certainly does. Again the pipework looks normal too, but I'm not a plumber.

I don't think it looks normal at all. The socket for mine is away from the pipe work - I think it was on the wall behind the cupboards and above the water pipes.

I think there's meant to be a switch above worktop level now to allow you to switch it off.

I don't think there's any specific regulation that this would breach, but probably more informed people on the board.

Pipework is probably fine - some old leak marks, and copper goes a bit funny after many years. They've cut the supply hose rather than undoing the red nut so it might be stuck on, but it's plastic screwed onto metal & the seal is part of the plastic part so you should be able to get it off.

It won't be much of a job to move the socket if you aren't happy with it. One of those long list of little jobs when you move, I think.

I've just had my kitchen done, and have sockets for appliances near water pipes. Not an issue at all. Full electrical installation certificates issued. You just need them to be "accessible" these days, so no need for additional switches on worktops.

Pipes look to me. The green colour at the joints of the pipe are not corrosion but the flashing from being welded together. Corrosion would be rust coloured and rough/flaky.

Electrics- we have a wall switch above counter for our diswasher. Don’t know if a switch under sink is up to U.K. code or not. It makes me uneasy too OP because of danger of sink leaking right on an electric socket.

My socket is behind my pipes. Where else would it go? You can't really have it plugged in above the worktop

I don't think that's normal at all, ours have always had the wire going behind the wooden back of the cupboard, and then wired in at a different point on the wall with its own isolater switch (not sure if that's the right term) above the worktop. That's in modern houses/new builds if that makes a difference.

If we aren't allowed plug sockets in bathrooms it seems odd to me to have a socket like that so close to pipe work, although I appreciate the pipes aren't supposed to leak!

Not sure about pipe work.

It's fine. Regs require consideration of the area around installation (socket) and the sink / pipes aren't designed to leak so all OK from an installation standpoint.

This looks completely normal to me. I live in a fairly new house with this set up for the dishwasher and waste disposal.

Looks fairly normal to me. We have to have a socket in the under sink area in order to plug in our boiling water tap heater.

I have a similar set up for my washing machine.

and the sink / pipes aren't designed to leak

They would be pretty shit at being pipes and a sink if they were designed to leak 😂😂

Having sockets under the sink is perfectly normal. We had a new kitchen installed a few years ago and the company who installed it put a double socket under the sink. I think it's pretty standard practice.

Socket for our boiling water tap is in the sink cupboard - but it it is high up on the side wall of the cupboard, away from pipework and any chance of water getting to it unless the tap boiler exploded and sprayed it! All isolators are in one separate cupboard so no isolators on wall above worktop.

Same set up here, I also questioned it when they put in the kitchen.

It met regs, apparently modern fuse boxes will trip of water comes into contact and as it usually drips down its very unlikely it would if you see what I mean?

So why can't we have plugs in our bathroom? I'd love to dry and straighten my hair in the bathroom like I could in the US!

*sockets

It is a good question about the bathroom sockets, as far as I recall you can have the shaver one but it has be a certain distance from a shower? Guess it’s more splashy?

Shaver sockets are lower voltage and yes sockets have to be a minimum distance from water sources. One of the reasons we don't have light switches and sockets in bathrooms in the UK is that bathrooms aren't big enough to allow sufficient distance between them and the water sources.

@wowfudge so how come a socket can be put under a sink right next to pipe work? I appreciate a bathroom is heavily used and pipe work shouldnt leak, but it can? And if modern fuse boxes would trip anyway wouldn't they in a bathroom?

I had a set up like that, at old house, it's fine

Everything "watery" in my kitchen has a wall mounted switch and is hard wired underneath. Never seen a socket under a sink, I am amazed that it is allowed.

[quote movingonup201]**@wowfudge* so how come a socket can be put under a sink right next to pipe work? I appreciate a bathroom is heavily used and pipe work shouldnt* leak, but it can? And if modern fuse boxes would trip anyway wouldn't they in a bathroom?[/quote]
Because it's not a water source, it's pipework.

The regulations are designed to make things safe and minimise risk. Even if that pipework in your photos leaked it's unlikely to leak onto the socket.

If you don't like it, have the socket moved.

@wowfudge no need to get bolshy with me I'm just asking why the risk is ok in one area but not the other if it will fuse either way. It's not my post, I don't have a socket by the pipework, my dishwasher is hardwired behind a wooden barrier with an isolator switch above the worktop, as was my previous one, I presumed this was standard and was surprised to see the Op's photo.