The washing machine is electrocuting the water.

Any appliance can cause an electric shock when it comes into contact with a person, but a washing machine is more complicated. After all, it operates through water, and ordinary tap water is a powerful conductor of electricity. A shock through water is much more painful and, needless to say, more dangerous. What should you do if you experience an electric shock while the washing machine is running?

How does the problem manifest itself?

There are as many reasons why an electric shock occurs as there are variations in how it occurs. It can be a barely noticeable tingling sensation, like during electrophoresis, or it can be a rather strong and painful shock.

First, let's figure out which parts of the machine can cause unpleasant symptoms.

1. When a person touches water with any part of their body. For example, when removing wet laundry from the drum.
2. Contact with water mixer.
3. Touching the machine body.
4. When touching the drum or homemade grounding.

Any of these signs indicates a malfunction within the machine, and current is a serious matter. Such incidents pose a significant risk to the life and health of the machine operator. Therefore, it is essential to fix the problem immediately! Of course, this is not a situation where you should try to do anything yourself. The only thing you need to do quickly is to disconnect the machine from the power supply and do not turn it on until the technician arrives.

Important! Sometimes the electric shocks become stronger, indicating a developing problem. Delaying this may eventually cause fuses to blow or circuit breakers to trip.

You feel an electric shock from the water jet

Let's figure out what to do depending on the cause of the problem. Only a technician can determine this and perform the repair. Here are some facts:

1. If electrical components, such as a heating element or a motor, become unusable, they must either be repaired or replaced with new ones, to be on the safe side.
2. The insulation of internal wires is damaged, allowing current to come into contact with other components. In this case, repair is the only solution.
3. Contact with other components due to high humidity. In this case, grounding needs to be installed or replaced if it's already in place and isn't helping.
4. Your neighbors are using a water pipe as a grounding conductor. In this case, you'll need to install your own grounding device and contact a special service, as using a pipe as a grounding conductor is unacceptable.

There are also situations where the water or the washing machine continues to emit current even after being disconnected from the power supply. It might seem like a mystery. But no, it's simple. Most likely, there's a wiring issue, and not necessarily in the user's living area. The floor slab may contain moisture and allow current from another apartment to flow into yours.

How to avoid tragic consequences?

If you have any electrical problems or electrical issues at all, it's best not to call a washing machine repairman. Contact either a service center or an electrician, as the problem may not be with the machine at all.

However, some users with advanced electrical knowledge and experience may attempt some procedures themselves. These include:

• installation of RCD (residual current device);
• installation of DSUP (additional potential equalization system);
• Do-it-yourself grounding installation.

Such measures may not solve the problem at its root, but at least they will reduce the severity of the consequences, that’s for sure!

   

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