Electric shock when using a socket with wet hands?
Good day,
I have a question about electrical outlets and wet hands after washing my hands.
In advance:
We have a residual current device in our apartment
My question relates to what would happen if there was no residual current device or if the residual current device was defective:
What is the probability of getting an electric shock and dying if you do not dry your hands thoroughly or at all with a towel after washing your hands and then touch the outside of the socket with your wet (not dried) fingers and unknowingly touch the holes on the outside?
Or when you come out of the shower and accidentally touch the outside of the socket with your fingers that haven't dried yet.
In our bathroom the socket is located below the light switch in the wall,
where it has certainly happened that after washing your hands or taking a shower, you have unconsciously and in a hurry reached the holes in the socket (where the plugs or cables come in) with your dry fingers and touched them.
You probably can't get your fingers into the socket?
What is the risk of dying and is there any protection or protective mechanism if you touch the socket with damp or wet fingers?
I would be very grateful for an answer as a layperson
First of all, a FI circuit breaker does not prevent current stops or reduces the likelihood of getting one. It only ensures that the power supply is interrupted in a few milliseconds in the event of a dangerous power strike to reduce its influence.
Furthermore, it doesn’t matter if your hands are wet or dry. Sockets are in principle contact-proof, so it is not possible to come with the mere hands on voltage-carrying parts. Provided, of course, that the socket does not have a technical deficiency.
The contacts are deep enough behind the aperture. You can hardly have such wet hands that a water film could form between the outside and the contacts. As long as everything is in good condition (not broken off or so), the danger goes against zero.
That’s exactly how it is
nothing happens, you don’t get to the contacts from the outside.