Electrician's: Can you get shocked from a bad electoral outlet?

Question

In my laundry room I keep getting shocked when my body touches washer/dryer when it is on. I do not think it is hooked up wrong. I never had a problem with the washer at my other home I lived. There is no recall on the washer/dryer. I am concerned because it hurts and I have cats and I am afraid that they will get hurt if they go in there.

Thanks for the help if you know.

Answer 1

Let's be clear: what you have is a dangerous situation that should be looked at by a qualified electrician to start with, and if he can't solve the problem an appliance repair person may be able to help.  If the outlet checks out okay and the appliance repair person can't figure out why you are getting shocked, get a new washer.

Getting a good ground means that the metal parts of the washer do not have electricity on them, or if they do become energized, a circuit breaker will trip or a fuse will blow.  Not having a good ground means that when metal parts become energized, they do not conduct off the electricity and thus become dangerous for someone to touch, particularly on a concrete floor around water (a laundry).

It is possible this is caused by a bad receptacle (outlet).  It is also possible that it is caused by a bad cord.  You should also not ignore the possibility that that the washer is hooked up wrong.  The reason you never had a problem at the other home you lived in was because it was hooked up properly and there were no problems with the receptacle or cord.

Your cats are _probably_ safe, because they would have to put a paw on the dryer and have a paw in contact with ground (a piece of grounded metal or possibly the floor).

Answer 2

Depends on how much voltage it actually is.  You could have an open ground on either the washer or the dryer and have a difference of potential between them such that when you touch both of them you get a tingle, strong enough that it feels more like a shock.  Use a decent meter and measure the voltage between the washer and the dryer frames (bare metal).  If you measure 120V you definitely have a problem that should be corrected immediately as one of the outlets is wired incorrectly or there is a new problem in the washer or the dryer.  If you measure just a few volts (<20 while they are running) run a wire from each appliance to the cold water pipe, assuming it is a metal pipe.  This will eliminate the difference of potential between the two appliances.

Answer 3

you can get shocked for a bad outlet..

it sounds like the outlet needs to be grounded.. an easy way to take care of this is just take a wire and attach it to the washer.. on a s***w that on the metal of the machine. the other end of the wire attach it to the metal of outlet box.. or to a water pipe.. make sure that both ends of the wire are making good contact from the machine to ground.. and this will keep you from getting shocked.

Answer 4

whats an electoral outlet?

Answer 5

Call an electrician it could be anything.  If the electrician can't sort it out call your power authority.

Answer 6

It's not getting a good ground. You maybe having a hot wire that's  touching the machine and when you touch it you become the ground. If you could run a ground wire from the washer back to the ground in the plug box it would stop it from shocking you .

Answer 7

Hi, you need to keep away from your unit and call a Electrician ASAP, you may have a bad earth in your home. If there is a fault with any electrical appliance and its made from metal the fault currant should run to  earth/metal frame of the appliance and blow a fuse. This tells you there is a problem. It sounds like you don't have a safety switch also, this is a good example why everyone should consider it at some stage. Please be careful and keep your cats away.

Good luck.

Answer 8

It's difficult to say from the amount of information you have provided. It might just be a static discharge from you to the earthed appliance, or it could be a real electrical fault.

Does the shock you get feel like a static discharge? Have you ever seen a spark? Has anyone else experienced the shock? Have you remained in contact with the appliance just after getting a shock and received a continuous shock until you stopped touching it? Have you ever received a similar shock when touching a metal tap, sink, door handle, window handle, etc?

Static discharges can be quite painful. My partner and I receive them quite often getting in and out of the car and sometimes around the home and workplace. It's possible that there's just something about your new abode that has changed that is causing you to become charged with static electricity when you approach your washer/drier, like a synthetic carpet or mat, or you might be wearing some new, synthetic clothing or footwear.

Hopefully you know how to recognise such a "static discharge". The main sign is that the shock (usually) only occurs once per "event" - once you've discharged yourself then typically you have to undergo some specific activity to get re-charged, such as walking across a synthetic carpet. If that's all that it is, you might just have to resort to discharging yourself before touching the appliance. Anything electrically conductive will do - I often use a key or screwdriver, etc. Hold it in your hand and touch it to some earthed metal (which  might have to be the appliance itself in your case).

Receiving a genuine electrical shock from any metal part of an electrical appliance, however, is a sign that there is a problem that requires urgent attention and in which case there are only two answers to your question:

1) Stop using the appliance, unplug it and get a qualified tradesperson in to check the appliance and the house wiring.

2) To continue to use the appliance poses a very real risk of electrocution - keep in mind this could include yourself, your family and any visitors to your house, and also your pets. Just because no person or animal has suffered injury yet doesn't mean that everyone will be as lucky in the future. Additionally, a fault may already be bad enough, or could worsen at any time, to the point of creating a lethal electrocution risk or even a fire risk. If you should choose to take this (ill-advised) option, then for goodness' sake don't leave it plugged in when it's not in use (especially overnight), and don't run it when you're not around - and awake! And do a trial run to make sure you know how to get to your utility box to quickly turn off your house power - just in case!

Don't attempt to use a voltmeter to gauge what might be wrong. Such a diagnostic technique requires both the right equipment and the right training to be either safe or effective.

And without knowing the specifics of the situation, your pets are very likely just as much at risk as any person.

Please don't hesitate. If you're not certain that it's just a case of bad static, go and pull the plug out right now and let a qualified person tell you whether it's safe to plug back in.

I know - these misfortunes only happen to those "statistical" victims - until you become one of them.