Electric Shower Safety: Warning Signs and What to Do

An electric shower heats water the moment you turn it on, so it draws a lot of power in the wettest room of the house. Most of the time it just works. But if your shower starts tripping the power, smells of burning, buzzes or shows scorch marks, stop using it. Here’s what you can safely check yourself, what you should never touch, and when to call a registered electrician or a plumber.

Why bathroom electrics are different

Electrical Safety First explains that wet skin lowers your body’s resistance, so an electric shock in a bathroom can be far more serious than elsewhere. That’s why bathroom wiring has special rules:

• An electric shower must be installed by a registered, competent electrician and supplied on its own circuit.
• Circuits in or passing through a bathroom need RCD protection (the safety switch in your consumer unit that cuts the power if something goes wrong).
• Normal sockets aren’t allowed in bathrooms unless they’re at least 2.5 metres from the bath or shower tray. Shaver points are the exception.
• Never use an extension lead to run a heater, hairdryer or anything else in the bathroom.

Most electrical work in a bathroom falls under Part P of the Building Regulations, so it isn’t a DIY job.

Warning signs to look out for

• A burning or hot plastic smell from the shower unit, pull-cord switch or ceiling.
• Brown or black scorch marks on the shower cover, the isolator switch or the cord.
• Buzzing, crackling or clicking from the unit or switch.
• The RCD or circuit breaker tripping when the shower is turned on.
• Water leaking from inside the shower unit, or steam or water getting behind the cover.
• A tingle or mild shock from the shower, taps or metal fittings. Treat this as an emergency.

Safe steps if your electric shower shows a warning sign

1. Stop using the shower straight away. If anyone is in it, get them out and dry.
2. Switch the shower off at its isolator (usually a ceiling pull-cord or a wall switch outside the bathroom), but only with dry hands and only if the switch isn’t scorched, hot or wet. If it is, leave it alone.
3. If it’s safe to reach the consumer unit with dry hands on a dry floor, you can switch off the shower’s circuit breaker so it can’t be used. Label it so nobody turns it back on.
4. If an RCD or breaker has tripped, you may reset it once only, and only if everything around it is dry. If it trips again, leave it off. Our guide to an RCD or trip switch that has gone off explains how.
5. Never take the cover off the shower unit or open the isolator switch. There can be live parts inside even when it looks off.
6. If water is leaking from the unit, turn off the inside stopcock (usually under the kitchen sink or stairs) once the power is safely off. Here’s how to find and turn off your stopcock. If water is near other electrics, follow our water leak near sockets or fuse box guide.
7. Take a photo of the model label and any scorch marks from a safe position. It helps the engineer bring the right parts.

Simple things you can do (with the power off)

• Descale the shower head as the manufacturer’s manual describes. Weak flow can be limescale, not a fault. See our limescale on taps and shower heads guide.
• Check the hose for kinks and the shower head for blocked holes.
• Keep the bathroom well ventilated so steam doesn’t collect around fittings.
• Don’t fit a “bigger” fuse or breaker, and never tape or wedge an RCD on.

Outside stop tap and water company leaks

Your inside stopcock is always the first control. The outside or boundary stop tap is usually owned by your water company (Anglian Water or Essex & Suffolk Water). It may need a special key, so don’t dig it up or force it. If you think a leak is on their side, check whether neighbours are affected and contact the water company. Nothing here conflicts with the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999.

If you have a gas boiler or combi shower

If your shower runs from a gas combi boiler and the hot water has stopped, stick to the user-manual checks: the timer, thermostat and power, repressurising with the filling loop if the manual shows you how, thawing a frozen outside condensate pipe with warm (not boiling) water, and pressing the reset button once. Never remove the boiler casing or touch gas valves, burners or the flue. Under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, only a Gas Safe registered engineer may work on gas appliances. Repeated lockouts or pressure loss need a Gas Safe engineer, and you can check one on the Gas Safe Register.

If you smell gas or suspect carbon monoxide, leave the property, open doors and windows if it’s safe, don’t use switches or flames, turn the gas off at the meter only if it’s safe, and call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999. Get medical advice if anyone has headaches, dizziness, nausea or breathlessness.

When to stop and call us

• You smell burning, see scorch marks or hear buzzing from the shower or its switch.
• The RCD or breaker trips again after one reset.
• Anyone feels a tingle or shock from the shower, taps or pipes.
• Water is leaking from inside the shower unit.
• You want a new or more powerful electric shower fitted. It needs its own correctly sized circuit and RCD protection.
• You’re not sure whether it’s safe to use again.

Our electrical services cover fault-finding and making bathroom circuits safe, and our shower repair team can sort leaks, low flow and replacement units.

Sources

• Electrical Safety First: bathroom safety
• Electrical Safety First: home buyers and RCDs
• Gas Safe Register

This is general safety guidance. If you’re unsure, stop and call a qualified engineer.