What to do if the washing machine is electrocuted?

In this article, we will talk about why the washing machine is shocking, how to prevent this, and what to do.

What to do if the washing machine is electrocuted

The effect of current can be felt in different ways: through small tingling (if the current strength is small) or through very painful sensations. This may occur in contact with water, the mixer, the housing or the metal drum of the washing machine. Consider all the options.

Current breaks through the mixer or through water

In this case, when the MCA is turned on, it is impossible to use water due to pinching by current from water. This is especially felt if there are wounds or scratches on the hands. Answers to questions why from the washing machine through the electric shock, you will find in the table below.

If even with the SMA turned off, the water “bites”, the problem may be due to a fault in the wiring in the wall. You can find the damage using a special diagnostic device for ringing circuits and detecting problem areas, but it is better to immediately contact the problem with specialists.

The washing machine is shocked when touching the body

In some situations, when the household appliance is connected to an outlet, the washing machine body begins to “bite”. This is especially felt when touching the device with wet hands. What causes such a nuisance and how to avoid it?

The washing machine must not be operated in violation of the integrity of the insulation.

Drum leak

Causes of leakage and remedies are generally identical to the situations described above.

How to warn

In all cases associated with the breakdown of nodes, you should immediately disable the AGR, call a specialist or fix the problem yourself.

Of course, they are not joking with electricity and it is better to immediately call electricians (if there is damage to the wiring or if you need to make grounding, install an RCD, etc.) or to a service center (for replacing and repairing damaged SMA units). But, having skills in working with electric networks and knowledge, some operations can be performed with your own hands.

First of all, it is important to use any home appliances with grounding. All modern household appliances are designed for a three-wire network, which includes a grounding contact.If you live in a house with electric stoves - you are lucky, you do not need to do any additional actions, except that when installing the SMA, use a special outlet with grounding.

Ground outlet

But in some old houses, grounding is not provided. The SMA has a line filter that blocks current surges with a frequency other than 50 Hz. In the presence of such a filter, but in the case of two-wire wiring, a residual voltage (110 Volts) is created on the washer housing. Since SMA are often installed in a bathroom, a room with a high level of humidity, the risk of electric shock increases.

This is unsafe from the point of view of human life and health and adversely affects the operation of technology. The details of the AGR do not tolerate a static charge, the machine may fail long before the end of the warranty period.

How to solve the problem

There are several ways:

• connect the SMA housing with a water or sewer pipe or heating radiators;
• make a separate line for connecting the SMA (the wire should go from the ground panel);
• RCD connection;
• creating your own grounding (applicable to private homes).

We will tell you more about each of the methods:

Grandfather's way

In the middle of the 20th century, when metal pipes were used in apartments, grounding through connections to batteries or pipes was very popular.

Grounding on water pipes or radiator

However, this method has a number of significant disadvantages:

• it's illegal,
• static electricity breaks pipes very quickly,
• dubious reliability and insecurity.

But the method exists, and if you are not afraid of the consequences, you can use it.

To do this, take a single-core copper wire, strip it on both sides of the insulation and connect one end to the SMA housing, and fix the other on a heating radiator with an ordinary clamp.

Through the electrical panel

In contrast to the method described above, grounding through an electrical panel is a completely legal and safe method, characterized by increased reliability. In addition, this will help reduce the load on the wiring, since the connection will go not from the junction box, but directly from the shield.

To do this, you need to take a copper three-wire wire with a cross section of 2.5 mm, a moisture-proof outlet with grounding and a high-quality socket, difavtomat, cable channel. After that, outline the route of the wire, perform the gating. It is recommended to lay the cable not directly into the hollow wall, but into the cable channel. Difavtomat will provide additional protection, it must be installed in the shield.

After all the preparatory measures have been completed and the necessary materials have been purchased, we proceed to the connection.

You need to pull the cable from the switchgear to the outlet. Zero and phase wires must be connected through a difavtomat, and the earth separately. Some users at this stage make a mistake by confusing the concepts of ground and ground wires. Do not connect the ground wire to the ground bus.

Grounding via electrical panel

What the old floorboard looks like in the TN-C system

RCD

The above method is ideal, but has one drawback - wall shattering. If your house has recently been renovated or you are not going to do major repairs in the near future, the method will not work. But you can protect yourself by connecting a residual current device. RCD is very sensitive to leakage currents and if the insulation of the wires or components of the washing machine is damaged, it immediately stops supplying electricity.

For washing machines, it is better to take an RCD with I_off 10-30 mA and rated current exceeding the rating of the machine.

Residual Current Device

Protection circuit against electric shock through RCD

Making grounding in a private house

In his house, the owner can independently carry out grounding in accordance with GOST standards. Before performing work, you should consult a familiar electrician.

Grounding is necessary with earthworks.Prepare a piece of land near the house, clean it of debris and green spaces and dig a hole half a meter deep and 3 meters in diameter.

To install grounding in a private house, dig a ditch in the form of a uniform triangle

Grounding in a private house

After that, you need to purchase 3 metal corners, 3 meters long and a steel metal strip. Corners need to be arranged in the form of an equilateral triangle, one vertex of which is facing the house. For convenience, pre-markup (the distance between the side is 1.2 meters). After that, drive the corners into the ground so that they protrude above the ground at a distance of 0.5 meters, scald all the corners with each other with a metal strip. After that, from the resulting circuit, dig a ditch under the steel bar, which must be connected to the circuit. The steel rod is connected to the wire and goes to the shield. From above, the dug hole must be covered with earth.