13 Amp socket under Kitchen sink

[Phil]

I was at a customers house yesterday fitting a built-in washing machine and was shocked to find the old one,aswell as the dishwasher were pluged into a 13 Amp socket in the cupboard under the Kitchen sink, right in the firing line of any drips from the waste trap.
She said it had been done by an 'Electrician' 20 years ago and it had never caused a problem. The trap isnt dripping at the moment but.......??
I ran a temporary extension cord for the washing machine and dishwasher and strongly advised her to get a proper Electrician to sort in out as soon as possible.
Was this the right thing to do and has anyone else come accross anything like this before?

I'm going back next week to plumb in their new 'American style' Fridge Freezer, the kind that dispenses chilled filtered water and crushed ice.

 

[ajs heating]

see them all the time, same as immersions wired into the heating controls supply.

 

[Phil]

Oh, its quite common then? I wouldn't put one there, I'll see what it says in the on site guide.
Thanks for reply

 

[uug197h]

the plug has to be accessible without moving the washer or dish washer out, you can only advise they don't have to listen to you even if the on site guide tells you it needs moving

 

[Alanka]

My Guide (2005) says that socket outlets should be mounted on the building fabric, not on kitchen furniture, a minimum of 450mm from the floor.

Also that socket outlets supplying washing machines, dishwashers, etc, should be positioned so that dripping water is unlikely to affect them, and that supplies to built-in appliances should be via sockets that are readily accessible when the appliance is in place and in normal use.

So putting a socket in the cupboard under the sink is OK provided that it's fixed to the wall (accessed via a hole cut into the back panel near the top) where it unlikely to be dripped on in the event of leaks.