Dryer in a bathroom

Status
Not open for further replies.
R

rapid repairs

Member
Location
South Carolina
It seems that a dryer in a bathroom should be restricted or at least be required to have GFCI protection but I can't find anything in the code. Under what conditions would a dryer be allowed in a bathroom which is in a senior citizens apartment building?
 
You can put the dryer anywhere in a bathroom but the outlet can not be in the tub and shower space.

If the dryer is 120/240 30 amp it will not have to be GFCI protected.

If the dryer is 120 volt 15 or 20 amp it will have to be GFCI protected.
 
Would the dryer require GFCI if the outlet was behind and not accessable?

I thought this was okay but may be it was changed rescently.
 
The thing that gets you into using GFCI is the fact that this is in a bathroom. The usage of the circuit, being a clothes dryer and not a hair dryer for example, does not enter into consideration.

There is an exception for requiring GFCI when the receptacle is not readily accessible, and another for when receptacle is for an appliance. But those exceptions only apply to garages and certain accessory buildings. These exceptions do not apply to bathrooms.
 
charlie b said:
The thing that gets you into using GFCI is the fact that this is in a bathroom. The usage of the circuit, being a clothes dryer and not a hair dryer for example, does not enter into consideration.

There is an exception for requiring GFCI when the receptacle is not readily accessible, and another for when receptacle is for an appliance. But those exceptions only apply to garages and certain accessory buildings. These exceptions do not apply to bathrooms.
Click to expand...

I agree, you beat me to it.

Tom
 
muskiedog said:
Would the dryer require GFCI if the outlet was behind and not accessable?

I thought this was okay but may be it was changed rescently.
Click to expand...

All standard receptacles in bathrooms must be GFCI protected.

I do not believe there was ever an exception for non-accessible receptacles in bathrooms as there has been for basements and garages.
 
Although the code has no exceptions on outlets in the bathroom one can always ask the inspector. The intent of the code, I believe, is to avoid someone plugging into a non GFI receptacle. In our area the inspectors (they are quite strict and by the books , in general) will allow a receptacle for a washer or dryer if it is located behind the units and is a single receptacle. If it is a single 110 volt receptacle it needs to 20 ampere rating.
The idea is that people are not going to move the unit to plug something in and then unplug it again. The uncertainty of this leaves one open to trouble because someone can plug in a plug strip. Then what??? I have run into this situation before and since I find it a nusiance to have a washer on a GFI, I put a GFI receptacle near the washer/dryer for whatever purpose they need. This alleviates the plug strip concept.

Every area is different so check with AHJ.
 
The code requires that ALL 125-volt 15 and 20-ampere receptacles installed in bathrooms be GFCI protected. If the dryer receptacle is not of this configuration (is a 30-amp 250/125 volt receptacle for example) then it does NOT need to be GFCI protected. If the washing machne is also in the bathroom and plugs into a standard recetacle, it WOULD need to be GFCI protected. It does not matter if it is dedicated to the washer, a single receptacle, behind the appliance, or anything else. It is in the bathroom, it is a 125-volt 15 or 20-ampere receptacle, so it MUST be GFCI protected. Now the argument can be made as to what is a bathroom. If the appliances are in a closet off of the bathroom, are they in the bathroom? "It depends on what you mean by the word 'is'"!
 
cowboyjwc said:
Are we talking about a hair dryer or a hand dryer?
Click to expand...
Neither. Clothes dryer. Hair dryers and hand dryers are not allowed in a bathroom. They must be used in the kitchen or living room. :wink: :wink: :grin:
 
grazianoelectric said:
Install A Singleplex Receptacle To Serve Just The Dryer,do Not Have To Install G.f.c.i !
Click to expand...
I think not. If it is a 15 or 20 amp, 125 volt receptacle, and it is in a dwelling unit bathroom, it needs GFCI protection, regardless of whether simplex or duplex. 210.8 does not give exceptions for simplex or for dedicated appliance receptacles.
 
Ok I`ll go off on a tangent with this one.Look at the long winded thread of is a closet in a bedroom required to have afci protection ????It in itself is not in the actual bedroom but in essence it is IMO.Now as far as using a single recep that would not require gfci protection....... We went through that here awhile ago lets say a HO wanted a dedicated recep for a freezer in the garage.The AHJ made us use a silly sticker that said for appliance use only.Then they recanted and said nope has to be gfci protected.What about the 1000`s of homes that had that silly sticker ?????So now all std. receps. in a garage have to be gfci protected.

In a bathroom a std. recep has to be gfci protected regardless if a single or duplex,behind or aside of an appliance
 
allenwayne said:
. . . lets say a HO wanted a dedicated recep for a freezer in the garage. (The AHJ) . . . said nope, has to be gfci protected.
Click to expand...
Why? Exception (2) to 210.8(A)(2) says you don't need GFCI for a receptacle dedicated to an appliance (presuming the appliance is not easily moved). That has been in effect at least as far back as 1996.

I don't know about anyone else, but the freezer in my garage is so full that it would take a forklift to move it.
 
No Exceptions! to NEC 210.8

No Exceptions! to NEC 210.8

Graziano, There are simply NO exceptions to NEC 210.8(A)(1). If your local AHJ allows it he or she is finding a exception that is not there, its not in the code and therefore if you get called on it by a different inspector you will have no code reference to support your interpretation and will therefore have to make another trip to the job site to change it. (believe me it NEVER works to say "the other inspector let me do it"):grin:
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top