Charging in safety

[ HARDWARE ]

I heard recently that someone was electrocuted when charging and using their iPhone in the bath. Should I stop charging mine when I use it on the dunny? ANONYMOUS

Howard Oakley replies: You should never take a mains-powered charger, or any other electrical item that’s connected to mains power, into a bathroom or any area where it could be splashed by or immersed in water. The danger to you isn’t from the low-voltage phone or tablet side of the charger, but from the section from the mains socket to the transformer/charger itself.

Mains voltages often kill on contact, and are even more likely to be lethal if your skin is damp, as water makes your skin more conductive to electricity, and allows more current to flow. Domestic electrical safety codes only allow shavers to be powered from special sockets mounted high and more than three metres away from any splash risk. Mobile device chargers aren’t intended to work safely in wet conditions, and will pose a risk of fatal electric shock if they get wet. You should be able to get further specific advice on electrical safety in and around the home from a competent electrician. You should additionally consider the issue of hygiene. Of course, you wash your hands properly afterwards, but do you clean your iPhone too? Would you be happy touching someone else’s iPhone knowing that they’d just been using it in the dunny?